Little Rock has one final tune-up before beginning its Ohio Valley Conference schedule next week. The Trojans (6-4), who are riding a three-game winning streak, meet UIC (5-4) at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Stephens Center. Radio coverage can be heard on 1067 Buz2 with the pregame starting at 12:45 p.m. Legendary Ray Tucker and former Trojan Jason Lanier have the call. The game will also be streamed on ESPN+ with Patrick Newton and Clay Moser providing play-by-play and analysis.
LAST TIME OUT
The Trojans used a big second half to run past NCAA Division II program Ouachita Baptist, 80-57, Tuesday night at the Stephens Center. Senior grad transfer
Mwani Wilkinson scored 25 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. He also was a force defensively with 3 steals and 3 blocks. Little Rock led 38-34 at halftime but grew the lead quickly in the second half.
Little Rock only led the Tigers (5-3) 38-34 at halftime but Wilkinson and the Trojans got hot early in the second half and only allowed OBU 23 second-half points.
The Trojans embarked on a 12-2 run and when Wilkinson, who scored 14 first-half points, dunked emphatically in the lane, Little Rock turned a six-point advantage into a 16-point cushion with 9:57 to play in the game. Wilkinson scored six points during that run.
OBU never got closer than that, and the Trojans cruised to the win.
ACTION JACKSON
Redshirt freshman
Travonne Jackson had an impressive performance in the win over OBU logging season highs in minutes (32), points (15) and rebounds (4). His first action of the season was just last week in the Trojans' win against UCA in which he played just five minutes.
The 6-foot-7, 195-pound Columbus, Ohio native was injured in both of his seasons at Garden City (Kan.) Community College. At Akron (Ohio) Buchtel High School, he was first team all-city, first team all-district, all-state and a 1,000-point scorer. He was a three-star recruit and the 42
nd ranked combo guard in the country.
THE SERIES
The teams met for the first time last season. The Flames won 86-71 on their home court.
FIRST LOOK: UIC
The Flames play just their second traditional road game of the season Sunday. The other official road trip was just a short jaunt in the Chicago area to Northwestern. The Flames lost 83-74 to the Wildcats of the Big 10 and went 1-2 in the other three games played outside of their home Credit 1 Arena.
UIC beat La Salle but lost to James Madison and East Carolina in the Boardwalk Battle Tournament at Daytona Beach, Fla.
UIC beat St. Francis (NAIA), Yale, Dartmouth and St. Mary's (D III) at home. The 69-68 overtime win over Dartmouth came last Sunday on the heels of an 83-56 lopsided home loss to Missouri Valley Conference foe, Northern Iowa, four days earlier.
The Flames feature balanced scoring with four players in double figures and three others that score more than 7 per game.
Javon Jackson leads UIC, averaging 12.1 ppg. He is a 6-foot-3, 190-pound Utah State transfer guard.
Sasa Ciani, a Xavier transfer post player from Slovenia, adds 11.8 ppg followed by Ahmad Henderson II, a Niagra transfer, with 11.2 ppg. Jordan Mason, a Texas State transfer, chips in 10.3 to round out a balanced attack.
Rob Ehsan is in his first season guiding the Flames. The former UAB Head Coach was most recently the Associate Head Coach at Stanford.
