LITTLE ROCK – Five Trojans finished in double figures, led by double-doubles from
Myron Gardner and
DeAntoni Gordon, as the Trojans used a 13-0 run in the first half to take a halftime advantage before keeping Central Arkansas at bay in the second for a 75-66 victory at the Jack Stephens Center.
With the win, the Trojans improve to 4-8 on the year and remain unbeaten at home, sitting at 4-0 at the Jack Stephens Center this season. The Trojans also improved to 11-1 against Central Arkansas at home since making the move to Division I.
Gardner finished with 17 points, 13 rebounds and six assists tonight, registering his Ohio Valley Conference-best sixth double-double of the season. Gardner was 4-of-10 from the floor and 7-of-8 at the line, including 5-for-5 from the second half to help Little Rock pull away.
Gordon registered his second double-double of the year with 12 points and 10 rebounds, including four boards in the second half as The Trojans held a 46-36 rebounding edge on the Bears.
Jordan Jefferson matched Gordon with 12 points, shooting 4-of-8 from the field, with
D.J. Smith adding 11 points and
CJ White adding 10 points with six rebounds, knocking down three big three pointers.
Little Rock shot just 38.1% from the floor (24-of-63), but held Central Arkansas to 37.7% (23-of-61) and just 7-of-23 from three point range (30.4%). But Little Rock was solid from the line all night, going 19-of-24 from the charity stripe (79.2%), including 14-of-16 over the final 20 minutes.
In addition to the rebounding edge, the Trojans pulled down 15 offensive boards, leading to a 14-6 edge in second chance points and outscored UCA 16-8 on the break. Both teams committed just 12 turnovers as Gardner led both teams with a pair of steals.
Once again, Little Rock found itself in an early hole as Central Arkansas reeled off the first seven points in the first two minutes to build the early 7-0 lead. The Trojans would respond with a 6-0 run of its own, however pulling to within one at 7-6 through the first three and a half minutes.
UCA slowly extended its lead back to six at 17-11 at the 9:23 mark as Little Rock went without a field goal for over six minutes. But the Trojans then rattled off their largest scoring run of the season, going on a 13-0 streak to build a 24-17 lead with 5:02 remaining as four different Trojans scored during the run.
The Trojans and Bears exchanged baskets over the final five minutes as Little Rock took a 32-27 lead into the halftime break. Gordon led all scorers over the first 20 minutes with 10 points while Gardner added seven points, nine rebounds and five assists. Little Rock shot 33.3% in the first half while Central Arkansas shot 35.7% as both teams were 3-of-11 from three point range.
UCA came out quick in the second half with a 10-4 run, eight of which came from Collin Cooper, regaining the lead at 37-36 with 17:33 to play. But five-straight for Jefferson sparked a 7-0 run for Little Rock, pulling back in front by six at 43-37 at the 16:10 mark.
Little Rock and Central Arkansas exchanged baskets for the next eight minutes with some key threes from Gardner and White helping the Trojans extend their lead to 10 at 57-47 with 8:27 remaining.
Central Arkansas chipped away at the lead, getting to within three at 63-60, and again at 65-62 with 3:30 remaining. But a three pointer from Smith at the 1:56 mark put the Trojans on top 68-62, then Little Rock came up big defensively and knocked down seven of its last eight free throw attempts to secure the home victory.
Gardner finished with 10 in the second half while Smith added nine as the Trojans shot 44.7%, knocking down 5-of-14 from three point range (35.7%) and 14-of-16 from the line (87.5%) to help keep the Bears at bay.
Little Rock now closes out its non-conference portion with the trip to northeast Arkansas, facing rival Arkansas State Thursday. The 94th meeting between the Trojans and Red Wolves will tip at 2 p.m. on December 22 at First National Bank Arena.
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