Trojans and Lions Tangle in Winner-Take-All Showdown Saturday

GAME 31 - LINDENWOOD
Date/Time	Saturday, February 25 - 3:30 p.m.
Location	St. Charles, Mo.
Arena	Hyland Arena
Records	Little Rock (10-20, 6-11 OVC) Lindenwood (10-20, 5-12 OVC)
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	106.7 FM The Buz2
Live Stats	SideArm Stats
Notes	Little Rock | Lindenwood

LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock closes its 2022-23 regular season in St. Charles, Missouri, facing fellow Ohio Valley Conference newcomer Lindenwood in a win-or-go-home game Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The "game seven" showdown will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Trojan Hall of Famer Ray Tucker handling the radio call on 106.7 FM The Buz2, starting at approximately 3:30 p.m. 

GAME STORYLINES

• The winner of Saturday's game will clinch the number eight seed in the OVC tournament. A Little Rock win would make it 7-11 in conference play with the Lions sitting at 5-13 while a Lindenwood win would make both teams 6-12, giving the Lions the tiebreaker with a 2-0 record against the Trojans this year.

• Lindenwood won the first meeting between the two teams this year, a 67-62 victory at the Jack Stephens Center on January 4 as the Lions rallied from a 20-point first half deficit.

• Myron Gardner notched his 15th double-double of the season Thursday, scoring 12 points with 11 rebounds at SIU Edwardsville. That is tied for the third-most in a season in program history behind 16 from both Rashad Jones-Jennings in 2006-07 and Ruot Monyyong in 2019-20.

• Myron Gardner's 15 double-doubles leads the OVC as he is tied for sixth nationally. As a team, Little Rock has combined for 21 double-doubles this year, the most in the conference, including four from DeAntoni Gordon and two from CJ White.

• 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.

• Five Trojans finished in double figures in the win at SIU Edwardsville, tied for the most in a game this season for Little Rock. Myron Gardner has the most double figure games this season with 24, followed by 22 from DeAntoni Gordon.

• Isaiah Palermo enters Saturday's game with 1,989 career minutes in a Trojan uniform as he became the first player to reach 100 career games played since Maurius Hill in 2017.

NEWS AND NOTES

SCOUTING THE LIONS
2022-23: 10-20 overall, 5-12 Ohio Valley Conference
Last Three Games: W vs. Southeast Missouri (105-102, 2OT), L at Morehead State (71-58), L at Tennessee Tech (77-68)
Head Coach: Kyle Gerdeman (Southeast Missouri, 1998). Fourth season at LIN and overall (44-63)
Key Players:
• #24 Keenon Cole (Jr., F): 13.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 45.5 3FG%
• #30 Chris Childs (Sr., G): 12.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 37.0 FG%
• #11 Kevin Caldwell Jr. (Sr., G): 12.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 37.7 FG%
• #5 Cam Burrell (Sr., F): 10.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 48.7 FG%
• #2 Brandon Trimble (Sr., G): 8.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 40.0 3FG%

LAST WE MET
Little Rock led by as many as 20 in the first half, but a furious second half rally for Lindenwood propelled the Lions past the Trojans 67-62 at the Jack Stephens Center January 4. The Trojans held a 14-point halftime lead, but managed just two field goals over the final 10 minutes as the Lions closed the game on a 22-7 run, outscoring Little Rock 40-21 in the second half. The Lions made 11 of their final 13 shots while the Trojans were just 1-for-12 down the stretch. The loss overshadowed another stellar performance from Myron Gardner finishing with 16 points and a season-high 15 rebounds along with two assists and two steals.

LAST TIME OUT
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. 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.

MR. DO IT ALL
Myron Gardner continues to pace Little Rock this season, leading the Ohio Valley Conference with 15 double-doubles this season, including his 12-point, 11-rebound performance at SIUE Thursday. Gardner enters Saturday leading Little Rock in scoring (13.0 ppg), rebounding (9.3 rpg), assists (3.7 apg), and steals (1.3 spg), ranking second in blocks (0.4 bpg) and minutes (30.7) and third in both three point (35.8%) and free throw percentage (75.0%). Gardner enters Saturday's game ranked among the top-30 nationally in four statistical categories, including tied for sixth in double-doubles (15).

PROVIDING CONSISTENCY
DeAntoni Gordon continues to provide consistency for Little Rock registering 22 double figure game of the year, second most on the team. Gordon has provided consistency inside, tied for first on the team in scoring (13.0 ppg) and second in rebounding (5.6 rpg)  and free throw percentage (75.8%) while leading the team in minutes per game (31.2), blocks (18) and field goal percentage (52.0%). Gordon posted his fourth double-double of the season against Eastern Illinois last Saturday, 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 (4.8 apg) and leads the league in assist/turnover ratio (3.2), ranking 17th in the country at 2.86 for the season. White is also sixth in the conference in defensive rebounds per game (5.1 rpg) as he is averaging 15.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists per start.

PALERMO FLEXING HIS MUSCLES
Isaiah Palermo is the most experienced Trojan on the active roster, playing in 101 games and logging just shy of 2,000 minutes in a Little Rock uniform. Palermo has been a key contributor late in the season, scoring in double figures in five-straight games and finishing with double digit point totals in 10 games this season, tied for fourth on the team.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE CLUB
Myron Gardner notched his 15th double-double of the year Thursday, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds in the win over SIU Edwardsville. The 15 double-doubles is tied for the third-most in a season in program history, one shy of Rashad Jones-Jennings in 2006-07 and Ruot Monyyong in 2019-20. As a team, Little Rock has combined for an OVC-best  21 double-doubles this season, comprised of four from DeAntoni Gordon and two from CJ White.

DOUBLE FIGURE TROJANS
10 different Trojans have combined for 115 double figure games this season with five Trojans doing so Thursday at SIUE, tying the season-high. Myron Gardner leads all Trojans with 24 games in double figures this year and 33 for his career, scoring 10 or more points in 73.3% of his games as a Trojan (33-of-45), followed by DeAntoni Gordon at 71.1% (27-of-38).

IN THE SHOW ME STATE
Little Rock is seeking its first win in the state of Missouri since the 67-66 win at Missouri State in Springfield on November 5, 2019 to open the 2019-20 Sun Belt Championship season. The Trojans are 4-9 (.308) all-time in the Show Me state.

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