Little Rock, Ark.-The University of the Ozarks men's basketball team hung tough for one half, but couldn't keep the NCAA I Little Rock Trojans from taking a 100-61 win Monday night before an announced crowd of 1,781.
The Trojans improve to 2-0 on the season. The Eagles' record remains 0-0 (exhibition game).
Ozarks played well in the first half, shooting 53 percent from the field to stay within striking distance of the Trojans. Ozarks trailed 47-35 at the half, but were within single digits on multiple occasions. Jerome Luster drilled a three-pointer and Jace Richardson followed with a layup to pull the Eagles within 22-15 at the 9:54 mark of the first half. The Trojans fought back to move ahead by 15 points with less than five minutes left in the half. Luster drilled both of his three-point attempts and hit a free throw to score seven points in the first half. Little Rock held a 17-9 rebound advantage at the half. Richardson finished the first half with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor. Ozarks helped the cause by hitting 5-of-11 from the three-point line in the first half.
Ozarks opened the second half with a shot from Richardson to pull within 47-37, but that would be as close as the Eagles would get. The Trojans went on a 16-4 run over the next five minutes to move ahead by 22 points. Little Rock then controlled the rest of the game to pull away with a win.
Josh Berard led Ozarks with 17 points, while Richardson finished with 16. Ozarks shot 44 percent from the field in the game, while Little Rock hit 59 percent.
Marius Hill led the Trojans with 20 points. Four others reached double figures in scoring for Little Rock.
Ozarks will host Arlington Baptist in its regular season-opener November 17.
