Another late rally falls short in loss to Texas State

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An extended run by Texas State midway through the opening half put Little Rock in a hole it could never crawl out of as a late Trojan rally falls short in a 67-60 defeat Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
The loss snaps Little Rock's three game winning streak as the Trojans fall to 10-16 on the year and 5-8 in Sun Belt Conference play. Texas State remains atop the Sun Belt at 21-5 overall and 10-3 in league play.
 
Little Rock's offense was paced by Rayjon Tucker's 20 points, shooting 8-of-15 from the floor for his 12th game with 20 or more points this season. He also finished with a team-high six rebounds, matched by Nikola Maric who was Little Rock's only other player to finish in double figures, registering 17 points.
 
Kamani Johnson and Dani Koljanin both finished with seven points on the night while Kris Bankston added four as just six Trojans scored against the Bobcats. For the game, Little Rock shot 45.8% from the floor and struggled once again from three point range, knocking down just five of its 14 attempts.
 
Both teams ran their offense at a high pace in the early going, matching basket-for-basket in the early going. Trailing 11-10, Little Rock reeled off five straight, opening its largest lead of the game at 15-11 near the midway point of the first half.
 
But just as it did in San Marcos, Texas State put together an extended run, holding the Trojans scoreless for over five minutes and registering 15 unanswered points during that span, turning the four-point deficit into a 26-15 advantage with five minutes to go.
 
Little Rock responded with six-straight of its own, pulling to within five at 26-21 with 4:47 remaining in the first 20 minutes. But the Bobcat three-point attack paced Texas State to a 10-5 run to finish the half, taking a 36-26 lead into the locker room. The Bobcats knocked down seven of their 18 three-point shots, outrebounding Little Rock 18-12.
 
In the second half, Little Rock slowly began to chip away at the Texas State lead, getting to within four at 48-44 at the midway point. Little Rock miscues led to scoring chances for the Bobcats, who pushed the lead back to nine at 57-48, but the Trojans were able to get the lead down to just four at 57-53 with four minutes remaining.
 
Little Rock made one final push, getting the game down to a one-possession affair at 63-60 off a lay-up from Tucker with 1:26 remaining. But Texas State's defense limited the Trojans' shot selection in the final minute and the Bobcats hit all four of their free throws to pull away for the 67-60 victory.
 
The win for the Bobcats was their fourth-straight over the Trojans, closing the gap in the all-time series to an 8-6 Little Rock advantage.
 
With conference tournament implications on the line, Little Rock now heads into a critical three-game road trip. That stretch begins one week from today with the second part of the rivalry series against Arkansas State, tipping at 4 p.m. at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro.