LITTLE ROCK, AR – Little Rock beat UT Arlington at its own game, outlasting the league-leading Mavericks in a defensive slugfest to grind out a crucial 56-52 victory at the Jack Stephens Center.
The win pushes Little Rock’s win streak to three games, its longest since the 2016-17 season, and improves the Trojans to 10-15 overall and 5-7 in Sun Belt Conference play. Based on the results from around the league over the past two nights, the Trojans now sit in a four-way tie for seventh-place in the Sun Belt standings.
The win came on a night which saw Little Rock shoot just 38.9 percent from the floor and connect on just two of its 13 three-point attempts. But the Trojan defense was up to the task, holding the Mavericks to just 32.2% from the floor and 24.0% from three-point range.
Five Trojans finished in double figures, all of which scored either 11 or 10 points on the night. Rayjon Tuckerled the way with his fifth double-double scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, scoring all 11 of his points in the second half. That effort was matched by Kris Bankston’s 11 points and seven rebounds as the sophomore threw down two more dunks, upping his season total to 59.
Deondre Burns, Dani Koljanin and Nikola Maric each finished with 10 on the night, setting a new career-best for Koljanin who also grabbed three rebounds. Burns scored all 10 of his points in the second half with Maric just missing a double-double for the Trojans, finishing with eight boards on the night.
As a team, Little Rock outrebounded UT Arlington 45-35, leading to a 15-6 edge in second chance points. The Trojans also held the advantage in the paint at 28-16 and committed just 10 turnovers, tied for a season-low.
It was an opening 20 minutes in which neither team could find its offensive groove as both teams shot less than 37% from the floor in the first half. UT Arlington was able to knock down some threes early and raced out to an early nine point lead at 17-8 as the Trojans made just two of their first 10 field goals.
Over the ensuing 11 minutes, Little Rock slowly began to chip away at the Maverick lead, outscoring UT Arlington 18-8 during that span. It was the Trojans’ bigs that set the tone inside as Bankston scored a game-high nine points in the first half, highlighted by three dunks, with Nikola Maric adding eight points for the Trojans.
The presence inside offset a cold opening half from Little Rock’s top shooting threats as Tucker and Burns went a combined 0-for-8 from the floor and posted a combined one point between them in the first half. The effort inside was enough to give the Trojans a 26-25 halftime lead, capped by a Bankston dunk as time expired.
Continuing its strong second half performances over the past few weeks, Little Rock used a 12-4 run out of the locker room, extending its lead to 38-29 after the first five minutes. The Trojans extended their lead to 10 at 42-32 at the 13:50 mark, only to see it squandered away off a 10-0 run by the Mavericks to pull even at 42-42 with just over 11 minutes to play.
The two teams battled back and forth down the stretch with neither team able to build more than a three point advantage as defense ruled the show. The Mavericks held a 51-48 lead with 3:55 to play, but Little Rock clamped down defensively to hold UT Arlington to just one point down the stretch, using an 8-1 run to close out its third-straight win.
The victory snaps a three-game skid to UT Arlington with the Trojans picking up their third-straight win over the Mavericks at the Jack Stephens Center. It also marks the first three-game Sun Belt winning streak for Little Rock since the 2015-16 season.
Little Rock’s road doesn’t get any easier, however, as the second part of the Texas home stand takes place Saturday against Texas State. The Bobcats sit alone atop the Sun Belt standings at 9-3 following an 84-74 win at Arkansas State Thursday night. Opening tip against Texas State is set for 3 p.m.