Coastal Carolina falls at home to Little Rock

Conway, S.C. – Senior forward Tommy Burton registered his fourth double-double of the season, but Coastal Carolina was otherwise held in check as Little Rock stayed tied for the league lead with a 71-55 win over the Chanticleers in a Sun Belt Conference game Thursday night at the HTC Center. The loss dropped CCU to 11-8 overall and 4-4 in the conference, while the Trojans, who never trailed in the game and led by as many as 20 points in the final minutes, improved to 12-7 and 6-2.

Burton finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Keishawn Brewton had 10 points and was the only other Coastal player in double figures. In contrast, Little Rock had five players with 10 or more points, led by junior guard Jaizec Lotte, who had 17. The key player in the game, however, was junior center Ruot Monyyong. The 6-10 big man had 11 points and 15 rebounds to go along with seven blocks and two three-pointers.

The 55 points by Coastal was its lowest scoring output of the season. The Chanticleers came into the game averaging 80 points in seven previous conference games. On a cold shooting night, Coastal hit just 23-73 (32%) from the field and made just five three-pointers. Sophomore guard DeVante' Jones was also held to just eight points, a rare time this season that he was held under 10 points.

Little Rock hit better than half of its shots (28-55), made more free throws than Coastal, and outrebounded the Chanticleers (44-40). They also had four dunks.

"They're a very good team, so give them credit," said Coastal head coach Cliff Ellis. "Their length really bothered us, but we made some bad decisions and took too many contested shots. We didn't have anyone who played well tonight. But we have to put this one behind us and take care of business on Saturday."

Little Rock took control from the start, with Lotte doing the scoring and Monyyong doing the rebounding. The Trojans went on a late 8-0 run to hold a 33-20 lead at the half. Lotte had 11 points in the period, while Monyyong already had 10 rebounds.

Coastal continues its three-game home stand by hosting Arkansas State at 2 pm. Saturday. The Chanticleers will then enjoy a week off before welcoming Appalachian State at 2 p.m. next Saturday (Jan. 25).