Little Rock tops CMU, wins Lone Star Showcase

CEDAR PARK , Texas – Little Rock (4-2) won the Lone Star Showcase Championship with a 91-79 win over Central Michigan (4-2) on Wednesday at H-E-B Arena.

The Trojans were crowned champs after they and St. Bonaventure both finished the showcase with 2-1 records. Little Rock’s win over the Bonnies on Monday served as the tiebreaker.

Little Rock finished the game shooting 66 percent from the floor, including 69.2 percent after halftime.

Four Trojans finished in double figures, including Jalen Jackson with a career-high 24 points on a perfect 8-of-8 effort from the field. Kemy Osse scored a career-high 20 on 6-of-9 shooting. Marcus Johnson Jr. and Maurius Hill both scored 14 points.

Down three at the break, the Trojans hit 5 of their first 7 shots to start the second half, building a four-point lead by the under-16 media timeout.

With the score tied at 57 with 12:45 to play, Little Rock went on a 13-2 run capped by a Jackson 3 that put the Trojans up 70-57 at the 8:46 mark.

Central Michigan stormed back to pull within two, 81-79, with 2:06 to play. But consecutive defensive stops and jumpers by Johnson pushed Little Rock’s lead back out to six with under a minute to play.

Marcus Keene led all scorers with 32 points, making 6 of 15 3s on the night. The Chippewas knocked down 13 treys as a team.

Little Rock trailed Central Michigan 45-42 at halftime despite shooting over 60 percent from the floor over the first 20 minutes. The Chippewas finished the half shooting 37.8 percent, but made eight 3-pointers and all nine of their foul shots.

Osse score 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting and Burns scored eight on 3-of-4 shooting in the first half.

Little Rock will be back in action on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at Central Arkansas. Tipoff at the Farris Center is set for 7:30 p.m.