OPENING TIP
Little Rock continues its three-game road swing out west, beginning with a trip to Phoenix, Arizona, to face Grand Canyon on Saturday, November 18. The game against the Lopes tips at 8 p.m. CT at Grand Canyon Arena with a live video stream available through
GCUTV.com. Ray Tucker will call the game live on The Point 94.1 FM, available over the air and online at
KKPT.com.
RETURN TO THE VALLEY OF THE SUN
With the trip to Phoenix, Little Rock will make its second trip to Arizona in as many seasons, defeating Northern Arizona in Flagstaff 72-67 on December 14, 2016. This will be just the fourth time in program history the Trojans have played a game in the state of Arizona as Little Rock will have played each of the state's Division I programs once. Little Rock played Arizona in Tucson on December 19, 1987, dropping a 77-53 decision to the Wildcats, then fell 82-79 to Arizona State in Tempe on November 22, 2003.
GRAND CANYON CLASSIC
Little Rock's game at Grand Canyon Saturday begins a four-game stretch which comprises part of the Grand Canyon Classic. The five-team tournament includes Little Rock, host Grand Canyon, San Diego, Robert Morris and Norfolk State with games being played in Phoenix, San Diego and Little Rock. The Trojans' game at San Diego on November 20, followed by the home games against Robert Morris and Norfolk State on November 25 and 26 will all be part of the Thanksgiving week event. In addition to the two Little Rock home games, Robert Morris and Norfolk State will complete their portion of the tournament in Little Rock, playing a neutral site game at the Jack Stephens Center on Friday, November 24.
SCOUTING THE LOPES
2017-18: 2-0 overall, 0-0 Western Athletic Conference
Last Games: W, 67-51 vs. Florida A&M; W, 75-61 vs. Robert MorrisÂ
Head Coach: Dan Majerle (Central Michigan, 1988). Fifth season at Grand Canyon (83-46, .643)
Last Game Starters:
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#2 Joshua Braun (Sr., G): 15.5 ppg | 3.5 rpg | 45.8 FG% | 50.0 3PT% | 60.0 FT% | 4 ast. | 3 blks.
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#4 Oscar Frayer (So. F): 10.5 ppg | 6.5 rpg | 66.7 FG% | 50.0 3PT% | 75.0 FT% | 3 ast. | 4 stl. | 2 blks.
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#11 Casey Benson (Sr., G): 10.5 ppg | 4.5 rpg | 31.3 FG% | 20.0 3PT% | 71.4 FT% | 9 ast. | 1 stl.
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#12 Robert Blumbergs (Fr., F): 2.0 ppg | 2.0 rpg | 16.7 FG% | 0.0 3PT% | 100.0 FT% | 2 ast. | 2 stl.
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#24 Keonta Vernon (Sr., F): 7.5 ppg | 6.5 rpg | 40.0 FG% | 63.6 FT% | 3 stl. | 4 blk.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's game marks the first all-time meeting between Little Rock and Grand Canyon.Â
LAST TIME OUT
Little Rock gave Memphis all it could handle on its home court Tuesday evening, leading the Tiger for 32 minutes and by as many as 14. But a 22-11 run by Memphis over the final eight minutes thwarted the Trojan's upset attempt at the FedEx Forum as the Tigers escaped with a 70-62 victory. The Trojans shot 44.2% from the floor and held an edge in points in the paint (30-28), but Little Rock hit just seven of its 23 three-point attempts and shot 11 fewer free throws in the loss.
MEMORABLE STARTS
Freshman
Jaizec Lottie and junior
Camron Reedus made their first career starts as Trojans Tuesday at Memphis as the duo both but together memorable performances. Lottie led the team with 12 points and four assists, playing a team-high 34 minutes against the Tigers. Reedus was right behind with 11 points, shooting 3-of-9 from three point range, while adding a pair of assists in 27 minutes for Little Rock. Junior
Anthony Black, who made his first career start against Ouachita Baptist, finished with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting in 15 minutes off the bench.
WADLY'S BLOCK PARTY
Another bright spot early in the season has been the play of forward
Wadly Mompremier. A graduate transfer from Ohio, Mompremier frustrated Memphis in the first half, registering a career-best four blocks in the opening 20 minutes against the Tigers while grabbing four rebounds. Mompremier finished with seven points and seven rebounds to complement his four blocks. He is tied for third in the Sun Belt Conference in blocks per game (2.0) while tied for first in field goal percentage, hitting seven of his first nine shots of the season (.778).
