LITTLE ROCK – Five Trojans finished in double figures and
Myron Gardner came within a whisker of a triple-double, but Little Rock was unable to get off the potential game winning shot in the final seconds, falling in a heartbreaker to Southern Indiana 82-81 at the Jack Stephens Center.
DeAntoni Gordon led the way with 20 points for the Trojans, adding five rebounds, while
CJ White posted 17 points, four rebounds and eight assists.
D.J. Smith registered 11 points while
Nigel John had 10, playing primarily in the first half.
Gardner nearly registered the second triple-double in program history, finishing with nine points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Those six Trojans combined for 77 of Little Rock's 81 points on the night as the team shot 55.4% from the floor (31-of-56), including 6-of-14 from three point range (42.9%).
Southern Indiana shot 51.7% for the game, knocking down 13 three pointers to help spark the comeback. The rebounding tally was even at 31 and specialty scoring was nearly even across the board with the Trojans holding a 22-18 edge in points off turnovers.
Little Rock found its scoring touch early, knocking down three early threes and using a 9-0 run to build an early 15-9 lead at the 14:44 mark as all five Trojan starters scored during the first five minutes.
Southern Indiana pulled to within two at 17-15 with 12:40 left in the first half, which was answered by another 9-0 Trojan run as Little Rock pushed its lead to 11 at 26-15 at the midway point of the first half.
The Screaming Eagles trimmed the lead to four, only to see the Trojans push their lead back to eight at 34-26 off a dunk from Gordon at the 5:46 mark. But a 9-0 run, this time for Southern Indiana, gave the Screaming Eagles their first lead at 35-34 with 3:39 remaining.
The two teams exchanged baskets down the stretch as Little Rock took a 43-40 lead into halftime behind shooting 56.7% from the floor, going 4-of-8 from three point range. Gordon, White and John paced Little Rock with eight points each while Smith added seven and Gardner had five points and six rebounds.
Little Rock's hot shooting continued into the second half as the Trojans knocked down seven of their first eight attempts. But Southern Indiana hit five of its first seven as well, letting Little Rock slowly push its lead to seven at 59-52 behind threes from White and Smith.
Southern Indiana continued to find its scoring touch, knocking down 10 of its first 11 shots in the second half, six of which were three pointers, pulling front 71-70 at the midway point. From there, the two teams combined for two ties and two lead changes, with the Trojans pulling in front by four at 78-74 with 4:22 to go.
But the jumper from Palermo at 4:22 was the Trojans' final field goal of the game as the Screaming Eagles rattled off an 8-0 run, taking a four-point lead at 82-78 with 2:03 to play. The Trojans held USI scoreless for the rest of the way, pulling within one at 82-81 off three free throws and had the ball in the final seconds. But Little Rock couldn't get the potential game-winning shot off as the Trojans drop another heartbreaker, falling by one.
Little Rock shot 53.8% in the second half, but that was surpassed by Southern Indiana's 59.3% shooting as the Screaming Eagles knocked down eight threes over the final 20 minutes to complete the comeback. The quartet of Jacob Polakovich, Trevor Lakes, Jelani Simmons and Isaiah Swope combined for 80 of Southern Indiana's 82 points Thursday night.
The Trojans look to keep their postseason hopes alive with a crucial game Saturday against Eastern Illinois. The Panthers currently sit in the number eight spot of the league standings, a full game ahead of the Trojans in the battle for Evansville. Opening tip against the Panthers is set for 3:30 p.m. in the final home game of 2022-23.
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