LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock begins its 31st, and final, season as a member of the Sun Belt Conference Thursday when the Trojans host Georgia Southern at 6:30 p.m. at the Jack Stephens Center. The game will stream live on ESPN+, called by Hayden Balgavy and Patrick Newton, while Trojan Hall of Famer Ray Tucker handles the radio call on 106.7 FM The Buz2, getting underway at 6:15 p.m.
GAME STORYLINES
• Little Rock begins its 31st season as a member of the Sun Belt Conference Thursday, posting an all-time record of 263-251 as a member of the league. The Trojans joined the league in the 1991-92 season are tied with Arkansas State and Louisiana as the second-longest tenured members of the conference.
• The game against the Eagles is only the second game the Trojans will have played over the last 19 days, facing Philander Smith on December 11 before the game against Jacksonville State on December 21.
• Little Rock and Georgia Southern meet for the 36th time in the series with the Eagles holding a 19-16 edge in the all-time series. It is the first meeting between the two since January 9, 2020, a 79-73 win for Little Rock at the Jack Stephens Center.
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Marko Lukic scored a career-high 25 points against Jacksonville State on December 21, his second 20-plus-point performance of the season. He has paced the Trojans in the month of December, leading the team with 16.6 points per game, including going 81.0% from the free throw line.
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Nikola Maric made his first appearance in nearly a month against Jacksonville State, finishing with 15 points and four rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Maric upped his career point total to 915, leaving him 85 shy of joining the 1,000-point club.
• Thursday marks the return of Georgia Southern head coach Brian Burg to the Jack Stephens Center. Burg was an assistant coach under Chris Beard during the 2015-16 season and is in his second season as the head coach of the Eagles.
• The game against Georgia Southern marks Little Rocks' fifth-straight game in the state of Arkansas, spending the entire month of December in the Natural State.
NEWS AND NOTES
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
2021-22: 7-4 overall, 0-0 Sun Belt Conference
Last Three Games: W vs. Covenant College (85-51), W at Campbell (69-66), L at Mercer (77-68)
Head Coach: Brian Burg (Mount Mercy, 2003). 2nd season at Georgia Southern (20-17)
Key Players:
• #2 Elijah McCadden (Sr., G): 12.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 57.8 FG%
• #12 Andrei Savrasov (R-Jr., F): 11.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 52.5 FG%
• #4 Kamari Brown (Sr., G): 10.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 45.8 3FG%
• #1 Cam Bryant (So., G/F): 8.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 47.4 FG%
• #24 Prince Toyambi (R-Jr., F/C): 7.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 61.1 FG%
SERIES HISTORY
Little Rock and Georgia Southern have met 35 times previously with the Eagles holding a 19-16 lead in the all-time series. The Trojans won the last meeting between the two, a 79-73 win at the Jack Stephens Center on January 9, 2020, holding an 11-7 all-time mark against the Eagles in Little Rock.
FAMILIAR FACE
Little Rock fans will see a familiar face on Georgia Southern's sideline as Thursday's game will mark the return of Brian Burg to the Jack Stephens Center. Burg served as an assistant to Chris Beard during the 2015-16 season before following Beard to Texas Tech. He is in his second season as the head coach at Georgia Southern with an overall record of 20-17.
LAST TIME OUT
Little Rock held the lead at the half, but Jacksonville State outscored the Trojans 45-24 in the second half, handing Little Rock the 87-67 loss on December 21.
Marko Lukic led the Trojans with a career-high 25 points, including 23 in the first half, and
Nikola Maric scored 15 in his return, but Demaree King went off for 32 to pace the Gamecocks to the victory.
DOUBLE FIGURE TROJANS
10 different Trojans have combined for 36 double figure performances in 2021-22, led by
Marko Lukic doing so a team-high seven times and
Isaiah Palermo and
Nikola Maric 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, as 10 of the 13 Trojans to play in a game this season have hit the mark at least once.
MARKO COMING UP BIG
Junior
Marko Lukic has been key for the Trojans over the month of December, leading the team in scoring in three of the five games. He has scored 20 or more points twice during that span, including a career-high 25 against Jacksonville State, ranking third on the team in scoring at 11.4 points per game.
WELCOME BACK NIKOLA
Senior
Nikola Maric made his first appearance in nearly a month against Jacksonville State, scoring 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting while grabbing four rebounds. Maric upped his career point total to 915 against the Gamecocks, leaving him 85 points shy of becoming the 21st member of the Little Rock 1,000-point club. He would become the first to reach the career milestone since Will Neighbour in 2014.
DOING IT ALL
Isaiah Palermo has emerged as the most consistent player of the 2021-22 season through the first 12 games. Palermo leads the team in three point percentage (45.5%) while ranking second in scoring (12.5 ppg), field goal percentage (53.8%) and 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' leader in assists, steals and blocks three times as well.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE CLUB
Little Rock has had four different players register a double-double this season with the latest coming 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.
PRESSING THROUGH ADVERSITY
Injuries have played a major factor early in Little Rock's 2021-22 season as nine different players have combined for 64 missed games this season.
Myron Gardner,
Ethan Speaker and
Chris Walker have all missed the first 12 games due to preseason injuries with
DeAntoni Gordon out for the season after an injury suffered at Colorado State. Little Rock has used seven different starting lineup combinations with 11 different Trojans earning starts due to those injuries.
STRIVING FOR 70
70 points a game has been the goal for head coach
Darrell Walker since arriving at Little Rock and the Trojans have found success when reaching the mark. Under Walker, Little Rock is 33-19 (.635) when scoring 70 or more points and just 14-34 (.292) when it scores 69 points or less.
LAST TRIP AROUND THE SUN
Little Rock begins its 31st, and final, season in the Sun Belt Thursday when it hosts Georgia Southern. The Trojans joined the league in the 1991-92 season and is tied with Arkansas State and Louisiana as the second-longest tenured members of the conference. Little Rock has compiled a 263-251 (.512) all-time record as members of the Sun Belt with three conference championships. The Trojans recently announced they will join the Ohio Valley Conference, effective July 1, 2022.
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