Trojans, Bears Renew Rivalry Wednesday at the Jack

Game 7: Little Rock vs. Central Arkansas
Date	Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017
Time	6:30 p.m.
Location	Little Rock, Ark.
Arena	Jack Stephens Center
Records	LR (1-5) | UCA (4-3)
Watch	Little Rock All-Access
Radio	The Point 94.1 FM
Stats	TrojanStats.com
Notes	Little Rock | Central Arkansas
Promotion	Free Little Rock Trojan fanny packs to the first 400 fans

OPENING TIP
Little Rock continues its four game home stand with a familiar name, welcoming rival Central Arkansas south of the river. The Trojans and Bears resume their rivalry at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 29 at the Jack Stephens Center in the front half of the team's home-and-home series. The game against the Bears will be streamed live at Little Rock All-Access on LRTrojans.com with Ray Tucker calling the action over the air on The Point 94.1 FM and online at KKPT.org.

HOME SWEET HOME
Since 2005, Little Rock has called the Jack Stephens Center home, and the venue has helped the Trojans become one of the Sun Belt's toughest home teams. Little Rock has posted a 121-61 record (.665) at the Jack since the doors opened in 2005, including a 54-20 mark (.730) against non-conference foes. The Trojans have posted a winning home record every year at the Jack Stephens Center, winning 10 or more home games on five occasions.

TOUGH STRETCH OUT OF THE GATE
The start of Little Rock's 2017-18 season has been anything but easy as the Trojans have gone head-to-head with some strong teams out of the gate. The Trojans' first six opponents of the year have posted an combined record of 18-11 with Ouachita Baptist (3-1), Memphis (3-1), Grand Canyon (4-1), San Diego (5-0) and Robert Morris (3-3) all sitting at .500 or better. Central Arkansas will add to that tough early season resume as the Bears enter Wednesday night's game at 4-3 on the year, including taking national powerhouse UCLA to overtime on November 15.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
2017-18: 4-3 overall, 0-0 Southland Conference
Last Three Games: W vs. Morehead State (82-78); L at Tulsa (92-72); W at South Carolina State (73-64) 
Head Coach: Russ Pennell (Central Arkansas, 1984). First season at Central Arkansas (4-3, .571)
Projected Starters:
- #1 Jordan Howard (Sr., G): 24.7 ppg | 2.6 rpg | 48.3 FG% | 42.6 3PT% | 79.5 FT% | 26 ast. | 7 stl.
- #2 Ethan Lee (Sr., F): 6.3 ppg | 5.0 rpg | 60.0 FG% | 57.1 FT% | 9 ast. | 4 blk. | 4 stl.
- #10 Mathieu Kamba (Sr., G): 11.1 ppg | 5.1 rpg | 47.6 FG% | 25.0 3PT% | 57.1 FT% | 11 ast. | 7 blk. | 7 stl. 
- #15 Hayden Koval (Fr., C): 9.4 ppg | 4.7 rpg | 50.0 FG% | 38.9 3PT% | 56.3 FT% | 7 ast. | 15 blk.
- #25 Thatch Unruh (Jr., G): 8.6 ppg | 2.1 rpg | 48.8 FG% | 33.3 3PT% | 73.3 FT% | 24 ast. | 9 stl.

SERIES HISTORY
Separated by just 33 miles, Little Rock and Central Arkansas meet for the 36th time Wednesday evening with the Bears holding a 23-12 edge in the all-time series, which dates back to the Trojans' first season of basketball in 1930-31. The Bears dominated the series between 1930 and 1974, winning 23 of the 25 games played between the two. However, that momentum has swung in Little Rock's favor with the Trojans winning the last 10 games between the two teams, including sweeping last year's meetings. The Trojans outlasted the Bears 89-87 in overtime in Conway before defeating Central Arkansas 70-59 at the Jack Stephens Center.

LAST TIME OUT
Little Rock notched its first win of the 2017-18 season Sunday afternoon, racing out to a sizable first half lead on Norfolk State and never looked back, defeating the Spartans 70-55. The Trojans led by as many as 26 in the second half, shooting 52.0 percent from the floor while holding Norfolk State to just 29.5 percent shooting and forcing 21 turnovers. 

