LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock makes its shortest road trip of the season, taking the 33.5 mile trip north to the Farris Center in Conway for the yearly showdown with Central Arkansas Tuesday at 7 p.m. The game will stream live on UCASports.com with Trojan Hall of Famer Ray Tucker handling the radio call on 106.7FM The Buz2, getting underway at 6:45 p.m.
GAME STORYLINES
• The game against the Bears is the fourth of seven-straight games the Trojans will play in the state of Arkansas. Five of those are at the Jack Stephens Center with the two road games in Fayetteville and Conway.
• Little Rock and Central Arkansas meet for the 52nd time Tuesday with the Bears leading the all-time series 36-15. The Trojans have had the upper hand in recent years, however, winning 13 of the last 16 since the 1981-82 season.
• Two of the last three meetings between the two teams have been decided on the game's final play. UCA hit a long three as time expired to defeat Little Rock 85-82 in 2018 while the Bears missed a shot at the buzzer last year which would have tied the game in an 86-83 Trojan win in Little Rock.
• Tuesday's game marks the men's basketball installment of the Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield Governor's I-40 Showdown rivalry series between Little Rock and Central Arkansas. The two teams have split the four meetings since the rivalry series began prior to the 2018-19 season.
•
D.J. Smith became the fourth different Trojan to register a double-double this season, scoring 13 points with 10 rebounds in the win over Philander Smith. All four Trojan double-doubles have come against teams from the Natural State (
CJ White vs. Arkansas Baptist,
Nikola Maric vs. Champion Christian,
Isaiah Palermo at Arkansas).
•
Isaiah Palermo and
Marko Lukic each scored in double figures for the sixth time this season in the win over Philander Smith, the most on the team. 10 different Trojans have registered double digit point totals this year out of the 13 that have played.
NEWS AND NOTES
SCOUTING THE BEARS
2021-22: 1-8 overall, 0-0 Atlantic Sun Conference
Last Three Games: L at Arkansas State (95-82), L at Arkansas (97-60), L vs. Presbyterian (75-66)
Head Coach: Antony Boone (Ole Miss, 1998). Third season at Central Arkansas (15-40)
Key Players:
• #4 Darious Hall (Jr., G/F): 12.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 47.8 FG%
• #23 Camren Hunter (Fr., G): 11.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 37.8 FG%
• #14 Collin Cooper (So., G): 9.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 37.5 3FG%
• #13 Eddy Kayouloud (Jr., G/F): 7.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 48.2 FG%
• #24 Jared Chatham (Sr., F): 5.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 44.6 FG%
SERIES HISTORY
Tuesday is the 52nd meeting between Little Rock and Central Arkansas, dating back to the 1930-31 season. UCA holds a 36-15 all-time series edge but the Trojans have had the upper hand lately, winning 13 of the last 16 since the 1981-82 season. Little Rock has won the last two, including last year's 86-83 thriller at the Jack Stephens Center behind an 18-point performance from Nikola Marc and a double-double from
Ruot Monyyong.
GOVERNOR'S I-40 SHOWDOWN
Tuesday marks the annual men's basketball contest of the Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield Governor's I-40 Showdown between Little Rock and Central Arkansas. The rivalry series, which began in 2018, is in its fourth season with points awarded for each athletic contest between the two schools. Four points are on the line Tuesday as UCA holds a 16-6 lead in this year's tally with the two teams splitting the first four meetings of the rivalry series.
LAST TIME OUT
Little Rock and Philander Smith combined for 12 ties and 17 lead changes before the Trojans pulled away late for a 60-51 victory over its cross-town neighbors Saturday afternoon.
Isaiah Palermo led the way with a game-high 18 points and nine rebounds while
D.J. Smith registered his first career double-double, finishing with 13 points and 10 boards to pace the Trojans to the win.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE CLUB
Little Rock has had four different players register a double-double this season with the latest coming Saturday when
D.J. Smith posted the first of his career with a 13-point, 10-rebound effort in the win over Philander Smith.
Isaiah Palermo nearly reached his second of the season, finishing with 18 points and nine rebounds, as
Nikola Maric (Arkansas Baptist) and
CJ White (Champion Christian) are the other two Trojans to reach the mark.
DOING IT ALL
Isaiah Palermo has emerged as the most consistent player of the 2021-22 season through the first 11 games. Palermo leads the team in field goal percentage (55.2%) and three point percentage (45.5%) while ranking second in free throw percentage (80.0%). He has led the team in scoring four times this season while pacing the Trojans in rebounding twice, finishing as the Trojans top steals and blocks producer three times as well.
DOUBLE FIGURE CLUB
10 different Trojans have combined for 34 double figure performances in 2021-22, led by
Marko Lukic and
Isaiah Palermo each reaching double-digits six times. D.J Smith became the 10th different Trojan to reach double figures in a game this season following his 13-point performance against Philander Smith.
PRESSING THROUGH ADVERSITY
Injuries have played a major factor early in Little Rock's 2021-22 season. Six different Trojans are currently out with injuries, combining for 59 missed games this season.
Myron Gardner,
Ethan Speaker and
Chris Walker have all missed the first 11 games due to preseason injuries with
Nikola Maric and
CJ White missing the last five after injuries sustained in Jacksonville and
DeAntoni Gordon missing the last three following his injury at Colorado State. Little Rock has used six different starting lineups with 11 different Trojans earning starts due to those injuries.
THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED
The trip to Conway remains the shortest road trip for Little Rock as the Farris Center is located just 33.5 miles from the UA Little Rock campus. The Bears are the last of four schools the Trojans will play this season that are located within 50 miles of the Jack Stephens Center after hosting Arkansas Baptist, Champion Christian and Philander Smith on their home court.
TROJANS AGAINST THE A-SUN
Little Rock has a limited history against the Atlantic Sun, Central Arkansas' new conference home starting this season. The Trojans are 23-7 against the rest of the current league members as Jacksonville (14-3) and Stetson (8-4) use to be Sun Belt Conference opponents. Little Rock will face a pair of A-Sun foes this year, hosting Jacksonville State on December 21st at the Jack Stephens Center to close the non-conference schedule.
OUR NEW HOME
Little Rock will have some new conference rivals on the horizon as the Trojans accepted the invitation to join the Ohio Valley Conference on Thursday, December 9. Little Rock becomes just the 22nd member to join the OVC, the eighth-oldest Division I conference, and will begin competing on July 1, 2022, ending a 30-year run as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans won three conference titles and made three NCAA tournament appearances during its time as a member of the Sun Belt.
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