LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Little Rock continues its home stretch, welcoming Ohio Valley Conference-leading Morehead State to the Jack Stephens Center for the first time for a 6:30 p.m. tip Thursday. The game will stream live on ESPN+ with Kyle Deckelbaum and Dorian Craft on the call with Trojan Hall of Famer Ray Tucker handling the radio call on 106.7 FM The Buz2, starting at 6:15 p.m.
GAME STORYLINES
• Little Rock and Morehead State meet for the second time after the Trojans dropped a 76-72 decision to the Eagles in Morehead, Kentucky, on January 26. Little Rock rallied from a 10-point second half deficit to get to within two in the final minutes.
• Little Rock continues a key stretch of the OVC season as the Trojans will play four of their next five games at home. It continues a challenging stretch as well as the game against Morehead State marks the fourth time Little Rock will face an OVC leader in the last five games.
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Myron Gardner notched his OVC-best 13th double-double against SIU Edwardsville, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He is tied for eighth nationally as Little Rock leads the OVC with a combined 178double-doubles as a team.
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CJ White nearly posted a double-double against SIU Edwardsville, finishing with 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Over the last eight games, White is third on the team in scoring (12.6 ppg), second in rebounding (7.0 rpg) and first in assists (5.3 apg.), ranking eighth nationally in assist/turnover ratio.
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DeAntoni Gordon scored 21 points against SIU Edwardsville Saturday, his third 20-point game of the season. Six different Trojans have combined for 14 20+-point games this year, led by four for
Myron Gardner.
• Little Rock hit a season-high 13 three pointers Saturday against SIU Edwardsville, going 13-of-25 from beyond the arc (52.0%). It is the most three pointers made in a game by the Trojans since hitting 14 in the upset over South Alabama in the opening round of the 2022 Sun Belt Tournament.
NEWS AND NOTES
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
2022-23: 16-9 overall, 9-3 Ohio Valley Conference
Last Three Games: W vs. Southern Indiana (71-66, OT), W vs. Tennessee Tech (64-45), W vs. SIU Edwardsville (55-50)
Head Coach: Preston Spradlin (Alice Lloyd College, 2009). Fourth season at MSU and overall (85-86)
Key Players:
• #0 Mark Freeman (Sr., G): 16.0 ppg, 3.7 apg, 41.3 3FG%
• #45 Alex Gross (Gr., F): 11.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 57.4 FG%
• #3 Drew Thelwell (So., G): 10.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 45.6 FG%
• #24 Jake Wolfe (R-Sr., G): 9.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 40.7 FG%
• #15 Kalil Thomas (Jr., G): 7.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 40.1 FG%
LAST WE MET
Little Rock once again staged a late half rally, erasing a 10-point second half deficit to tie the game against Morehead State with two minutes to play. But the Trojans once again couldn't get over the hump, falling to the Eagles 76-72 on January 26. The loss came despite three strong performances from
DeAntoni Gordon (18),
Isaiah Palermo (16) and
Myron Gardner (15) as the trio combined for 49 of the Trojans' 72 points on the night.
LAST TIME OUT
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 Saturday afternoon. Four Trojans finished in double figures as the quartet of
DeAntoni Gordon (21),
Myron Gardner (14),
D.J. Smith (17) and
CJ White (18) combined for 70 of Little Rock's 81 points on the night.
MR. DO IT ALL
Myron Gardner continues to pace Little Rock this season, leading the Ohio Valley Conference with his 12th double-double of the year at Southeast Missouri Thursday. Gardner enters Saturday's game leading Little Rock in scoring (13.8 ppg), rebounding (9.3 rpg), assists (3.6 apg), steals (1.4 spg), minutes (30.9 mpg) and three point percentage (39.7%), tied for the team lead in blocks (0.4 bpg) and second in free throw percentage (76.2%).
CJ COMING UP BIG
CJ White continues to be a key factor in conference play, just missing a double-double against SIU Edwardsville with 18 points and nine rebounds with five assists. Over the last eight games, White has ranked third on the team in scoring (12.6), second in rebounding (7.0 rpg) and first in assists (5.3), registering a pair of double-doubles. White enters the week sitting eighth nationally in assist/turnover ratio at 3.04, sitting at 76 assists to just 25 turnovers.
20-POINT CLUB
DeAntoni Gordon notched his third 20-point performance of the season, scoring 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting against SIU Edwardsville Saturday. Six different Trojans have combined to surpass 20 points in a game 14 times this season, led by Myron Gardner accomplishing the feat four times to complement Gordon's three.
PROVIDING CONSISTENCY
DeAntoni Gordon's 21 points Saturday against SIU Edwardsville was his 18th double figure game of the year, second most on the team. Gordon has provided consistency inside, ranking second on the team in scoring (12.8 ppg) and rebounding (5.6 rpg) while leading the team in blocks (11) and is third in both field goal (51.8%) and qualifying free throw percentages (76.0%).
DOUBLE-DOUBLE CLUB
Myron Gardner notched his OVC-best 13th double-double of the year against SIU Edwardsville, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds. That is tied for eighth nationally as Little Rock has combined for 18 double-doubles this year, including three from DeAntoni Gordon and a pair from CJ White. The 18 combined double-doubles leads all OVC teams.
DOUBLE FIGURE TROJANS
10 different Trojans have combined for 89 double figure games this season with four different Trojans reaching the mark against SIU Edwardsville. Myron Gardner leads all Trojans with 21 games in double figures this year and 30 for his career, scoring 10 or more points in 75.0% of his games as a Trojan (30-of-40), followed by DeAntoni Gordon at 69.7% (23-of-33).
STRUGGLES DOWN THE STRETCH
Little Rock had another heartbreaking defeat against SIU Edwardsville, falling 84-81 on a 70-foot shot at the buzzer after rallying back from 15. In its last eight OVC losses, Little Rock has pulled within six with four minutes to go in each of them, despite trailing by double digits in five games. The Trojans have gotten to within one possession in the last two minutes of each game, tying the game on three occasions.
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