Trojans Look To Regroup Saturday at UT Arlington

GAME 27 | UT ARLINGTON
Date	Saturday, February 15
Time	2 p.m.
Location	Arlington, Texas
Arena	College Park Center
Records	Little Rock (18-8, 12-3 SBC) UT Arlington (11-15, 7-8 SBC)
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	The Point 94.1 FM
Live Stats	TrojanStats.com
Notes	Little Rock | UT Arlington

LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock continues the challenging final stretch of the regular season, playing the second of three-straight road games Saturday against UT Arlington. Opening tip against the Mavericks from the College Park Center is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

"Credit to Texas State, they were ready for us (Thursday night)," said head coach Darrell Walker. "I thought we came out sluggish and tense, and they capitalized. Now we'll see what this team is made of. We've got to go to another very tough place to play at UT Arlington Saturday, and we'll need to play much better to get a win."

GAME STORYLINES

• Little Rock and UT Arlington meet for the 13th time with the series tied at 6-6. The Trojans have won the last two meetings, both in Little Rock, and are 2-3 all-time in Arlington.

• Little Rock remains in first place in the Sun Belt entering Saturday's game at UT Arlington, holding a two game lead in the league standings over Georgia Southern and Georgia State. The 12-3 mark is tied for the  program's second-best Sun Belt mark through 15 games with the 2008-09 and 1995-96 teams.

• Little Rock's 18 wins this season has surpassed the program's win total from both the 2017-18 (seven wins) and 2018-19 (10 wins) seasons combined.

• Little Rock is one of just five teams nationally that has amassed 12 conference wins this season. The Trojans are one of two teams nationally who are leading their conference after being picked 11th in the preseason poll.

• Ruot Monyyong continues to lead the Sun Belt Conference in both rebounds (10.1) and blocks (2.2) per game, posting a league-high 14 double-doubles on the year and ranking seventh nationally. He has posted a double-digit point total in 20 games and surpassed 10 rebounds in a game 16 times.

• Little Rock's loss to Texas State Thursday night snapped a seven-game winning streak, tied for the longest Sun Belt streak in program history, as the Trojans lost their first game in 33 days.

• Markquis Nowell had his streak of 27-straight free throws made snapped Thursday night, missing his first from the charity stripe in 38 days. He still leads the conference in free throw percentage (88.6%), ranking 19th nationally.

NEWS AND NOTES

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
2019-20: 11-15 overall, 7-8 Sun Belt (T-7th)
Last Three Games: W vs. Arkansas State (77-67), L at Coastal Carolina (89-75), L at Appalachian State (57-50)
Head Coach: Chris Ogden (Texas, 2004). Second season at UTA and overall (28-31)
Key Players:
• #4 David Azore (So., G): 14.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 44.3 FG%
• #0 Brian Warren (Sr., G): 12.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 39.1 FG%
• #10 Rashad Davis (Sr., F): 8.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 37.8 3FG%
• #1 Sam Griffin (Fr., G): 8.4 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 42.3 FG%
• #13 Jabari Narcis (Sr., F): 7.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 44.1 FG%

LAST WE MET
Little Rock led for over 38 minutes, paced by a 30-point, 12-rebound performance from Kamani Johnson and a 29-point outburst from Markquis Nowell, holding off a late UT Arlington rally to topple the Mavericks 92-89 at the Jack Stephens Center on January 4. The Trojans shot 55.6% from the floor in the win as the victory propelled Johnson to Player of the Week honors.

RUOT BLOCK PARTY
With his two blocks against Texas State, Ruot Monyyong upped his season block total to 56, moving into third in the Trojan single season record book. He surpassed Ryan Moss for the most in Little Rock program history at the Division I level.
 

No.	Player	Season	Blocks
1.	Larry Johnson	1974-75	113
2.	Larry Johnson	1976-77	82
3.	Ruot Monyyong	2019-20	56
4.	Ryan Moss	1997-98	55
5.	Muntrelle Dobbins	1996-97	52

 

MAKING A STATEMENT
Making a strong case for Sun Belt Newcomer and Defensive Player of the Year, Ruot Monyyong ranks in the top-30 nationally in five statistical categories. He ranks seventh nationally in double-doubles and has posted double digit rebounding totals in 16 games while scoring in double figures a team-best 20 times, leading the league in both rebounds and blocks.

FINDING HIS MARK
Kamani Johnson continues to be a consistent force inside for Little Rock, scoring a team-high 14 points with four offensive rebounds against Texas State. Johnson was also 8-of-11 from the free throw line, upping his free throw percentage to 75.7%, a stark improvement from his 50.8% from the charity stripe as a freshman. Johnson has scored in double figures 12 times on the year, ranking fourth on the team.

SOLID STULIC
Jovan Stulic has continued to make strides in his freshman campaign, finishing with 11 points for his fourth double figure point total of the season, adding a career-high five steals. Stulic ranks second on the team in free throw percentage at 76.9% and is shooting 41.3% from the floor in Sun Belt play.

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 83-39 on the year, registering four or more dunks in 13 games this season and averaging 3.7 slams per game in Sun Belt play. Ruot Monyyong leads the way with 52 on the year, including 35 in Sun Belt Conference play alone.

EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
Little Rock is one of two teams nationally which leads its conference after being picked 11th in the respective preseason poll. Little Rock is one of five teams with 12 conference wins to this point in the season, joined by Louisville (ACC), Winthrop (Big South), San Diego State (Mountain West) and Stephen F. Austin (Southland).

EYES FACING WEST
Little Rock heads to the DFW Metroplex looking to end a pair of extended streaks. The Trojans are seeking their first win in Texas since capturing the Lone Star Showcase in Cedar Park on November 21-23, 2016. Little Rock is 0-7 in games in the Lone Star state since then and 0-11 in games played west of Little Rock, dating back to the 72-67 win at Northern Arizona December 14, 2016.

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