LITTLE ROCK – Led by five players in double figures, including double-doubles for
Myron Gardner and
DeAntoni Gordon, Little Rock raced out to an early lead and was never threatened in an 83-54 win over Philander Smith at the Jack Stephens Center.
With the victory, head coach
Darrell Walker notched his 100th collegiate victory as a head coach, with 54 of those victories coming on the Trojan sideline. The win moves Little Rock to 3-0 at the Jack Stephens Center this year as Little Rock has won 14 of its last 16 non-conference games at home under Walker.
Gardner registered his Ohio Valley Conference-best fifth double-double of the year, and third-straight, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds with a team-high four assists. Gardner notched the first double-double of his Little Rock career, scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 boards as the duo combined to shoot 7-of-13 from the floor.
Jordan Jefferson paced all scorers with a season-high 17 points, going 6-of-9 from the floor and 2-for-4 from three point range in his first start of the season.
Ethan Speaker nearly joined the ranks of double-double scorers, notching career-highs in both points (16) and rebounds (nine) while going 7-of-11 from the floor.
D.J. Smith was the fifth Trojan to finish in double figures, scoring 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting and 5-of-6 from the free throw line, grabbing a pair of rebounds and dishing out two assists.
Nigel John added eight points for the Trojans with four rebounds as well.
For the game, Little Rock shot 53.8% from the floor, knocking down 28 of its 52 shots, while going 6-of-15 from the three point line. The Trojans held Philander Smith to 34.6% from the floor as the Panthers were 3-for-10 from beyond the arc.
Little Rock dominated on the boards, outrebounding Philander Smith 44-26 with a 10-5 edge in offensive boards. The Trojans also forced the Panthers into 26 turnovers on the night, led by three steals for Gordon.
After falling behind early in recent games, Little Rock was the aggressor early against its cross-town foe as five different Trojans scored in the first seven minutes, jumping out to an early eight point lead at 16-8. A 6-0 run over the ensuing two minutes gave the Trojans a 12-point lead at 22-10 at the midway point of the opening half, led by six from Smith and five from Gardner.
Holding a 25-16 lead at the 6:21 mark, Little Rock rattled off an 11-0 run to break the game open, building a 20-point lead at 36-16 with Gardner, Jefferson and Gordon providing all 11 points. Little Rock led by as many as 23 at 41-18, thanks to five-straight points from Speaker, and took a 41-20 lead into halftime.
Little Rock shot 55.3% from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, hitting 21-of-38, while limiting Philander Smith to just 30.6% and forcing 12 Panther turnovers. Jefferson led the way with 11 first half points while Gardner added eight points and six rebounds.
The Trojans maintained the intensity in the second half, keeping Philander Smith at bay for the duration. Leading by 20 at 50-30 with 13:46 remaining, the Trojans used a 7-0 run to build a 27-point cushion at 57-30 with 11:25 to play. After the Panthers trimmed the lead back to 21 at 59-38 at the 9:41 mark, the Trojans put the game away with a 14-2 run over the ensuing four minutes, building a 33-point lead at 73-40.
Little Rock led by as many as 36 at 78-42, its largest lead in a game since holding a similar advantage against Arkansas Baptist last season. A late run by Philander Smith got the deficit under 30 before
Shota Abashidze hit a free throw in the final second for his first collegiate point and gave the Trojans the 83-54 win.
The Trojans improve to 6-4 all-time against Philander Smith and have won five-straight against their cross-town foes. Walker improves to 10-9 against teams from the Natural State during his Little Rock coaching career.
Little Rock now heads back on the road, traveling to Jacksonville, Alabama, to face Jacksonville State in the return trip of a home-and-home series. Opening tip against the Gamecocks is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, December 17 at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
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