EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Five Trojans finished in double figures as Little Rock maintained control throughout the second half to defeat SIU Edwardsville 79-74 at First Community Arena Thursday evening.
That sets up another "game seven" showdown with Lindenwood Saturday as the Lions rallied from 20 points down to defeat Southeast Missouri 105-102 in double overtime. The do-or-die showdown will help determine the number eight seed in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament in Evansville, Indiana.
The Trojans were led by a 19-point performance from
CJ White, who went 8-of-12 from the floor, while
Myron Gardner added his OVC-best 15th double-double, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds with four assists and three blocks. The 15 double-doubles is tied for the second-most in a season in program history, one shy of Ruot Monyyong's 16 in 2019-20.
DeAntoni Gordon had another double-figure night, finishing with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting with four rebounds and a pair of steals.
D.J. Smith and
Isaiah Palermo each added 11 points with Smth going 4-for-5 from the floor with a game-high six assists and three steals while Palermo was a clutch 7-for-8 from the free throw line with four rebounds and three steals.
Little Rock shot an even 50% for the game, making 28-of-56 from the floor, while knocking down 4-of-13 from three point range and 19-of-25 (76.0%) from the free throw line. That was contrasted by SIUE's 45.3% shooting (24-of-53) while the Cougars hit 7-of-14 from beyond the arc and 19-of-27 from the line (70.4%).
SIUE held a slight 32-31 rebounding edge, including a 10-8 edge in both offensive boards and second chance points. Little Rock held a slight 34-32 advantage in the paint while the Cougars outscored the Trojans 21-16 on fast breaks in a tightly contested game.
Playing for its postseason lives once again, Little Rock and SIUE battled back and forth for the first 18 minutes of the game, combining for 11 ties and six lead changes as neither team led by more than six points.
An 8-0 run for the Cougars at the midway point of the first half turned a 15-11 Trojan lead into a 19-15 SIUE advantage with 9:40 remaining. With the game tied at 24-24, Little Rock used a 6-0 run to build a six-point advantage at 30-24 with just over four minutes to go in the half.
SIUE fought back to tie the game at 32-32 with just under two minutes remaining, but the Trojans closed the half on an 8-0 run to take a 40-32 edge into halftime. Gordon and White each had 10 points for Little Rock in the first half with Palermo adding seven as the Trojans shot 13-of-26 from the floor.
It was a lead Little Rock would never relinquish in the second half, leading by as many as 14 at the 11:31 mark at 61-47 off back-to-back layups from White. The Trojans maintained a near-double digit lead for the duration, pulling in front by 10 at 73-63 with 4:13 to go off a pair of free throws from Palermo.
SIUE had one final run in it, using an 8-0 run to pull to within two at 73-71 with 1:55 remaining. But the Trojans made some key stops over the final two minutes and made enough free throws to put the game away, outscoring the Cougars 6-3 over the final two minutes to secure the win.
Little Rock now heads to Lindenwood for the do-or-die regular season finale in St. Charles, Missouri. Opening tip against the Lions is set for 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Hyland Arena.
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