LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – DeVante’ Jones tied his career-high with 32 points and freshman Tim Ceaser added a career-high 19, but it was not enough as the Chants fell 96-79 to league-leading Little Rock.
CCU (11-11/4-7 Sun Belt) fell behind by as many as 26 points (61-35) only to come back and cut the lead to 13 twice in the second half, but could get no closer in the 17-point loss.
Tommy Burton joined the duo in double-digits with 13 points as CCU finished the game only shooting 38 percent from the field and 17 percent on their three-point attempts.
The Chanticleers battled the much-taller Trojans on the boards and actually out rebounded the conference leaders 44-37. Burton led the way with eight and Jones added seven.
The game saw a total of 60 fouls called, with 35 of those on the Chanticleers. LR took advantage of their charity stripe visits knocking down 39-of-47 for 83 percent while CCU shot 67 percent, hitting 23-of-33.
The Trojans (16-7/10-2 Sun Belt) had five players reach double-digits led by Marko Lukic who came off the bench to score 22. He scored 12 of his points at the free throw line. Ruot Monyyong added 17 and completed a double-double with a game-high 13 rebounds.
Marquis Nowell scored 14, with nine of those coming at the free throw line. LR’s leading scorer was only 2-of-13 from the field. Nikola Maric also came off the bench to add 13 points and Kamani Johnson scored 11.
LR carried a 58-35 lead into the locker room at halftime, largely by hitting 26-of-29 free throws in the first half. Lukic led the way with 16 points while Monyyong had 13 and Nowell scored 10.
The Chants once again struggled from the field only shooting 27 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes. Jones led the way with 12 and Burton had 10.
The Chants will continue their road swing through Arkansas when they face Arkansas State Saturday, Feb. 1 at 5 p.m. E.T.
Courtesy – Coastal Carolina Athletics
