LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — A blistering cold shooting night for Little Rock led to a substantial first half hole, sizeable enough to withstand a furious rally in the final minute in a 63-59 loss to Texas State at the Jack Stephens Center. The loss drops Little Rock to 7-5 on the year and 3-2 in Sun Belt play.
The Trojans trailed by as many as 17 in the first half and by double-digits for the majority of the game before a furious rally in the final minutes got Little Rock to within two. But the Trojans were unable to take advantage of Bobcat miscues to fall at home for the first time in over a calendar year.
“Give Texas State credit in this one, they took it to us,” said head coach Darrell Walker. “I thought we got what we deserved tonight. We didn’t play our game and they made us pay. We’ll have a lot of work to do before tomorrow afternoon.”
Game Notes
• The loss for Little Rock was the first at home since a 52-43 loss to South Alabama on January 11, 2020. It snaps a 10-game home winning streak for the Trojans and an eight game home Sun Belt winning streak.
• Little Rock shot a season-worst 38.5% from the floor, making just 20 of its 52 shots, while going 6-of-22 from three-point range (27.3%) and 13-of-21 from the free throw line (61.9%).
• Despite the loss, Little Rock’s Ruot Monyyong registered his fourth-straight double-double, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds on 6-of-9 shooting. It was his eighth double-double of the season and the 24th of his Little Rock career.
• Two other Trojans finished in double figures, including Nikola Maric posting 13 points and eight rebounds, shooting 6-of-14 from the floor. But Maric struggled at the free throw line, making just one of his five attempts.
• Marko Lukic added 11 points, all in the second half, and was instrumental in the second half rally for Little Rock. He also added a pair of assists and a rebound on the night.
• Markquis Nowell finished with nine points, three rebounds and three assists, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. All nine of his points came in the first half as he tried to help Little Rock claw back from the early deficit.
• Rebounds were even at 32-32 as Little Rock held an 11-7 edge in offensive boards. The Trojans also held the advantage in points in the paint at 28-24 with eight steals compared to Texas State’s four.
First Half Notes
• Texas State came out firing on all cylinders in the early going, knocking down six of its first eight shots with a pair of threes to race out to an early 15-4 lead at the 15:32 mark. The Bobcats pushed that advantage to 17 at 23-6 behind 9-of-11 shooting from the floor.
• The Bobcats matched their largest lead a pair of other times, the last of which came at 27-10 with 8:15 remaining in the opening half. Nowell helped Little Rock chip away at the lead, scoring nine-straight points for Little Rock as the Trojans got the lead to under 10 at 32-23 with 1:46 remining.
• Little Rock had a chance to cut closer at the end of the half, but a shot in the waning seconds just missed as the Trojans found themselves down 34-25 at the break.
• After hitting nine of its first 11 shots from the floor, Texas State was just 4-for-17 to close out the half, shooting 46.4% and 5-of-14 from three. Little Rock struggled shooting in the opening 20 minutes connecting on just eight of 26 shots (30.8%) and two of 10 from three point range (20.0%).
• Free throw shooting saved the Trojans in the first half, going 7-of-8 from the line with Nowell hitting all six of his attempts.
Second Half Notes
• Neither team was able to find their scoring touch early in the second half as the Trojans and Bobcats combined to hit just two of their first 12 shots. Little Rock was able to get to within seven at the 18:04 mark off a tough inside basket from Maric.
• After exchanging baskets for a four minute span, Monyyong converted an and-one at the 14:27 mark, trimming the Texas State lead to eight at 38-30. But three-point baskets on three-straight Bobcat possessions helped the visitors push their lead back to 15 at 47-32 with 12:47 remaining.
• Trailing by double digits for the majority of the second half, Little Rock put together one last run, pulling to within eight at 56-48 off a Lukic three with 3:54 to go.
• Trailing by nine at 59-50 with 55 seconds left off a Lukic layup, a tussle ensued next to the Little Rock bench, resulting in a lengthy monitor review and the ejections of Nowell and Texas State’s Marlin Davis. The dust-up seemed to spark the Trojans, however, who scored nine points in 45 seconds, trimming the Texas State lead to two at 61-59. A pair of Bobcat free throws with six seconds remaining sealed the win for Texas State.
• Little Rock shot better in the second half, going 46.2% from the floor (12-of-26) but hit just 4-of-12 from three (33.3%) and 6-of-13 from the line (46.2%). Lukic’s 11 points paced the Trojans over the final 20 minutes while Maric added nine points and seven rebounds.
Up Next
• Little Rock and Texas State will play game two of their weekend series Saturday afternoon at the Jack Stephens Center. Opening tip between the Trojans and Bobcats is set for 4 p.m.