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Third quarter domination propels Trojans past A-State

Little Rock (6-11, 4-2 Sun Belt) shot 75 percent in the third quarter, out-scored the visiting Red Wolves 22-10 in that period.
Credit: Benjamin Kraine

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Over the last few games Little Rock has stumbled out of the gate after halftime so during Saturday's intermission against Arkansas State, Trojans Head Coach Joe Foley to come out to a better second half start. Consider that challenge accepted.
 
Little Rock (6-11, 4-2 Sun Belt) shot 75 percent in the third quarter, out-scored the visiting Red Wolves 22-10 in that period and failed to let the momentum die in front of 1,034 fans at the Jack Stephens Center in a 67-58 win.
 
It was a familiar ending for Arkansas State (7-10, 4-2) as the Red Wolves are still winless all-time at the Jack Stephens Center. While Little Rock answered the challenge of its head coach and pushed the energy to a new level, A-State watched their energy dip, shooting just 33 percent in the third quarter and getting out-scored in the paint, 14-6, in that frame.
 
"We scored in the paint tonight," said Foley after his 795th career victory. "Teal [Battle] did a heckuva job, Alayzha [Knapp] did a heckuva job and then it opened up the perimeter for [Kyra] Collier. So you can see that if your post players can score and if they want to score and if you score in the paint, your offense changes. I thought we had a completely different offense today."
 
That post scoring – Battle tied a career-high 21 points while Knapp added nine – opened up a second half scoring feast for Collier, who finished with a season-high 26 points.
 
"We just accepted the challenges," said Collier. "We knew we were playing well inside and playing well with guards. Once Coach Foley told us at halftime that we needed to step it up after halftime, we just came together as a team and got it done."
 
Collier embraced that challenge personally late in the third, scoring 13 straight of Little Rock's points in a run that extended into the fourth quarter. That stretch of almost five minutes of game play saw ASU score seven points to Collier's 13 but also saw the Red Wolves commit five turnovers.
 
"I'm just challenging myself to make plays," said Collier. "In the second half I knew I had to step it up as a senior and he challenged me to do that at halftime. I told myself that I had to step up and my teammates told me that I had to step it up as well."
 
"I was having fun," continued Collier. "My teammates were excited and that was good for me. They were laughing and it was just fun."
 
Collier was 8 of 17 (47.1%) from the field Saturday while hitting a career-high five 3-pointers, shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc. Meanwhile Battle hit 10 of 13 shots (76.9%)
 
"They are juniors and seniors and ought to be playing like that," Foley said of the performances of Battle and Collier. "Our freshmen ought to be looking to them to say this is what you need to do to win, this is what you have to do to be a good ball club. That is what they have to do - they need to show those kids what it takes."
 
Adding to Little Rock's offensive success came better protection of the ball. Arkansas State, which was averaging nearly 10 steals a game, only managed four as the Trojans allowed just 11 turnovers. Meanwhile Little Rock grabbed 12 steals as part of 22 turnovers by the Red Wolves. This marks just the second time in the last 10 games that ASU has failed to force at least 18 turnovers.
 
Arkansas State was led by Jireh Washington's 23 points.
 
Little Rock briefly hits the road with a single away contest at ULM on Thursday, Jan. 23 before returning home to host Appalachian State on Saturday, Jan. 25.
 
For the latest information on Little Rock Basketball, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockWBB on FacebookInstagram and Twitter.

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