| GAME 23 - UT ARLINGTON |
| Date/Time |
Thursday, February 17 | 7 p.m |
| Location |
Arlington, Texas |
| Arena |
College Park Center |
| Records |
Little Rock (8-14, 3-7 SBC)
UT Arlington (10-14, 6-7 SBC) |
| Watch |
ESPN+ |
| Listen |
106.7 FM The Buz2 |
| Live Stats |
StatBroadcast |
| Notes |
Little Rock | UT Arlington |
LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock continues its four-game road trip with the final trip to Texas as a league member, taking on UT Arlington Thursday night. Opening tip against the Mavericks is set for 7 p.m. at College Park Center and will stream on ESPN+. Trojan Hall of Famer Ray Tucker will handle the radio call on 106.7 FM The Buz2, getting underway at 6:45 p.m.
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 over four weeks.
• Little Rock holds a 10-8 lead in the all-time series against UT Arlington, but is 3-5 all-time against the Mavericks in Arlington. The Trojans have won four of the last against UTA and six of the last eight.
• Little Rock notched its first true road win of the season Saturday in the 66-62 win at Troy. The victory snapped a 14-game road losing streak, dating back to the 66-59 win at UTA on January 22, 2021.
• Head coach
Darrell Walker notched his 50th win on the Trojan sidelines in the victory over Troy Saturday, improving to 96-78 all-time as a collegiate head coach. Walker is 6-3 against UT Arlington, his most victories against any opponent.
•
Nikola Maric remains 16 points shy of becoming the 21st member of the Little Rock 1,000 point club. Maric is questionable for Thursday's game after missing the last four games with a lower body injury.
•
Jovan Stulic matched his career high with 18 points and set a personal best with eight rebounds off the bench to lead Little Rock to the 66-62 win at Troy Saturday.
• 11 different Trojans have combined to miss 115 games due to injuries this season. The Trojans are expected to dress nine players at UTA Thursday if
Nikola Maric remains unavailable.
NEWS AND NOTES
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
2021-22: 10-14 overall, 6-7 Sun Belt Conference
Last Three Games: W at Louisiana (80-77, OT); L at ULM (74-71); L vs. App State (70-61)
Head Coach: Greg Young (Howard Payne, 1986). First season at UTA (10-14); 11th season overall (178-153)
Key Players:
• #4 David Azore (Gr., G): 19.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 42.1 FG%
• #23 Patrick Mwamba (So., F): 10.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 34.3 FG%
• #20 Nicolas Elame (So., G): 7.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 43.0 FG%
• #22 Shemar Wilson (Fr., F): 6.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 64.2 FG%
• #1 Javon Levi (Gr., G): 5.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 38.9 FG%
SERIES HISTORY
Little Rock and UT Arlington meet for the 19th time with Little Rock holding the 10-8 series lead, winning the first meeting between the two in Little Rock on January 22. The Trojans have won four of the last five meetings between the two, and six of the last eight, posting a 3-5 all-time mark in Arlington. Little Rock's last win at the College Park Center was last season's 66-59 victory on January 22, 2021.
LAST WE MET
Little Rock led by 16 with nine minutes remaining in regulation, but a furious UTA rally forced not one, not two but three overtime periods before the Trojans finally outlasted the Mavericks 98-96 on January 22 at the Jack Stephens Center. The Trojans held the lead in all three overtime periods, only to see the Mavericks rally back to tie before the potential game-tying attempt in the third overtime was no good.
D.J. Smith led the way with a career-high 27 points as Little Rock made 16 three pointers, one off the program single game record.
LAST TIME OUT
Little Rock put together one of its best games of the season, building an eight-point second half lead and then holding off a late Troy rally to earn the 66-62 win at Trojan Arena Saturday afternoon.
Jovan Stulic had a career game, scoring 18 points with 18 rebounds, as Little Rock hit 10 three pointers and shot 46.8% from the floor en route to its first road win of the season.
50 FOR WALKER
Little Rock's 66-62 win at Troy Saturday marked head coach
Darrell Walker's 50th win on the Little Rock sideline, sitting at 50-60 in his fourth season. Walker upped his career coaching record to 96-78 as he holds a unique distinction as the only coach in the nation that has been a head coach at the NBA, WNBA, Division II and Division I levels.
CAREER NIGHT FOR STULIC
Jovan Stulic came up big off the bench for the Trojans in the win over Troy Saturday, tying his career-high with 18 points while setting a new personal-best with eight rebounds. Stulic shot 7-for-9 from the floor and 3-for-4 from three, registering his sixth double-digit game of the season and his second since November 21, 2021.
COMING INTO HIS OWN
True freshman
D.J. Smith finished with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting while knocking down both of his three point attempts and all three free throws in the win over Troy Saturday. Smith has scored in double figures five times and is fourth on the team in scoring in Sun Belt play, averaging 9.3 points per game against league foes.
CHASING 1,000
Senior
Nikola Maric continues to chase down an impressive career milestone. Maric has scored in double figures in nine game this season, upping his career point total to 984 and sitting just 16 points shy of becoming the 21st member of the Trojan 1,000 point club. Maric would be the first to join the club since Will Neighbour in 2014, but is questionable for Thursday's game after sitting out the last four games.
IRONMEN
Playing with a limited bench, Little Rock's starters have logged significant minutes over the past two weekends.
Isaiah Palermo (38.8),
D.J. Smith (38.9) and
Jordan Jefferson (36.9) are each averaging at least 37 minutes a game over the last four games with
CJ White (27.7) and
Myron Gardner (26.7) both seeing significant time as well.
DOUBLE FIGURE TROJANS
13 different Trojans have combined for 66 double-figure performances in 2021-22.
Jovan Stulic (18 pts.),
D.J. Smith (15 pts.) and
Myron Gardner (13 pts.) each reached double figures in the win over Troy as
Isaiah Palermo leads the team in 2021-22, reaching double fiigures 13 times in 22 games played.
PLAYING FROM BEHIND
Little Rock has had to play from behind for the majority of the season, facing a double-digit deficit in 16 of its 22 games this season. 14 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 115 missed games this season.
Chris Walker,
DeAntoni Gordon,
Marko Andric and
Ethan Speaker are all expected to miss the remainder of the season and
Nikola Maric is questionable with a lower body injury as Little Rock has used 13 different starting lineup combinations with 12 different Trojans earning starts due to those injuries.
WESTWARD WOES
Heading west has been a tough venture for Little Rock in recent years as the Trojans are just 1-19 in games played west of the 501 area code since the start of the 2017-18 season. Little Rock's lone win during that span was the 66-59 win at UT Arlington on January 22, 2021.
LAST TRIP AROUND THE SUN
Little Rock continues its 31st, and final, season in the Sun Belt this weekend, making its final trip as league members to Texas. Joining the conference in 1991-92 season, the Trojans are tied with Arkansas State and Louisiana as the second-longest tenured members of the conference with a 265-258 (.507) all-time record. Little Rock will officially leave the Sun Belt and join the Ohio Valley Conference on July 1, 2022.
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