BALANCED ATTACK
The Trojans epitomized the definition of balanced scoring in their win over Norfolk State Sunday as Little Rock had 10 different players register points, but nobody reached double figures. Andre Jones, Jaizec Lottie, Camron Reedus and Wadly Mompremier each finished with nine points in the victory over the Spartans with Cameron Corcoran and Ben Marcus adding eight apiece. The last time the Trojans had a game in which nobody reached double figures was a 77-51 loss at Louisiana on February 6, 2010.

PRESENCE IN THE PAINT
One area that has been a strength for Little Rock in 2017-18 has been its play in the paint. The Trojans have outscored their opponents 184-120 in the paint this season, averaging 30.7 points per game inside. This past weekend, Little Rock dominated the key, doubling up Robert Morris 36-18 while holding a commanding 38-10 edge over Norfolk State in the paint as the Trojans have held the edge in five of their six games this season. Oliver Black has made his presence felt, averaging 6.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, with Ben Marcus adding 6.5 points per game while shooting an eye popping 81.8 percent from the floor

JONES LEADING THE CHARGE
Sophomore Andre Jones has emerged as Little Rock's top offensive threat in the early going, averaging 9.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in 2017-18. But Little Rock's offense has favored balance as five other Trojans are averaging between 7.2 and 6.2 points per game, led by Damir Hadzic's 7.2 ppg average. Ben Marcus (6.7), Oliver Black (6.5), Camron Reedus (6.3) and Jaizec Lottie (6.2) are each averaging over six points a game as the Trojans are shooting 44.4 percent from the floor as a team.

WADLY'S BLOCK PARTY
For the second time this season, Wadly Mompremier registered four blocks in a game, deflecting four Norfolk State shots in the Trojans' 70-55 win Sunday. That matched his career high set earlier this season at Memphis (Nov. 14) as he finished with five rebounds and an assist in the victory. Mompremier's nine blocks is the fifth-most in the Sun Belt Conference this season and the most since Lis Shoshi's five blocks at Texas State last year.

TROJANS AMONG SUN BELT LEADERS
A number of Trojans rank among the leaders in the Sun Belt Conference through the first three weeks of the 2017-18 season, highlighted by Ben Marcus' 81.8 field goal percentage ranking tops among all SBC players. Wadly Mompremier ranks fifth in blocked shots per game (1.5), followed by Cameron Corcoran sitting sixth in free throw percentage (84.6%) with Oliver Black tied for 10th in rebounding (7.2 rpg) and Jaizec Lottie ranking 10th in assists per game (2.8).

TROJANS AGAINST THE SOUTHLAND
Little Rock has an extensive history against the Southland Conference, posting an 84-81 (.509) record against current members of the league. A handful of Southland Conference schools were once fellow league members of the Trojans in either the TAAC or the Sun Belt, including Houston Baptist, Lamar, New Orleans, Nicholls, Northwestern State, Southeastern Louisiana and Stephen F. Austin. The Trojans have faced New Orleans the most of all current Southland schools, facing the Privateers 36 times, followed by 35 meetings against Central Arkansas. Little Rock will play three games against the Southland Conference in 2017-18, comprised of the home-and-home series with UCA and a December 15th game at Sam Houston State.
    
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. Playing its 80th season of basketball, Little Rock has compiled an overall program record of 990-1,007 (.496), sitting just 10 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.

REPRESENTING THE NATURAL STATE
Wednesday night's game will be a showcase of basketball talent for the Natural State as a combined 11 players will hail from the state of Arkansas (six for Little Rock, five for Central Arkansas). Additionally, the city of Little Rock will be well represented as six combined players call Arkansas' capital city home.

RISE UP FOR THE ROCK
Little Rock closes out its four game home stand Saturday, December 2, facing Oral Roberts. The game against the Golden Eagles concludes Little Rock's "Rise Up For The Rock" week, leading the Trojans into a stretch where they will play four of their next five games on the road. Opening tip against ORU is set for 3 p.m. 

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