Trojans Try To Extend Streak Against Bobcats Saturday

OPENING TIP
Another of the Sun Belt's best heads to the Jack Stephens Center as Little Rock closes out its Lone Star home stand facing first place Texas State Saturday at 3 p.m. Ben Creighton and U.S. Reed will have the call on ESPN+ while Ray Tucker will once again carry the radio call live on The Point 94.1 FM and online at KKPT.com.

STARTING FIVE
• Little Rock and Texas State meet for the 14th time Saturday with the Trojans holding an 8-5 lead in the all-time series. The Bobcats have won the last three, however, including the 80-62 win in San Marcos on January 17.
• Little Rock has won three-straight games for the first time since a five-game winning streak early in the 2016-17 season. It is also the first three-game Sun Belt winning streak since a six-game span late in the 2015-16 season.
• Kris Bankston officially joined the Trojan record books, hitting his 90th field goal this season to qualify as the program's single season field goal percentage leader at 81.1% in 2018-19.
• Rayjon Tucker registered his fifth double-double of the season in the win over UT Arlington, his 23rd game finishing in double figures. Over the last three games, Tucker has scored 41 of his 59 points in the second half.
• With three more dunks Thursday, Little Rock upped its season dunk total to 95. Kris Bankston has 59 of those for the Trojans, ranking third nationally.

THE RACE FOR NEW ORLEANS
Little Rock's victory over UT Arlington Thursday night vaulted the Trojans into a much more favorable position as the stretch run for the Sun Belt Tournament looms. The Trojans sit at 5-7 in Sun Belt play, tied for eighth with South Alabama, but if the tournament started today, Little Rock would earn the eight seed due to its sweep of the Jaguars, meaning the Trojans would host a first round tournament game at the Jack Stephens Center against the number nine seed.

BACK IN THE BELT
The 2018-19 season marks Little Rock's 28th year as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, joining the league in the 1991-92 season. During that stretch, the Trojans have posted a 241-229 (.513) record in conference play. Little Rock and UT Arlington have been Sun Belt rivals since the Mavericks joined the league in the 2013-14 season.

IRON MAN
Rayjon Tucker continues to be a mainstay on the court for Little Rock as the redshirt junior is averaging 36:24 minutes per game - first in the Sun Belt and 30th nationally. Tucker has played 35 or more minutes in 17 of his 24 games this season, playing 40 or more minutes five times. That time on the court has allowed him to put up some impressive numbers, ranking fifth in the Sun Belt in points per game (20.1), sixth in field goal percentage (49.2%), sixth in three-pointers (2.2) and third in defensive rebounds (6.0). Heading into the weekend, Tucker ranked 20th nationally in free throws made and 22nd in free throw attempts as his 134 made free throws already rank seventh in a single season in program history.

TROJANS AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
As a team, Little Rock finds itself ranked among the national leaders in a number of categories. Entering the weekend, the Trojans ranked ninth nationally in field goal percentage at 49.3%, second in the Sun Belt. Little Rock is one of the nation's top teams in getting to the foul line, ranking 20th nationally with 573 attempts, while ranking 58th in turnovers forced (15.2), 74th in assists per game (14.9) and 78th in scoring (77.1 ppg).

BANKSTON ENTERS RECORD BOOK
Kris Bankston officially entered the Little Rock record book Thursday night in the win over UT Arlington. Bankston went 5-of-8 from the field, making his 90th field goal of the year to reach the minimum to be listed among field goal percentage leaders. His season average of 81.1% (90-of-111) ranks as the top performance ever in program history, shattering the previous record of 65.0% set by Ryan Moss in the 1997-98 season. For his career, Bankston is shooting 73.4% from the floor (138-of-188), which would be nearly 90 points higher than Moss' 64.7% clip as he needs 62 more field goals to reach the minimum.

THREE-STRAIGHT
Little Rock's win over UT Arlington marked the Trojans' third-straight win, the first time the Trojans had won at least three games in a row since winning five straight from Nov. 23 - Dec. 19, 2016. It also marks the first time Little Rock had won three-straight Sun Belt Conference games since a six-game streak from Feb. 13 - Mar. 3, 2016.

