LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock returns to the Jack Stephens Center for its first OVC game on its home court, hosting fellow conference newcomer Lindenwood Wednesday, January 4 at 7:30 p.m. The game will stream live on ESPN+ with Dorian Craft and Patrick Newton handling the call, while Trojan Hall of Famer Ray Tucker will have the radio broadcast on 106.7 FM The Buz2, starting at approximately 7:15 p.m.
GAME STORYLINES
• Wednesday's game against the Lions was originally scheduled for Thursday, January 5, but was moved to the 4th due to a new OVC scheduling policy regarding road games more than 350 miles.
• The Trojans will return to the Jack Stephens Center after playing its OVC home opener at Simmons Bank Arena due to flooding on Joe Foley Court that resulted in it being a total loss. Little Rock will play on a temporary court for the remainder of the year, which is the same floor Gonzaga and Michigan State played on at the Armed Forces Classic in San Diego back in November.
• Little Rock and Lindenwood meet for the first time Wednesday as the Lions are the third of seven opponents the Trojans will be facing for the first time this season.
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Myron Gardner enters Wednesday's game among the top-50 nationally in six statistical categories, tied for fourth in the nation with an OVC-best eight double-doubles. He trails only St. John's Joel Soriano (12), Purdue's Zach Edey (11) and Coastal Carolina's Essam Mostafa (9).
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Jordan Jefferson has scored in double figures in seven-straight games, scoring 17 at Tennessee State Saturday. Since entering the starting lineup six games ago, he is averaging 18.2 points per game while shooting 63.3% from the floor and 53.8% from three point range.
• Little Rock ranks 35th nationally in free throws attempted per game (22.1) and is 37th in free throws made (15.6) per game.
Myron Gardner leads the charge, ranking 47th nationally in free throw attempts (82) and is 50th in free throws made (61).
• Little Rock is seeking its first win against a team from Missouri since the 67-66 win at Missouri State to open the 2019-20 season en route to its Sun Belt Championship run.
NEWS AND NOTES
SCOUTING THE LIONS
2022-23: 6-9 overall, 1-1 Ohio Valley Conference
Last Three Games: W vs. Tennessee Tech (82-64), L at Eastern Illinois (55-54), L at Utah Tech (95-64)
Head Coach: Kyle Gerdeman (Southeast Missouri, 1998). Fourth season at LU and overall (40-52)
Key Players:
• #30 Chris Childs (Sr., G): 13.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 33.7 3FG%
• #11 Kevin Caldwell Jr. (Sr., G): 12.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 36.8 FG%
• #5 Cam Burrell (Sr., F): 11.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 52.9 FG%
• #24 Keenon Cole (Jr., F): 11.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 52.1 FG%
• #2 Brandon Trimble (Sr., G): 7.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 35.9 FG%
FOR THE FIRST TIME
Little Rock and Lindenwood meet for the first time as the two are in their first season as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. Both picked up their first OVC wins last week with the Trojans beating UT Martin 88-74 on Thursday with the Lions besting Tennessee Tech 82-64 on Saturday.
LAST TIME OUT
Tennessee State used a three-point barrage to put Little Rock in an early hole and the Trojan shooting woes continued in a 94-69 loss to the Tigers Saturday afternoon in Nashville. Only two Trojans finished in double figures, including
Jordan Jefferson's 17 points and 10 for
Myron Gardner, as Tennessee State hit 14 three pointers, shooting 56.0% from beyond the arc.
MR. DO IT ALL
Myron Gardner continues to pace Little Rock this season, leading the Ohio Valley Conference with his eighth double-double against UT Martin Thursday. Gardner enters the week leading Little Rock in scoring (13.7 ppg), rebounding (9.2 rpg), assists (3.7 apg), steals (1.7 spg) and minutes (31.1 mpg), ranking third in both three point (35.2%) and free throw percentage (74.4%). Gardner enters Wednesday's game ranked among the top-50 nationally in six statistical categories and is among the top-10 of Ohio Valley Conference players in six categories.
HEATING UP
Jordan Jefferson finished in double figures for the seventh-straight game, scoring 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting against Tennessee State Saturday. Jefferson has provided a spark since entering the starting lineup six games ago, shooting 63.3% from the floor (38-of-60) , including 53.8% from three point range (14-of-26) and averaging 18.2 points.
ADDING CONSISTENCY
DeAntoni Gordon notched his third double-double of the year with a 16-point, 12-rebound performance against UT Martin Thursday. Gordon ranks fourth on the team in scoring (10.8 ppg) and second in rebounding (5.5 rpg), sitting second on the team in both field goal percentage (50.4%) and free throw percentage (80.0%) with 10 games in double figures.
OVC TIMES THREE
Chris Walker earned his third OVC Freshman of the Week honor of the season Monday following another strong performance. Walker averaged 9.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in the pair of games last week, scoring 11 points against UT Martin with seven points and a team-high seven rebounds at Tennessee State. Along with teammate
Ethan Speaker, the duo has captured five of the eight weekly Freshman of the Week accolades this season.
DOUBLE FIGURE TROJANS
Nine different Trojans have combined for 52 double figure games this season with
Jordan Jefferson (17) and
Myron Gardner (10) reaching the feat at Tennessee State. Gardner's 22 career games of reaching double figures is the most on the active roster, doing so in 22 of his 31 games in a Trojan uniform (71.0%), followed by Gordon reaching the feat in 14 of his 23 games in Little Rock (60.9%).
HOME SWEET HOME
Little Rock returns home to the Jack Stephens Center where the Trojans are 161-91 (.639), sitting at 4-0 at home this year after wins over Arkansas Baptist, Jackson State, Philander Smith and Central Arkansas. Little Rock has posted a winning record in 14 of its 17 seasons at the Jack as the Trojans will play its first OVC game at its home arena after having to move to Simmons Bank Arena for its conference opener following the court flooding.
STARTING CONSISTENCY
After having 17 different starting lineup combinations in 2021-22, tied for second nationally, Little Rock has seen some consistency with its starting five this year. The Trojans have used just three different combinations in 2022-23 with
D.J. Smith,
Myron Gardner,
DeAntoni Gordon and
Nigel John starting all 15 games for Little Rock.
Jovan Stulic is the active leader on the roster with 60 career games started, followed by Smith (35),
Isaiah Palermo (34) and Gardner (30).
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