11 Dec 2024 Wilkinson’s big night powers Trojans past OBU

Senior forward Mwani Wilkinson scored 25 points and gave Little Rock a spark in the second half as the Trojans pulled away from Ouachita Baptist, 80-57, Tuesday night at the Jack Stephens Center.

Little Rock (6-4) only led the Tigers (5-3) 38-34 at halftime but Wilkinson and the Trojans got hot early in the second half and only allowed OBU 23 second-half points.

The Trojans embarked on a 12-2 run with and when Wilkinson, who scored 14 first-half points, dunked emphatically in the lane, Little Rock turned a six-point advantage into a 16-point cushion with 9:57 to play in the game. Wilkinson scored six points during that run.

OBU never got closer than that, and the Trojans cruised to the win. Wilkinson, who added seven rebounds, capped the career night with a three-pointer with 4:48 to play to give Little Rock its biggest lead of the game to that point.

Redshirt freshman Travonne Jackson had his biggest night at as a Trojan logging a season-high 31 minutes and scoring 15 points and grabbing four rebounds. Isaiah Lewis scored 12 points, dished out 4 assists and Johnathan Lawson added 11 points and 5 assists. Tuongthac Gatkek chipped in 7 points, 7 assists and 4 steals.

Little Rock only shot 59.3% for the game. The Trojans only shot 23.1% from the three-point line in the first half but came alive in the second half shooting 55.6% which pushed its game clip to 36.4%.

OBU, who turned the ball over 18 times, shot 54.2% in the first half but was held to 32% in the second half.  

Shaun Williams led OBU with 18 points, and Reggie Martin chipped in 13 points with Hobert Grayson adding 12.

The Trojans round out the nonconference schedule with the University of Illinois-Chicago at 1 p.m. on Sunday.