| GAME 18 - APP STATE |
| Date/Time |
Saturday, January 29 | 3 p.m. CT |
| Location |
Boone, N.C. |
| Arena |
Holmes Convocation Center |
| Records |
Little Rock (7-10, 2-3 SBC)
App State (13-9, 7-2 SBC) |
| Watch |
ESPN+ |
| Listen |
106.7 FM The Buz2 |
| Live Stats |
StatBroadcast |
| Notes |
Little Rock | App State |
LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock continues a challenging stretch of the schedule, heading east to the Carolinas for the final time. The Trojans take on league-leading App State Saturday, tipping at 3 p.m. CT at the Holmes Convocation Center in Boone, North Carolina, streaming on ESPN+. Trojan Hall of Famer Ray Tucker will handle the radio call on 106.7 FM The Buz2, getting underway at 2:45 p.m. CT.
GAME STORYLINES
• Little Rock continues a stretch of six of eight games on the road, traveling to the Carolinas, Alabama and Texas. If all eight games are played, the Trojans will travel approximately 4,500 miles, spending time in seven different states.
• Little Rock is in its 31st, and final, season as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, posting an all-time record of 265-254 as a member of the league. The Trojans are tied with Arkansas State and Louisiana as the second-longest tenured members of the conference.
• Little Rock and App State meet for the 16th time with the Trojans holding an 8-7 edge in the series, including a 3-3 record in Boone. The Trojans won both meetings in 2020 but fell to the Mountaineers in the opening round of the 2021 Sun Belt tournament in Pensacola, Florida.
• The Trojans are seeking their first true road win on the year, sitting at 0-6. Little Rock has lost 12-straight road games, dating back to the win at UT Arlington on January 22, 2021.
•
Jordan Jefferson scored a career-high 18 points at Coastal Carolina Thursday, becoming the 12th different Trojan to finish in double figures in a game this season.
•
Nikola Maric played in his first game since January 6, nearly recording a double-double at Coastal Carolina with 13 points and nine rebounds. He enters Saturday's game 24 points shy of becoming the 21st member of the Trojan 1,000-point club.
• Little Rock continues to be plagued by injuries as 11 different Trojans have combined to miss 90 games due to injuries this season.
NEWS AND NOTES
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
2021-22: 13-9 overall, 7-2 Sun Belt Conference
Last Three Games: W vs. Arkansas State (61-54), W at Georgia Southern (70-62), W at Georgia State (61-60)
Head Coach: Dustin Kern (Clemson, 2002). Third season at App State (48-36); Fifth season overall (79-73)
Key Players:
• #20 Adrian Delph (Sr., G): 17.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 39.8 3FG%
• #5 Michael Almonacy (Gr., G): 10.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 34.1 FG%
• #11 Donovan Gregory (Jr., F): 9.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 50.9 FG%
• #1 Justin Forrest (Sr., G): 9.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 30.6 FG%
• #25 James Lewis Jr. (Sr., F): 6.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 55.2 FG%
SERIES HISTORY
Little Rock and App State have met 15 times previously with the Trojans holding an 8-7 edge in the series. Little Rock swept the two meetings in the 2019-20 season but App State defeated the Trojans 67-60 in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament in Pensacola in 2021. Little Rock is 3-3 all-time in Boone as head coach
Darrell Walker is 2-2 all-time against the Mountaineers.
LAST TIME OUT
Jordan Jefferson scored a career-high 18 points and
Nikola Maric just missed a double-double, but a Coastal Carolina surge over the final nine minutes of the first half proved too much as the Trojans fell to the Chanticleers 65-49 Thursday in Conway, S.C. Little Rock logged a season-low in both points (49) and field goal percentage (31.1%) on a cold shooting night to drop their 12th-straight road game.
TALE OF TWO GAMES
Little Rock couldn't have had a much bigger contrast in its last two games. The Trojans set a season-high in points (98) in the triple overtime win over UT Arlington, making 16 three pointers and shooting 51.6% from beyond the arc. Thursday night, Little Rock had its lowest output of the season (49), shooting a season-low 31.1% and connecting on 18.5% of its three-pointers.
CHASING 1,000
Senior Nikola Maric made his first appearance since January 6, just missing a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds in 32 minutes at Coastal Carolina. Maric has scored in double figures in eight-straight games, upping his career point total to 976. Maric now sits just 24 points shy of becoming the 21st member of the Trojan 1,000 point club and would be the first to join the club since Will Neighbour in 2014.
BIG NIGHT FOR JEFFERSON
Freshman Jordan Jefferson scored a career-high 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting, going 4-for-9 from three point range at Coastal Carolina Thursday night. Jefferson played a career-high 29 minutes against the Chanticleers, starting the last four games at the point guard position.
DOUBLE FIGURE TROJANS
12 different Trojans have combined for 53 double-figure performances in 2021-22. Jordan Jefferson became the 12th different Trojan to record a double-digit game, scoring a career-high 18 points at Coastal Carolina, while Nikola Maric finished with 13 points for his eighth-straight double-figure performance.
PLAYING FROM BEHIND
Little Rock has had to play from behind for the majority of the season, facing a double-digit deficit in 13 of its 17 games this season. 11 of those games have seen the Trojans trailing by 10 or more in the second half as Little Rock has rallied to win three of those games this season.
SHORTHANDED TROJANS
Injuries have played a major factor for the Trojans as 11 different players have combined for 90 missed games this season. Chris Walker, DeAntoni Gordon, Marko Lukic, Marko Andric and Ethan Speaker did not make the trip to the Carolinas as Little Rock has used 11 different starting lineup combinations with 12 different Trojans earning starts due to those injuries.
ROAD WOES
Little Rock is still in search of its first true road win of the season, sitting at 0-6 on the year. The Trojans have dropped 12-straight road games, dating back to the 66-59 win at UT Arlington on January 22, 2021, giving up an average of 80.5 points per game on the road this season while scoring just 63.3 points per outing. Little Rock has trailed by at least 14 points in the second half of each of this season's road games.
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 35-20 (.636) when scoring 70 or more points and just 14-36 (.280) when it scores 69 points or less.
LAST TRIP AROUND THE SUN
Little Rock continues its 31st, and final, season in the Sun Belt this weekend, making its final trip to the Carolinas. Joining the league in 1991-92 season, the Trojans are tied with Arkansas State and Louisiana as the second-longest tenured members of the conference. Little Rock has compiled a 265-254 (.511) all-time record as members of the Sun Belt, going 7-6 against App State, which joined the league in 2015.
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