Trojans Close 2018-19 Season Saturday Hosting ULM

OPENING TIP
Little Rock closes out the 2018-19 season at home Saturday, facing ULM in a 3 p.m. tip at the Jack Stephens Center. Ben Creighton and U.S. Reed will call the game on ESPN+ with Ray Tucker handling the radio play-by-play duties for the Trojans on The Point 94.1 FM.

STARTING FIVE
• Little Rock and ULM meet for the 35th time with the Trojans holding an 18-16 lead in the all-time series. Little Rock is 11-5 all-time against ULM in Little Rock but have lost two-straight to the Warhawks dating back to last year.
•  With the Trojans' 77-72 loss to Louisiana Thursday night, coupled with Appalachian State's 72-64 win over Troy, Little Rock was officially eliminated from contention for the Sun Belt tournament. 
• Rayjon Tucker enters Saturday with 593 points on the year, ranking sixth in program history, and needs just seven points to become the fifth Trojan to score 600 points in a season and the first since Malik Dixon in 1996-97.
• Kris Bankston went 5-for-7 against Louisiana and remains comfortably atop the single-season field goal percentage lead at 81.3%. Bankston also threw down four dunks against the Ragin' Cajuns, upping his season total to 69.
• Nikola Maric continues to make a case for Sun Belt Freshman of the Year, registering his second double-double of the year against Louisiana and upping his season scoring average to 10.9 ppg.

OVER AND OUT
Unfortunately for the Trojans, Saturday's game against ULM will be for nothing more than bragging rights and a positive ending to close the season. With the Trojans' 77-72 loss to Louisiana Thursday night, coupled with Appalachian State's 72-64 win over Troy, Little Rock was officially eliminated from contention for the Sun Belt tournament. Little Rock can end the year in a unique situation, however, as a win over ULM would give the Trojans a victory in its final game of the season for the first time since the 1979-80 season.

FINISHING AT THE JACK
For the first time since the 2013-14 season, Little Rock will close out the regular season at the Jack Stephens Center, a home where the Trojans have posted a 131-77 (.633) record since the doors opened in 2005. Little Rock is 7-8 on its home court this season as the Trojans seek to record their 13th season with a winning record at home in the 14 years the Jack has served as Little Rock's home court.

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 241-234 (.507) record in conference play. Little Rock and ULM have competed as Sun Belt rivals since the 2006-07 season with the Trojans holding a 13-12 edge against the Warhawks since joining the league.

IRON MAN
Rayjon Tucker has been a mainstay on the court for Little Rock this season, compiling 1,068 minutes in his 29 games played this season, ranking 26th nationally in minutes played (36:40 per game). Tucker has been on the floor for 88.3% of the time for the Trojans this season, despite missing the entire game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff due to an injury. The Charlotte, North Carolina native has played 35 or more minutes in 22 games this year, playing 40 or more minutes on seven occasions, eclipsing the 1,000-minute mark Saturday at Georgia State.

CLOSING IN ON 600
With a 19-point performance against Louisiana Thursday, Rayjon Tucker continues to move up the single season record list. With 593 points, Tucker ranks sixth on the Trojans' single season list, needing just four points to match Solomon Bozeman's 597 in 2010-11 for fifth. Tucker needs just seven points to become the fifth player in Trojan history to score 600 points in a season and the first since Malik Dixon in 1996-97.

TUCKER REACHES 1,000...
Rayjon Tucker reached a career milestone against Georgia Southern Thursday, surpassing 1,000 points for his Division I career. Tucker scored 471 points in two years at Florida Gulf Coast and currently has 593 in his first year with the Trojans, putting him at 1,064 for his collegiate career. Tucker has finished in double figures in 28 of his 29 games played this year, surpassing the 20-point plateau on 15 occasions, and ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in scoring at 20.4 points per game.

