| GAME 10 - PHILANDER SMITH |
| Date/Time |
Monday, December 12 - 6:30 p.m. |
| Location |
Little Rock, Ark. |
| Arena |
Jack Stephens Center |
| Records |
Little Rock (2-7, 0-0 OVC)
Philander Smith (9-1, 0-0 GCAC) |
| Watch |
ESPN+ |
| Listen |
106.7 FM The Buz2 |
| Live Stats |
StatBroadcast |
| Notes |
Little Rock | Philander Smith |
LITTLE ROCK - After a lengthy road trip, Little Rock returns to the Jack Stephens Center to host cross-town foe Philander Smith Monday, December 12, tipping at 6:30 p.m. The game against the Panthers will stream live on ESPN+ with Hayden Balgavy and Patrick Newton on the call while Trojan Hall of Famer Ray Tucker will have the radio broadcast on 106.7 FM The Buz2, getting underway at 6:15 p.m.
GAME STORYLINES
• Little Rock and Philander Smith meet for the 10th time overall with the Trojans holding a 5-4 series edge. The two teams met last year at the Jack Stephens Center with the Trojans holding off the Panthers 60-51 on December 11.
• Head coach
Darrell Walker is facing the last of four former NBA players turned head coaches in a six-game span - Jackson State's Mo Williams, Indiana's Mike Woodson, Memphis' Penny Hardaway and Philander Smith's Todd Day.
• Monday's game features a pair of first round NBA Draft picks on their respective sidelines.
Darrell Walker was the 12th pick of the 1983 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks while Philander Smith's Todd Day was the eighth overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1992 NBA Draft. The duo combined for 3,270 points, 1,136 rebounds and 501 steals during their careers in Fayetteville.
•
Myron Gardner notched his OVC-best fourth double-double at Memphis on December 6, giving him seven for his career. He ranks among the top-30 nationally in four different categories, including 22nd in defensive rebounds per game (7.0).
•
Chris Walker scored a career-high 18 points at Memphis in just 23 minutes of action, going 4-for-8 from three point range with four assists and a pair of steals.
• Little Rock is 16-6 at home in non-conference games under coach Walker as the Trojans have won 13 of the last 15, including wins over Arkansas Baptist and Jackson State this year.
• Philander Smith is the second-closest opponent for the Trojans with its campus sitting 4.3 miles away from the Jack Stephens Center. Arkansas Baptist is the closest opponent at 3.3 miles with Central Arkansas at 33.5 miles away.
NEWS AND NOTES
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
2022-23: 9-1 overall, 0-0 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference
Last Three Games: W vs. Lane College (76-45), W at North American (89-71), L vs. Louisiana College (82-50)
Head Coach: Todd Day (Arkansas, 1992). Seventh season at PSC and overall (85-74)
Key Players:
• #13 Aaron Johnson (Sr., G): 12.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 47.8 FG%
• #23 Raymond Reece (Fr., F): 10.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 50.0 FG%
• #1 Rayonte Childs (Sr., G): 8.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 40.0 3FG%
• #22 Derrick Woods (Sr., F): 8.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 48.6 FG%
• #10 Christione Rufus (Jr., G): 7.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 36.5 FG%
LAST WE MET
Little Rock held off a feisty Philander Smith team that gave the Trojans all they could handle, pulling away late for a 60-51 victory over the Panthers at the Jack Stephens Center on December 11, 2021. Little Rock played just seven players against their cross-town neighbors led by a game-high 18 points from
Isaiah Palermo who just missed his second double-double of the season, finishing with nine rebounds to complement a team-high five assists.
LAST TIME OUT
Chris Walker set a new career-high with 18 points and
Myron Gardner added 16 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year. But a cold shooting night from beyond the arc proved costly for Little Rock in a 87-71 loss to Memphis at the FedEx Forum on December 6. The Trojans put up a program-record 33 three pointers but made just eight (24.2%) as nine of the 10 Trojans that played attempted at least one.
HOME SWEET HOME
Little Rock returns home to the Jack Stephens Center where the Trojans are 159-91 (.636), sitting at 2-0 at home this year after wins over Arkansas Baptist and Jackson State. Little Rock has posted a winning record in 14 of its 17 seasons at the Jack as the Trojans are 16-6 against non-conference foes at home under head coach
Darrell Walker, winning 13 of their last 15.
CLOSING IN ON 100
Head coach
Darrell Walker is in year number five in Little Rock with an overall record of 53-72 at the helm of the Trojans. He registered his 99th win as a collegiate head coach against Jackson State on November 20, sitting at 99-90 overall. Walker boasts a pair of impressive accomplishments as he is the only coach in the nation that has served as a head coach at the NBA, WNBA, Division II and Division I ranks and is one of just five active head coaches that won an NBA title as a player.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MAN
Myron Gardner registered his fourth double-double of the season at Memphis on December 6, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds, which is the most in the Ohio Valley Conference this season and ranks tied for 14th nationally. Gardner has been Little Rock's most consistent player through the first month of the season, leading the team in rebounds (9.7 rpg), assists (3.6 apg) and steals (2.0 spg) and is tied for first in scoring (12.9 ppg).
LIGHT IT UP CHRIS
Redshirt freshman
Chris Walker had his best game in a Trojan uniform, scoring a career-high 18 points in 23 minutes at Memphis on December 6. Walker was 6-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-8 from three-point range with four assists and a pair of rebounds. He leads the team in both three pointers made (19) and three point percentage (38.8%).
DOUBLE FIGURE TROJANS
Eight different Trojans have scored in double figures this season, led by seven from
Myron Gardner and six from
DeAntoni Gordon.
Isaiah Palermo leads the active roster with 20 career double-figure games while Gardner is the leader in percentage, doing so in 64.0% of his game as a Trojan.
PLAYING FROM BEHIND
Little Rock has found itself playing from behind for the majority of the season thus far, leading for a total of 61:24 through the first nine games this season. The Trojans never led in five of their seven losses as Little Rock has found itself trailing by 15 or more points in all but one game this year (Arkansas Baptist).
NATURAL STATE FOES
Monday's game against Philander Smith is the third of five games against opponents from the state of Arkansas this season as the Trojans are 1-1 to this point, defeating Arkansas Baptist while losing at Central Arkansas. Little Rock will host UCA at the Jack Stephens Center on December 20 before making the trek to Jonesboro to face rival Arkansas State on December 22. Walker is 9-9 in his career against Natural State opponents.
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