LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock closes out the 2021-22 regular season with the final Sun Belt game at the Jack Stephens Center. The home and regular season finale pits the Trojans against Coastal Carolina, tipping at 6:30 p.m. Friday, streaming on ESPN+ with Hayden Balgavy and Patrick Newton on the call. Trojan Hall of Famer Ray Tucker will handle the radio call on 106.7 FM The Buz2, beginning 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 266-261 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 enters Friday's game against Coastal Carolina with a clear-cut path to the tournament seeding. If the Trojans win Friday, they will be the number 11 seed in Pensacola, and if they lose, they will be the number 12 seed.
• Little Rock and Coastal Carolina meet for the ninth time Friday, the fewest amount of meetings for the Trojans against a Sun Belt foe. The Chanticleers have won six of the eight meetings, holding a 3-1 edge at the Jack Stephens Center.
•
Myron Gardner notched the first triple-double in the program's Division I history Wednesday, finishing with 13 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists to become the 23rd player to register a triple-double in college basketball this season.
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Nikola Maric enters Friday's game 10 points shy of becoming the 21st player in program history to reach 1,000 career points and the first since Will Neighbour in 2014.
• Little Rock used its 16th different starting lineup against App State, tied for the third-most nationally behind Alabama State (18) and Coppin State (17) and tied with Memphis (16).
• 11 different Trojans have combined to miss 129 games due to injuries this season. The Trojans are expected to dress 10 players against Coastal Carolina Friday with
Admir Besovic questionable after a shot to the mouth Wednesday resulting in lost and fractured teeth.
NEWS AND NOTES
SCOUTING THE CHANTICLEERS
2021-22: 15-12 overall, 7-8 Sun Belt Conference
Last Three Games: W at Arkansas State (74-69), W vs. Troy (73-63), L vs. South Alabama (71-68)
Head Coach: Cliff Ellis (Florida State, 1968). 15th season at Coastal Carolina (279-200); 47th season overall (891-550)
Key Players:
• #24 Vince Cole (Sr., G): 15.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 40.7 3FG%
• #3 Rudi Williams (Sr., G): 14.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 51.9 FG%
•#44 Essam Mostafa (R-So., C): 13.4 rpg, 9.5 rpg, 49.5 FG%
• #10 Ebrima Dibba (R-Jr., G): 7.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 46.0 FG%
•#14 Josh Uduje (Fr., G): 7.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 44.4 FG%
SERIES HISTORY
Friday's game marks the ninth overall meeting between Little Rock and Coastal Carolina, the fewest number of meetings the Trojans have against a Sun Belt foe. Coastal has won six of the eight, winning three of four both in Conway and at the Jack Stephens Center. The Trojans won the last meeting in Little Rock, a 96-79 victory on January 30, 2020.
LAST WE MET
Jordan Jefferson recorded a career-high 18 points and
Nikola Maric just missed a double-double, but a cold shooting night proved costly for Little Rock as the Trojans dropped a 65-49 decision on January 27 in Conway, S.C. Little Rock pulled within three at 29-26 early in the second half, but a pair of extended Chanticleer runs put the game away.
LAST TIME OUT
Myron Gardner notched the first triple-double in Division I program history, finishing with 13 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists, but a number of extended App State runs kept the Trojans in a hole most of the game as the Mountaineers took a 78-66 victory at the Jack Stephens Center. The Trojans trailed by eight at halftime but were down by double-digits the majority of the second half the triple-double from Gardner and a career-high 20 points from
CJ White.
PATH TO PENSACOLA
Little Rock has a clear path to it seeding at the 2022 Sun Belt tournament in Pensacola as it heads into Friday. Sitting at 3-10 (.231), the Trojans could finish at either 4-10 (.286) or 3-11 (.214). ULM and Georgia Southern, the two teams ahead of the Trojans, play each other Friday in Statesboro. If Little Rock wins Friday, they will move percentage points ahead of the loser of the ULM-Georgia Southern game into the number 11 seed. If Little Rock loses Friday, it will clinch the number 12 seed.
HISTORY FOR MYRON
Myron Gardner recorded the first triple-double in program history in the Division I era Wednesday night with 13 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. Gardner became the 23rd player to register a triple-double during the 2021-22 season and the second in the Sun Belt, joining UT Arlington's Javon Levi's 14 point, 10 rebound and 10 assist game against Louisiana on January 13.
CHASING 1,000
Senior
Nikola Maric continues to chase down an impressive career milestone, upping his career point total to 990 after his six-point performance against App State and sitting just 10 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.
BIG NIGHT FOR CJ
CJ White set a new career-best with his 20-point performance against App State Wednesday night. The senior was 7-of-13 from the floor, 2-of-5 from three and made all four of his free throws, becoming the seventh different Trojan to score 20 or more points in a game this season.
DOUBLE FIGURE TROJANS
13 different Trojans have combined for 75 double-figure performances in 2021-22.
CJ White led the Trojans with 20 points for his seventh game in double figures, followed by 13 points from
Myron Gardner (eighth), 12 from
Isaiah Palermo (team-best 14th) and 10 from
Jovan Stulic (eighth).
SENIOR NIGHT
Little Rock will honor four seniors prior to Friday's game against Coastal Carolina - Terrell Curtis,
Nikola Maric,
Kevin Osawe and
CJ White - as well as team manager Aaron Thomas, who has been with the team the last four seasons.
PLAYING FROM BEHIND
Little Rock has had to play from behind for the majority of the season, facing a double-digit deficit in 19 of its 25 games this season. 17 of those games have seen the Trojans trailing by 10 or more in the second half, including 10 of 13 Sun Belt games, 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 129 missed games this season.
Chris Walker,
DeAntoni Gordon,
Marko Andric and
Ethan Speaker are all expected to miss the remainder of the season.
Admir Besovic is questionable for Friday's game after taking a shot to the mouth Wednesday, resulting both lost and fractured teeth.
FINDING THE RIGHT COMBINATION
Because of the injuries sustained by Little Rock this season, the Trojans have had 16 different starting lineup combinations this season through 25 games.
Isaiah Palermo has the most starts among the Trojans with 19 games started this season, followed by the 17 starts by freshman
D.J. Smith. That combination ranks Little Rock tied for third in the nation behind Alabama State (18), Coppin State (17) and even with 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 157-90 (.636) all-time record in their on-campus home, including a 6-6 home record in 2021-22. Little Rock has posted an 88-63 (.583) record against Sun Belt opponents at the Jack Stephens Center, sitting at 2-4 on its home court against league opposition this season.
LAST TRIP AROUND THE SUN
Little Rock concludes its 31st, and final, season in the Sun Belt this weekend. 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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