...TIMES TWO
In addition to reaching 1,000 points, Rayjon Tucker also surpassed 1,000 minutes played, doing so in just 28 games. Tucker becomes the fourth player on the active roster to reach 1,000 career minutes, sitting at 1,068. Jaizec Lottie is the active leader with 1,478, followed by Deondre Burns (1,302) and Kris Bankston (1,106).

BANKSTON ATOP RECORD BOOK
Kris Bankston has officially entered the Trojan record book as he now sits atop the program's single season field goal percentage list. Bankston has made 109 of his 134 field goal attempts for 81.3%, shattering the previous record of 65.0% set by Ryan Moss in the 1997-98 season. For his career, Bankston is shooting 74.4% from the floor (157-of-211), which would be nearly 100 percentage points higher than Moss' 64.7% clip, needing 43 more made field goals to reach the minimum.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE CLUB
Nikola Maric registered the second double-double of his Trojan career Thursday against Louisiana, finishing with 24 points and 10 rebounds against the Ragin' Cajuns. He is one of two Trojans to accomplish the feat with Rayjon Tucker doing so six times. Maric continues to make a push for Sun Belt Freshman of the Year, averaging 10.9 points per game as he has become an offensive priority for Little Rock over the second half of the Sun Belt season, averaging 12 shots and 15 points over the last six games.

PLAYING FROM BEHIND
Little Rock has put itself in substantial holes this season as the Trojans have found themselves trailing by double digits in 22 games this season, including 18 in the second half. Little Rock has rallied to win just two of those games, the last of which came at South Alabama when the Trojans trailed by 10 in the first half and by nine at halftime. Little Rock has faced a double digit challenge in 13 of 17 Sun Belt games.

DUNK CENTURY CLUB
Little Rock is earning a reputation as one of the nation's top dunking teams as the Trojans registered nine dunks against Louisiana Thursday night, uppign their season total to 116. Little Rock is out-dunking its opponents 116-62, led by 69 on the year from Kris Bankston, upping his career total to 87. Rayjon Tucker has added 26 with Nikola Maric throwing down a season-high three slams against the Ragin' Cajuns. 

LAST TIME OUT
Little Rock rallied from a 10-point first half deficit to build a 12-point advantage over Louisiana midway through the second half. But an 18-5 Ragin' Cajun run turned the tide and Little Rock couldn't get late shots to fall in a 77-72 defeat Thursday night. The loss squandered a double-double from Nikola Maric who finished with 24 and 10.  

SCOUTING THE WARHAWKS
2018-19: 15-14 overall, 8-9 Sun Belt (7th), 3-12 on the road
Last Three Games: L at Arkansas State (73-72); L vs. Coastal Carolina (97-91); W vs. Appalachian State (81-75)
Series: Little Rock leads, 18-16 (.514) | Streak: ULM won 2 | First: 1954-55 (L, 83-81) | Last: Jan. 3, 2019 (L, 97-84) 
Head Coach: Keith Richard (ULM, 1982). Ninth season at ULM (108-172); 18th season overall (258-289)
Key Players:
• #5 Daishon Smith (Sr., G): 22.4 ppg., 4.4 rpg., 46.3 FG%, 85.9 FT%
• #2 Michael Ertel (So., G): 15.3 ppg., 2.8 rpg., 4.30 FG%, 91.1 FT%
• #1 Travis Munnings (Sr., F): 14.0 ppg., 7.6 rpg., 44.4 FG%
• #3 J.D. Williams (Jr., G): 12.4 ppg., 3.9 rpg., 44.7 FG%
• #10 Tyree White (Jr., F): 4.8 ppg., 3.0 rpg., 54.4 FG%

LAST TIME vs. THE  WARHAWKS
Little Rock had one of its best offensive productions of the season at ULM on January 3, 2019, shooting 62.0% from the floor and 54.5% from three-point range. But a double-digit first half Warhawk lead, coupled with a 42-point performance from ULM's Daishon Smith, proved too much as Little Rock fell to ULM 97-84.

#LittleRocksTeam