Little Rock Falls to Pepperdine in Lone Star Showcase
CEDAR PARK, Texas – Little Rock (3-2) could not overcome a poor shooting night from the floor in a 66-65 loss to Pepperdine (4-1) in its second game in the Lone Star Showcase at H-E-B Center.
Little Rock had three opportunities at the go-ahead basket in the final eight seconds. After Jalen Jackson’s jumper was short, Maurius Hill’s put-back spun in and out before going out of bounds off of Pepperdine.
With 1.7 seconds to play, head coach Wes Flanigan drew up a final play that got Kemy Osse an open 3 from the wing, but the senior’s shot was off the mark.
The Trojans finished the game shooting 36.4 percent from the floor and 25.0 percent from 3. The Waves shot 50.9 percent for the game, including 55.2 percent in the second half.
Lis Shoshi led Little Rock with a career-high matching 16 points – 14 in the second half – and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes. Jackson scored 13 and Marcus Johnson Jr. chipped in 12.
Jeremy Major led Pepperdine with 16 points and Chris Reyes scored 14.
Little Rock outrebounded Pepperdine 44-33, including 18-8 on the offensive end. The Trojans led 23-11 in second-chance points.
The Trojans led at halftime despite shooting 34.5 percent over the first 20 minutes. The Waves shot 46.2 percent, but Little Rock made 12 of 15 free throws compared to 3 of 8 for Pepperdine. The first half saw three tie scores as Little Rock never trailed before halftime.
Little Rock will play its third and final game in the Lone Star Showcase against Central Michigan on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
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Sims 17 pts spark Arkansas St past SIU Edwardsville, 75-57
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) Deven Simms came off the Arkansas State bench to score 17 points and lead the Red Wolves to a 75-57 win over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville Tuesday night.
Tre Harris hit a 3-pointer to get SIU Edwardsville within two, 26-24 with under two minutes to play in the first half and the Cougars trailed by only three at intermission. Christian Ellis converted a 3-point play and Carlos Anderson hit a jumper to give SIU Edwardsville the lead, 29-27 barely a minute into the second half.
Burak Eslik hit a pair of free throws with 15:03 left to give the Cougars a 39-33 lead, but Devin Carter hit a 3-pointer to spark an 22-4 run that gave Arkansas State command of the game for good, 55-43.
Carter finished with 14 points for Arkansas State (5-1).
Ellis finished with 13 points to lead SIU Edwardsville (2-3).
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Simonds scores 26 points in Georgia State's win over NJIT
CANCUN, Mexico (AP) D'Marcus Simonds scored 26 points and Georgia State came back from an early 10-point deficit to beat NJIT 74-53 in the opening game of the Cancun Challenge on Tuesday.
It was the freshman's best scoring performance, shooting 11 of 15. Isaiah Dennis added 10 points for the Panthers (2-2), who shot 57.1 percent, making 32 of 56, though they sank just 2 of 13 3-pointers and 8 of 16 free throws.
The Highlanders (2-3) made 10 3-pointers but shot just 34 percent overall, committed 21 turnovers and were outrebounded by 10. Damon Lynn led NJIT with 15 points and Osa Izevbuwa 13.
The Highlanders led 16-6 with 12:59 left in the first half but the Panthers finished the final four minutes on a 14-0 run to lead 39-27 at halftime.
NJIT cut the lead to eight early in the second half before the Panthers pulled away.
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Zouzoua's career-high 30 leads Bryant past ULM, 64-57
CHENEY, Wash. (AP) Nisre Zouzoua scored 19 of his career-high 30 points in the second half on Tuesday night to help Bryant beat Louisiana-Monroe 64-57 in the consolation game of the Legends Classic's Sub-Regional.
Zouzoua made 13 of 22 from the field for his third-straight game with 20-plus points
Sam McDaniel's 3-pointer with 15:57 to play gave ULM (1-4) its biggest lead, 37-30. But Zouzoua hit two 3s and scored 12 points during a 26-10 spurt that gave the Bulldogs a nine-point lead with 6 minutes remaining.
Bryant (2-3) shot 59 percent (16 of 27) in the second half, and finished with a season-low seven turnovers.
McDaniel led the Warhawks with 17 points and nine rebounds while Travis Munnings scored 10 with eight boards.
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Akron holds off Georgia Southern 75-67
AKRON, Ohio (AP) Isaiah Johnson scored 20 points, Antino Jackson added 19 more, including five 3-pointers, and Akron held off Georgia Southern for a 75-67 win Tuesday night.
Leading by as much as 14 in the second half, Akron (3-1) had to scramble to keep the advantage after Georgia Southern closed to within three on an 11-2 run capped by Ike Smith's jumper to make it 62-59 with 5:04 left.
Johnson hit a bucket at the other end, sparking a quick 7-0 burst and Akron held off the Eagles the rest of the way.
Jimond Ivey added 15 points for the Zips, who shot 46 percent from the field. Johnson was 8 for 9 from the field with 4-for-8 shooting from the free throw line, and Jackson finished with 5 of 8 from long range and distributed six assists.
Smith led Georgia Southern (1-3) with 23 points, and Tookie Brown had 15.
ULM made 24 of 63 (38 percent) from the field, including 7 of 25 (28 percent) from 3-point range.
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