LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Little Rock had five players finish in double figures and held a lead in the waning seconds of regulation, but ULM rallied to send the game to overtime and pulled away from the Trojans to hand Little Rock a 75-72 loss Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center.
Little Rock’s five starters combined for 70 of Little Rock’s 72 points on the afternoon as all five played at least 38 minutes in the showdown with the Warhawks. The Trojans were led by 19 from Isaiah Palermo on 7-of-10 shooting with nine rebounds, just missing his second double-double of the season, adding three steals and a block.
Jordan Jefferson finished with 18 points, going 6-of-15 from the floor, with two rebounds, a steal and a block. Myron Gardner posted 13 points with six rebounds and a pair of steals while C.J. White and D.J. Smith both tallied 10 points for Little Rock, combining for nine assists between the two.
For the game, Little Rock shot 44.2%, making 23-of-52 from the floor and 9-of-25 (36.0%) from beyond the arc. The Trojans remained efficient at the free throw line, making 17-of-20 (85.0%), led by a 5-of-6 outing for Gardner.
For the first time since the conference opener against Georgia Southern, Little Rock held the rebounding edge at 34-26, outscoring ULM 8-0 on second chance points with a 9-4 offensive rebounding lead. But the Warhawks doubled up the Trojans in the paint at 32-16 and dominated on the fast break, outscoring Little Rock 21-0.
It was a tightly contested game throughout as neither team led by more than five points for the duration as the Trojans and Warhawks combined for 15 ties and 18 lead changes. Little Rock held the lead for the majority of the first half, pushing its lead to five with 3:52 remaining off a layup from Gardner and a three from Palermo to take a 26-21 lead.
ULM would rally to tie it twice, then take a 31-29 lead off a 5-0 run with 1:08 to play, a deficit that was trimmed to one at 31-30 when Gardner made one of two free throws in the closing seconds of the first half. The Trojans shot 47.6% in the opening 20 minutes, making 4-of-10 from three but committing 11 turnovers.
The second half was more of the back-and-forth affair with neither team leading by more than four. The Warhawks built a 36-32 lead early in the half, only to see the Trojans respond to flip the script at 41-37 off a 9-1 run. Little Rock would maintain the lead for the majority of the half, pushing its lead to five at 63-58 with 4:30 remaining off a three from Palermo.
But the Trojans went cold from the field and managed just one free throw from Jefferson with 20 seconds remaining as ULM pulled to within two at 64-62. Former Trojan Andre Jones was fouled with seven seconds left and hit both free throws, tying the game at 64-64, as Smith’s potential game-winning shot from the corner as time expired fell short, sending the game to overtime.
In the bonus period, the Trojans and Warhawks combined for four ties and five lead changes, beginning with an and-one from White at the 4:23 mark to put Little Rock on top 67-66. After a pair of Warhawk free throws gave ULM the 68-67 lead, a three from Jefferson put Little Rock back on top 70-68 with 2:59 remaining.
But that would be the final basket for the Trojans as a pair of free throws from Palermo with 1:20 to go tied the game at 72-72. ULM would convert 7-of-8 of their free throws in the overtime period, then made a pair of key stops late to preserve the win.
ULM shot 45.3% for the game and 41.2% from beyond the arc, knocking down 20 of its 22 free throws (90.9%). Jones, the Little Rock native, led all scorers with 30 points in his return to the Jack Stephens Center, going 10-of-17 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the line. Kareem Ozier added 16 points for the Warhawks.
Little Rock now gets set to embark on a challenging four-game road trip, beginning in the state of Alabama. The first test for the Trojans is a meeting with South Alabama Thursday in Mobile, tipping at 7 p.m.
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