LR Trojans fall in Starkville
STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Little Rock Trojans gave Mississippi State all it could handle Wednesday before the Bulldogs took control in the second half for a 64-48 home victory at Humphrey Coliseum.
The home team found its scoring touch to wear down the Trojans, who scorched the University of the Ozarks, 94-49, two days earlier. With the loss, Little Rock closes out the non-conference portion of the schedule at 3-10 while Mississippi State improved to 10-1 on the year. The Bulldogs also improved to 4-1 all-time against the Trojans.
Nine different players scored for Little Rock on the evening as the Trojans shot 37 percent from the floor, including hitting 4 of 20 3-point attempts. Freshman forward Damir Hadzic, of Bosnia, led the way with nine points for Little Rock, followed by seven each for Anthony Black, a junior guard from Little Rock Hall, and Ryan Pippins, a sophomore guard from Little Rock Parkview.
Redshirt junior forward Oliver Black, of Jackson, Miss., added six points and five rebounds in his return to Humphrey Coliseum, while dishing out a pair of assists. Ben Marcus, a redshirt junior from Watson Chapel High School, also finished with six points on a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor with four rebounds.
Freshman guard Jaizec Lottie, from Aurora, Colo., matched Black with a team-high five rebounds, complemented by four points from the floor. Brandon Brady, a senior guard from Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, also notched a career-high four points while pulling down a pair of rebounds.
Malvern’s Andre Jones, now a sophomore, continued his slump with 1-for-8 shooting for two points in 25 minutes. He only shot 2-for-7, including 0-for-4 from 3-point, for four points in 15 minutes during the Trojans win over the Eagles on Monday at the Jack Stephens Center.
Jones was 5-for-12, including o-for-4 from dis- tance, for 10 points in 32 minutes for the Trojans in their 57-55 road loss a week ago at Sam Houston State. He was held out of Little Rock’s 86-46 road loss at Bradley on Dec. 13 due to a coach’s decision.
One of the biggest discrepancies on Wednesday came at the free throw line where Little Rock shot just 10 foul shots on the night, making four. Mississippi State hit 15 of its 27 attempts. The Bulldogs also forced 21 Trojan turnovers, compared to just 12 forced by Little Rock, leading to a 27-10 edge in points off those turnovers for Mississippi State.
The win on Monday snapped Little Rock’s four-game losing skid. It was the largest margin of victory for Little Rock since a 100-36 victory over Southwestern on Nov. 25, 2000.
Little Rock had 12 different players score in the victory, four of which finished in double figures and three of them notching career-bests. Anthony Black led the charge with a career-high
19 points, including hitting 5-of-7 from beyond the three-point line, followed by 14 points from both Marcus and Pippins.
Cameron Corcoran, a freshman guard from Orlando, Fla. was the fourth Trojan in double figures, adding 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. He also dished out a career-high six assists. Two others nearly joined the club as Hadzic added nine points with Oliver Black finishing with eight to complement his game-high
11 rebounds.
The Trojans never trailed in the game for the first time this season. Seven different Trojans scored in the opening 20 minutes, but Little Rock asserted its authority inside, outrebounding the Eagles 25-6.
With the non-conference slate wrapped up, Little Rock now turns its attention to the 18-game Sun Belt Conference schedule, beginning with Louisiana on in one week at the Jack Stephens Center. Tip against the Ragin’ Cajuns will be at approximately 7:15 p.m.