| GAME 20 | APPALACHIAN STATE |
| Date |
Saturday, January 18 |
| Time |
3:30 p.m. CT |
| Location |
Boone, N.C. |
| Arena |
Holmes Convocation Center |
| Records |
Little Rock (12-7, 6-2 SBC)
Appalachian State (10-9, 4-4 SBC) |
| Watch |
ESPN+ |
| Listen |
The Point 94.1 FM |
| Live Stats |
TrojanStats.com |
| Notes |
Little Rock | Appalachian State |
LITTLE ROCK - A challenging road trip continues Saturday when Little Rock heads to Boone, North Carolina, for a meeting with Appalachian State. Opening tip against the Mountaineers from the Holmes Convocation Center is set for 3:30 p.m. CT and will stream live on ESPN+.
"Thursday was another big win for this program as a number of guys continue to step up for us," said head coach
Darrell Walker. "Any time you can get a win on the road in this conference, its a big deal, and I was especially proud with our defensive effort against one of the league's top offensive teams. Saturday will be a different battle with two defensive minded programs but we're excited for the challenge."
GAME STORYLINES
• Little Rock and Appalachian State meet for the 13th time Saturday with the teams splitting the first 12 meetings. The Mountaineers have won the last four against the Trojans as Little Rock is 2-3 all-time in Boone with the last win a 76-68 victory on January 7, 2017.
• Little Rock had a handful of firsts in the win over Coastal Carolina Thursday. The win was the first for the Trojans over the Chanticleers (0-5 previously), the first for the Little Rock program in the state of South Carolina (0-3 previously) and the first win for the Trojans in the Eastern time zone since the victory at Appalachian State in 2017 (0-9 previously).
•
Ruot Monyyong notched his seventh-straight double-double and 11th of the season against Coastal Carolina Thursday, ranking first in the Sun Belt Conference and fifth nationally.
• A pair of Trojans flirted with a triple-double against Coastal Carolina Thursday night.
Ruot Monyyong finished with 11 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks while
Jaizec Lottie tied his career-high with 17 points while setting season-bests with eight rebounds and seven assists.
• Little Rock's defense held Coastal Carolina to a season-low 55 points and 31.5% shooting Thursday. The Trojans are third in the Sun Belt in scoring defense at 66.3 points per game and have held 15 of their 19 opponents under their season scoring average. Appalachian State ranks fourth in scoring defense at 66.6 points per game.
• Little Rock has already surpassed both its total win (12-10) and Sun Belt win (six-five) totals from last season by mid-January.
NEWS AND NOTES
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
2019-20: 10-9 overall, 4-4 Sun Belt Conference
Last Three Games: W vs. Arkansas State (83-80, OT); L at Texas State (82-57); L at UT Arlington (66-56)
Head Coach: Dustin Kearns (Clemson, 2002). First season at Appalachian State (10-9); third season overall (41-46)
Key Players:
• #1 Justin Forrest (Jr., G): 18.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 38.7 FG%
• #0 Isaac Johnson (Sr., F): 10.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 39.1 3FG%
• #20 Adrian Delph (So., G): 10.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 40.1 FG%
• #4 O'Showen Williams (Sr., G): 10.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 40.6 FG%
• #2 Kendall Lewis (Fr., F): 6.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 46.7 FG%
LAST WE MET
Down 67-55, Little Rock was able to get to within three at 70-67 with just under two minutes to play, but couldn't hold off the Appalachian State attack down the stretch as the Mountaineers took a 77-73 victory at the Jack Stephens Center January 26, 2019.
Markquis Nowell scored 20 in the loss for the Trojans.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Ruot Monyyong continues to make a strong case for Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year, finishing with 11 points and 15 rebounds against Coastal Carolina Thursday. It was Monyyong's seventh-straight double-double and 11th of the season, ranking him first in the Sun Belt and fifth nationally. He leads the conference in rebounding (10.4 rpg) and is averaging 13.8 points and 12.4 rebounds in Sun Belt play, shooting 63.0%% from the floor.
TROJAN BLOCK PARTY
In addition to his double-double at Coastal Carolina Thursday,
Ruot Monyyong set a career-high with seven blocks against the Chanticleers, besting his previous high of five at North Texas (Dec. 7, 2019). The seven blocks is the most for a Trojan since Muntrelle Dobbins in 1997 as Monyyong ranks first in the Sun Belt Conference in total blocks (39) and blocks per game (2.1). The 10 team blocks is the most for a Trojan team since Little Rock registered 10 against Bradley on December 22, 2014.
SOLID LOTTIE
Jaizec Lottie has been solid in the last three games for the Trojans, starting for the injured
Markquis Nowell. Lottie is averaging 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists over the last three games. Against Coastal Carolina, Lottie eclipsed the 2,000 minute mark for his career, becoming the first Trojan to reach the milestone since
Maurius Hill,
Marcus Johnson Jr. and
Kemy Osse in 2016-17. He leads the current roster in games played (73) while ranking second in career points with 525, second only to
Markquis Nowell's 579.
CRASHING THE BOARDS
The duo of
Ruot Monyyong and
Kamani Johnson have helped Little Rock establish a presence on the boards in 2019-20. Monyyong (10.4 rpg) and Johnson (7.0 rpg) rank first and fourth, respectively, in the Sun Belt in rebounding average with Monyyong leading the conference in defensive rebounds (8.1) and Johnson tied for first in offensive rebounds (2.9).
WELCOME BACK
A big boost to the Little Rock roster has been the addition of
Nikola Maric and
Marko Lukic. In the three games the duo have been back, they are combining to average 15.7 points and 5.3 rebounds for the Trojans as they each have played 57 minutes. Lukic is averaging 8.7 points, scoring in double figures in back-to-back games, while Maric is averaging 7.0 points and 5.0 rebounds, finishing with 13 points and six boards with a pair of blocks in the win at Coastal Carolina Thursday.
NOWELL ON LOU HENSON WATCH LIST
Markquis Nowell continues to gain national attention during his sophomore season as he was recently added to the Lou Henson Player of the Year Watch List, given annually to the top Division I mid-major player. Nowell ranks third in the Sun Belt in scoring at 17.7 points per game and ranks among the top-100 nationally in 15 statistical categories.
THROWING IT DOWN
Little Rock has made a name for itself with its inside game and continues to emerge as one of the top dunking teams in the Sun Belt. The Trojans are out-dunking the opposition 64-31 on the year, registering four or more dunks in nine games this season and averaging 4.5 slams per game in Sun Belt play. The driving force behind the charge has been
Ruot Monyyong, who has tallied 39 total dunks on the year and 22 in league play.
#LittleRocksTeam
