LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock closes out the 2021-22 regular season with the final Sun Belt games at the Jack Stephens Center. The home finales begin Wednesday facing App State with opening tip against the Mountaineers set for 6:30 p.m. The game will stream live on ESPN+, called by Hayden Balgavy and Patrick Newton, with Trojan Hall of Famer Ray Tucker handling the radio call on 106.7 FM The Buz2, getting underway at 6:15 p.m.
GAME STORYLINES
• Little Rock concludes its 31st, and final, season as a member of the Sun Belt Conference this week, posting an all-time record of 266-260 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 recently concluded a stretch of six of eight games on the road, traveling to the Carolinas, Alabama and Texas. The Trojans traveled approximately 4,500 miles, spending time in seven different states over four weeks.
• Little Rock and App State meet for the 17th time Wednesday with the two teams splitting the previous 16 meetings. The Mountaineers have won two-straight and six of the last eight, but Little Rock is 5-2 against App State on its home court.
• Slow starts have plagued the Trojans in recent weeks as Little Rock has never held a lead in three of its last four games, leading for 23 minutes in the win at Troy. The Trojans' last double-digit lead came against UT Arlington on January 22 when Little Rock led by as many as 17.
• Little Rock used its 15th different starting lineup at UT Arlington and at Texas State last week, ranking among the top-five nationally for most starting lineup combinations behind Alabama State (18), Coppin State (17) and Memphis (16).
• 11 different Trojans have combined to miss 125 games due to injuries this season. The Trojans are expected to dress nine players against App State Wednesday as senior
Nikola Maric will be a game-time decision after missing eight of the last 10 games, sitting 16 points shy of reaching 1,000 career points.
NEWS AND NOTES
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
2021-22: 17-12 overall, 11-5 Sun Belt Conference
Last Three Games: W vs. South Alabama (69-51), L vs. Troy (67-61), L vs. Georgia State (58-49)
Head Coach: Dustin Kerns (Clemson, 2002). Third season at App State (52-39); Fifth season overall (83-76)
Key Players:
• #20 Adrian Delph (Sr., G): 17.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 39.6 3FG%
• #11 Donovan Gregory (Jr., F): 10.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 50.6 FG%
• #5 Michael Almonacy (Gr., G): 9.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 34.3 FG%
• #1 Justin Forrest (Sr., G): 8.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 29.8 FG%
• #15 CJ Huntley (So., F): 6.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 50.3 FG%
SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday's game will be the 17th all-time meeting between Little Rock and App State with the two teams splitting the previous 16 games. The Mountaineers have had the upper hand as of late, winning the last two and six of the last eight, including the 72-57 win on January 29 in Boone. Little Rock is 5-2 against App State at the Jack Stephens Center, including the 93-86 win on February 1, 2020.
LAST WE MET
Little Rock battled App State for 35 minutes, trailing by one possession with five minutes to play, but the Mountaineers ended the game on a 14-2 run to take the 72-57 decision on January 29 in Boone.
Myron Gardner led Little Rock with 16 points and eight rebounds while
Isaiah Palermo added finishing with 12 points as Little Rock rallied from a 10-point first half hole to pull within one with seven minutes to play.
LAST TIME OUT
After seeing Texas State race out to a 16-2 lead early, Little Rock fought back to pull within one on a pair of occasions in the second half. But the Trojans could never get over the hump, allowing Texas State to close out the game on a 31-14 run over the final 15 minutes to take the 68-50 victory in San Marcos.
Myron Gardner and
D.J. Smith both finished with 10 points to lead Little Rock as the Trojans were within one in rebounds at 26-25, but couldn't hold off the hot shooting Bobcats down the stretch.
50 FOR WALKER
Little Rock's 66-62 win at Troy on February 12 marked head coach
Darrell Walker's 50th win on the Little Rock sideline, sitting at 50-61 in his fourth season. Walker upped his career coaching record to 96-79 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.
DOUBLE FIGURE TROJANS
13 different Trojans have combined for 71 double-figure performances in 2021-22.
Myron Gardner and
D.J. Smith each finished with 10 points at Texas State, marking the seventh game in double figures for Gardner and the sixth for Smith.
Isaiah Palermo leads the Trojans with 13 double-digit games this season, followed by nine for
Nikola Maric.
IRONMAN
Since rejoining the starting lineup six games ago, freshman
D.J. Smith has been a mainstay on the court for the Trojans. During those six games, Smith has played 236 of the 245 minutes, averaging 39.3 minutes per game, including playing all 40 minutes in each of the last three games. The freshman has scored in double figures in three of those games, averaging 3.2 assists.
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 Wednesday's game after sitting out the last six games.
DYNAMIC DUO
Over the last eight games, freshman
Jordan Jefferson and junior
Myron Gardner have emerged as Little Rock's top scoring threats. Over that span, Jefferson leads the team averaging 12.0 points per game while Gardner is second in scoring (10.5 ppg) and tops in rebounding (6.1 rpg). The two have also combined to make 76.1% of their free throw attempts (35-of-46).
PLAYING FROM BEHIND
Little Rock has had to play from behind for the majority of the season, facing a double-digit deficit in 18 of its 24 games this season. 16 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 125 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 has missed the last six games with a lower body injury. His last game was at App State, scoring eight points with four rebounds and six assists.
FINDING THE RIGHT COMBINATION
Because of the injuries sustained by Little Rock this season, the Trojans have had 15 different starting lineup combinations this season through 24 games.
Isaiah Palermo has the most starts among the Trojans with 19 games started this season, followed by the 16 starts by freshman
D.J. Smith. That combination ranks Little Rock fourth in the nation behind Alabama State (18), Coppin State (17) and Memphis (16).
FINAL SUN BELT HOME STAND
Little Rock is in its 17th season at the Jack Stephens Center as the Trojans have posted a 157-89 (.638) all-time record in their on-campus home, including a 6-5 home record in 2021-22. Little Rock has posted an 88-62 (.587) record against Sun Belt opponents at the Jack Stephens Center, sitting at 2-3 on its home court against league opposition this season.
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 Little Rock will officially leave the Sun Belt and join the Ohio Valley Conference on July 1, 2022.
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