Crucial Final Road Stretch Begins Thursday at SIUE

GAME 30 - SIU EDWARDSVILLE
Date/Time	Thursday, February 23 | 7:30 p.m.
Location	Edwardsville, Ill.
Arena	First Community Arena
Records	Little Rock (9-20, 5-11 OVC) SIUE (17-12, 8-8 OVC)
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	106.7 FM The Buz2
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Notes	Little Rock | SIUE

LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock begins a crucial final road stretch as it seeks to qualify for the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference tournament in Evansville, Indiana. That stretch begins Thursday in Edwardsville, Illinois, facing SIUE at 7:30 p.m. at First Community Arena. The game against the Cougars will stream on ESPN+ with Trojan Hall of Famer Ray Tucker handling the radio call on 106.7 FM The Buz2, beginning at approximately 7:15 p.m.

GAME STORYLINES

• Little Rock enters the week tied for eighth in the Ohio Valley Conference league standings. The Trojans play at SIUE and at Lindenwood this week, controlling their own destiny to qualify for the 2023 OVC Tournament in Evansville.

• Little Rock and SIUE meet for the second time this season and in program history, falling 84-81 at the Jack Stephens Center on February 4 following a furious 15-point comeback. The Cougars hit a beyond half-court shot as time expired to take the victory.

• DeAntoni Gordon notched his fourth double-double of the season Saturday, scoring 18 points with 12 rebounds against Eastern Illinois. Little Rock leads the OVC with 20 combined double-doubles this year, including 14 from Myron Gardner and two from CJ White.

• Myron Gardner is tied for ninth nationally with 14 double-doubles on the year while ranking 16th in defensive rebounds per game (6.93) and 23rd in total rebounds (258).

• D.J. Smith scored 20 or more points for the fourth time this season, finishing with 20 against Eastern Illinois Saturday, tied with Gardner and Gordon for the most on the team. Six different Trojans have combined for 16 games of 20-or-more points this season.

• Isaiah Palermo played in his 100th career game Saturday, logging 1,968 minutes as a Trojan. He registered a career-high seven steals, the third-most by a Trojan since 2000 and the most by an OVC player this season.

• CJ White ranks 13th nationally in assist/turnover ratio at 2.94, dishing out 100 assists with just 34 turnovers. He ranks third in assists per game in OVC play at 5.1 and sixth in defensive rebounds per game at 5.3.

NEWS AND NOTES

SCOUTING THE COUGARS
2022-23: 17-12 overall, 8-8 Ohio Valley Conference
Last Three Games: L at Tennessee State (100-85), L at UT Martin (90-84), L vs. Eastern Illinois (84-73)
Head Coach: Brian Barone (Marquette, 2000). Fourth season at SIUE and overall (45-73)
Key Players:
• #3 Ray'Sean Taylor (R-So., G): 15.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 34.0 3FG%
• #0 Damarco Minor (So., G): 13.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 40.4 FG%
• #1 DeeJuan Pruitt (R-So., F): 11.5 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 48.7 FG%
• #4 Shamar Wright (R-Jr., G): 10.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 48.9 FG%
• #55 Lamar Wright (R-Jr., F): 7.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 41.8 FG%

LAST WE MET
Little Rock rallied back from a 15-point second half deficit, pulling even with SIU Edwardsville with two seconds remaining in regulation. But the Cougars connected on a shot from beyond half court as time expired to hand the Trojans a heartbreaking 84-81 defeat at the Jack Stephens Center on February 4. Four Trojans finished in double figures as the quartet of DeAntoni Gordon, Myron Gardner, D.J. Smith and CJ White combined for 70 of Little Rock's 81 points on the night, including Gardner's 13th double-double of the season.

LAST TIME OUT
After watching an 11-point second half lead over Eastern Illinois evaporate, the Trojans found themselves headed to overtime for the first time this season. But clutch plays from DeAntonio Gordon and D.J. Smith proved key as Little Rock kept its postseason hopes alive in an 81-77 overtime victory over the Panthers. Four Trojans finished in double figures, including 20 for Smith and an 18-12 double-double for Gordon, with Isaiah Palermo finishing with 17 points and seven steals in his 100th career game.

MR. DO IT ALL
Myron Gardner continues to pace Little Rock this season, leading the Ohio Valley Conference with 14th double-doubles this season. Gardner enters Thursday's game leading Little Rock in scoring (13.1 ppg), rebounding (9.2 rpg), assists (3.7 apg), and steals (1.3 spg), ranking second in three point percentage (36.3%), blocks (0.4 bpg) and minutes (30.4) and third in free throw percentage (74.6%). Gardner enters Thursday's game ranked among the top-31 nationally in four statistical categories, including tied for 10th in double-doubles (14) and 17th in defensive rebounds per game (6.93).

PROVIDING CONSISTENCY
DeAntoni Gordon continues to provide consistency for Little Rock registering 21 double figure game of the year, second most on the team. Gordon has provided consistency inside, ranking second on the team in scoring (13.0 ppg), rebounding (5.7 rpg)  and free throw percentage (76.4%) while leading the team in minutes per game (31.0) and blocks (18) and is second in field goal percentage (52.1%). Gordon posted his fourth double-double of the season against Eastern Illinois, finishing with 18 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.

CJ COMING UP BIG
Since joining the starting lineup, CJ White has emerged as one of the top producers for the Trojans. White currently ranks third in the Ohio Valley Conference in assists (5.1 apg) and leads the league in assist/turnover ratio (3.3), ranking 13th in the country at 2.94 for the season. White is also sixth in the conference in defensive rebounds per game (5.3 rpg) as he is averaging 14.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.6 assists per start.

20-POINT CLUB
D.J. Smith led Little Rock with 20 points Saturday against Eastern Illinois, marking the fourth time this year Smith has surpassed 20 points in a game this season, joining Myron Gardner and DeAntoni Gordon. In total, six different Trojans have combined for 16 games scoring 20 or more points.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE CLUB
DeAntoni Gordon notched his fourth double-double of the season against Eastern Illinois Saturday, finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds. As a team, Little Rock has combined for 20 double-doubles this season, comprised of 14 for Myron Gardner and two from CJ White, the most of any OVC school.

DOUBLE FIGURE TROJANS
10 different Trojans have combined for 110 double figure games this season with four Trojans doing so against Eastern Illinois Saturday. Myron Gardner leads all Trojans with 23 games in double figures this year and 32 for his career, scoring 10 or more points in 72.7% of his games as a Trojan (32-of-44), followed by DeAntoni Gordon at 70.3% (26-of-37).

AGAINST THE LAND OF LINCOLN
Little Rock returns to the state of Illinois for the third time this year, playing at Southern Illinois and Eastern Illinois earlier this season. The Trojans are 3-13 all-time in games played in the Land of Lincoln with the last win coming in a 66-44 win at De- Paul in Chicago on December 12, 2015.

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