CHARLESTON, Ill. – Trailing by nine early in the second half, Little Rock rallied back as the Trojans and Panthers combined for six ties and eight lead changes in a seven minutes span in the second half. But Eastern Illinois hit the key shots down the stretch to pull away for the 70-63 victory at Lantz Arena.
Little Rock was led by the duo of
Myron Gardner and
Jordan Jefferson, with Jefferson pacing the Trojans with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three point range with three steals. Gardner just missed his 11th double-double of the year, and flirted with his second career triple-double, finishing with 10 points, nine rebounds and seven assists along with three blocks and a pair of steals.
But they were the lone Trojans to finish in double figures as Little Rock shot 38.1% from the floor (24-of-63), making 7-of-23 three point attempts (30.4%). But the Trojans finished just the game shooting 34.2% in the second half, compared to 56.0% for Eastern Illinois to enable the Panthers to pull away.
Little Rock did hold a 40-38 edge in rebounding, but tied a season-high with 20 turnovers, providing 20 points off those giveaways for Eastern Illinois. The Panthers also had nine blocks on Trojan attempts, the second most allowed this season, while holding a 36-22 edge in points in the paint.
Ethan Speaker had a solid afternoon off the bench for the Trojans, finishing with eight points and seven rebounds on 4-of-6 shooting.
DeAntoni Gordon,
Daniel Egbuniwe,
Nigel John and
CJ White each tallied seven points for Little Rock, with Egbuniwe setting a new career-high. White pulled down seven rebounds with four assists while Egbuniwe had a career-high four rebounds as well.
Playing Eastern Illinois for the first time since 1977, Little Rock scored the first points of the game off a Jefferson jumper, but the Panthers responded with a 15-7 run to claim a 15-9 advantage at the 12:50 mark of the first half. Jefferson had five of the first nine points for Little Rock, but turnover miscues kept the Trojans from claiming the lead.
A 9-2 run for Little Rock finally put the Trojans on top 18-17 with 9:19 left in the half, thanks in part to five-straight points for Gardner. But the Panthers answered with an 8-0 run, including back-to-back threes, pulling in front by seven at 25-18 with just over seven minutes to go in the opening half.
Speaker ended the surge with a jumper at the seven minute mark, but it would be the last Trojan basket in a nearly four-minute span as the Panthers extended their run to 13-4, claiming an eight-point lead at 30-22 with 2:40 remaining. Little Rock got to within five at 30-25 with 2:09 left, but couldn't convert on opportunities down the stretch as the Trojans trailed 32-25 at halftime.
Little Rock was 11-of-25 from the floor in the first half (44.0%) and held a 21-16 rebounding edge, but 14 Trojan turnovers led to 14 Panther points as Eastern Illinois knocked down five of its 10 three point attempts in the opening 20 minutes. Jefferson, Gardner and John each had five points in the first half with Gardner leading the way with six blocks and four assists.
A quick basket to start the second half pushed Eastern Illinois' lead to nine at 34-25, its largest of the game. But back-to-back baskets from Gordon helped spark a Little Rock rally, getting to within five at 36-31. Eastern Illinois pushed the lead back to eight at 41-33, but a three pointer from Gordon sparked a 10-2 Little Rock run, aided by back-to-back baskets from Speaker and a three from Jefferson to tie the game at 43-43 at the 11:47 mark.
Once the Trojans pulled even, it sparked a back-and-forth affair over the next seven and a half minutes in which neither team led by more than two. The Trojans and Panthers combined for six ties and eight lead changes during that span as five different Little Rock players scored to keep the Trojans even.
Gardner hit a pair of free throws at the 4:14 mark, pulling Little Rock even at 57-57, leading to back-to-back baskets for Eastern Illinois to give the Panthers the four-point advantage at 61-57 at the 2:45 mark. That sparked a final surge for Eastern Illinois which outscored Little Rock 13-6 down the stretch, including an 11-1 run over a three minute span, to pull away for the 70-63 win.
Kinyon Hodges led all players with 23 points as Eastern Illinois shot 46.6% from the floor. He was joined by Yaakema Rose's 15 points with Nick Ellington scoring 13 points as those three combined for all but seven of Eastern Illinois' 38 second half points. Elllington added nine rebounds as well.
Little Rock now returns home for a key home stand to try and remain in the chase for the OVC Tournament in March. That begins on Thursday, January 19 when the Trojans welcome Tennessee Tech to the Jack Stephens Center for the first-ever meeting against the Golden Eagles. Opening tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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