DOUBLE DOUBLE TUCKER TUCKER
Rayjon Tucker picked up his fifth double-double of the year Thursday night in the win over UT Arlington, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Tucker scored all 11 of his points in the second half against the Mavericks and has been an intimidating force over the final 20 minutes during this three-game winning streak, scoring 41 of his 59 points after halftime in the last three games.

BALANCED SCORING
Head coach Darrell Walker has strived for balance offensively and it is something that has been reflected in the box score this season. Little Rock had five different players score in double figures in the win over UT Arlington, marking the 16th game this season four or more Trojans finished with 10 points or more.  It also marks the fourth time this season five Little Rock players have finished in double figures and the first since the game at Memphis on December 19.

INSIDE, STRONG SIDE
One of the strengths of Little Rock's offense is its play inside as the Trojans have outscored their opponents 834-662 in points in the paint this season, averaging 33.4 points per game inside. Little Rock's bigs came through in a big way inside against UT Arlington as Kris Bankston (11), Nikola Maric (10) and Dani Koljanin (10) combined for 31 of Little Rock's 56 points against the Mavericks while Little Rock also held a 45-35 rebounding edge, the second-most boards in a game by the Trojans this season.

THROW IT DOWN, BIG MEN
Little Rock is earning a reputation as one of the nation's top dunking teams as the Trojans have recorded 95 dunks through the first 25 games of the 2018-19 season, averaging 3.8 dunks per game. Kris Bankston has become the poster boy for slams for Little Rock with 59 of his 90 field goals coming off dunks (65.6%), upping his career dunk total to 77. Little Rock has more than doubled-up its opponents thus far in 2018-19, out-dunking the competition 95-46. 

2018-19 TROJAN DUNKS                                                
• 59 - Kris Bankston (High of 6 at Tennessee State, 11/13/18)
• 22 - Rayjon Tucker (High of 4 vs. Two Teams)
• 9 - Kamani Johnson (High of 2 vs. South Alabama, 1/12/19)
• 4 - Horace Wyatt Jr. (High of 2 vs. Central Arkansas, 12/8/18)
• 1 - Deondre Burns (High of 1 vs. South Alabama, 1/12/19)

LAST TIME OUT
Little Rock picked up its third-straight win, grinding out a defensive struggle against UT Arlington in a 56-52 victory at the Jack Stephens Center Thursday night. Trailing by nine in the first half, Little Rock stormed back to take a one-point lead at the half, then built a 10-point second half lead before watching the Mavericks rally. Trailing by one with just under four minutes to play, the Trojans closed out the game on an 8-1 run, led by a double-double from Rayjon Tucker.

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
2018-19: 20-5 overall, 9-3 Sun Belt (1st), 8-3 on the road
Last Three Games: W at Arkansas State (84-74); W vs. Coastal Carolina (65-57); W vs. Appalachian State (74-71)
Series: Little Rock leads, 8-5 (.615) | Streak: Texas State won 3 | First: Dec. 21, 1994 (L, 66-65) | Last: Jan. 17, 2019 (L, 80-62) 
Head Coach: Danny Kaspar (North Texas, 1978). Sixth season at Texas State (94-93); 28th season overall (559-286)
Key Players:
• #22 Nijal Pearson (Jr., G): 18.3 ppg., 5.1 rpg., 44.9 FG%
• #2 Tre Nottingham (Sr., G): 13.8 ppg., 3.8 rpg., 37.5 FG%
• #23 Alex Peacock (Sr., F): 8.5 ppg., 6.6 rpg., 43.0 FG%
• #45 Eric Terry (Jr., F): 8.1 ppg., 3.6 rpg., 67.7 FG%
• #35 Jaylen Shead (Jr., G): 7.8 ppg., 4.3 rpg., 46.9 FG%

LAST TIME vs. THE  BOBCATS
Little Rock held a one-point lead at halftime against Texas State in San Marcos on Thursday, January 17, but a 23-5 Bobcat run early in the second half pushed Texas State's lead to 18. Little Rock made a final run late in the second half, led by 18 points from Rayjon Tucker and 14 from Deondre Burns, but another run by the Bobcats propelled Texas State to the 80-62 victory.

#LittleRocksTeam