SHARING THE ROCK
When it comes to scoring early in the 2017-18 season, the word "balanced" seems more than fitting. Through the first two games of the season, eight Trojans have scored between 19 and 14 points, averaging between 9.5 and 7.0 points per game.
Damir Hadzic and
Camron Reedus lead the team with 19 points each (9.5 ppg), followed by
Wadly Mompremier's 18 total points (9.0 ppg) and 17 from
Anthony Black (8.5 ppg). As a team, Little Rock is shooting 50.0 percent from the floor, ranking second in the Sun Belt Conference and tied for 72nd nationally.
WELCOME TO THE ROCK
Little Rock has a lot of new faces on their roster this year as the 11 newcomers is tied with Pitt for the most among Division I programs. One of the nation's most inexperienced teams, the Trojans return just 27.4 percent of its minutes and 24.2 percent of its scoring from 2016-17. Junior
Deondre Burns is Little Rock's top returning scorer, averaging 7.0 points per game last season, but has yet to play this season recovering from an offseason injury. Redshirt junior
Oliver Black posted 4.2 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 55.1 percent from the floor while sophomore
Andre Jones looks to build on his 3.5 points and 1.6 rebound average.
REPRESENTING THE NATURAL STATE
Little Rock basketball has established a strong tradition, and in recent years, the Trojans have continued to make their mark on college basketball. Since the 2010-11 season, Little Rock's 124 wins ranks second among Division I teams in the state of Arkansas as the Trojans are one of just two Natural State institutions to make a pair of NCAA Tournaments during that span, doing so in 2011 and 2016.
TROJANS AGAINST THE WAC
Little Rock has a limited history against the Western Athletic Conference, posting an 8-3 (.727) record against current members of the league. The Trojans are 4-1 all-time against Missouri-Kansas City and 4-2 against New Mexico State, meeting the Aggies twice a year from 2001-05 when they were a member of the Sun Belt Conference. Additionally, Little Rock was 16-2 all-time against UT-Pan American, but have not faced UT-Rio Grande Valley since the dissolvement of UTPA and the formation of UTRGV.
CLOSING IN ON 1,000
As the 2017-18 campaign gets underway, an impressive program milestone sits in the not-too-distant horizon for
Wes Flanigan's squad. Entering its 80th season, Little Rock has compiled an overall program record of 989-1,004 (.496), sitting just 11 wins shy of reaching 1,000 victories. The Trojans have accumulated 35 winning seasons in program history and have won 20 or more games 11 times, highlighted by the memorable 30-win campaign in 2016-17. The Trojans will also hit another big milestone on December 9 as the game in Conway against Central Arkansas will mark the 2,000th game in program history.
THEIR CITY. THEIR TEAM.
The Trojans have made an assertive effort to be known as Little Rocks Team, and that focus is apparent by looking at the Trojan roster. Six Trojans hail from the state of Arkansas, including five who played their high school ball in the city of Little Rock (
Kris Bankston - J.A. Fair H.S.;
Anthony Black - Hall H.S.;
Andre Jones - Malvern H.S.;
Ryan Pippins - Parkview H.S.;
Brandon Brady - Pulaski Academy). The other native Arkansan is
Ben Marcus, a native of Pine Bluff who played at Watson Chapel H.S.
TROJANS PICKED 10TH IN PRESEASON POLL
Little Rock enters 2017-18 knowing it will have its work cut out for it as the Trojans were picked 10th in the preseason Sun Belt Conference poll. The Trojans, who finished 15-17 and 6-12 in league play in 2016-17, garnered 37 points, sitting two ahead of 11th-place Appalachian State and six behind ninth-place South Alabama. UT Arlington was tabbed as the favorite to win the Sun Belt, picking up nine first place votes and 128 total points, with Georgia State (116 pts.), Troy (115 pts.), Georgia Southern (114 pts.) and Louisiana (113 pts.) separated by just three points in the number two through five position.
CALIFORNIA LOVE
Following Saturday's game in Phoenix, Little Rock will continue its road swing in California, traveling to San Diego for the first time since its 49-43 victory at San Diego State in 2015. The Trojans will be a little further west on Interstate 8, facing the University of San Diego on Monday, November 20 as part of the Grand Canyon Classic. Tip-off against the Toreros is set for 9 p.m. CT from the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
#LittleRocksTeam
