Two down, two to go. The Trojans men's basketball team looks to finish out a four-game road stand with a sweep, as they play at Western Illinois (8-11, 2-6) at 7 p.m., Thursday. Little Rock (11-7, 5-2) dispatched Southeast Missouri State and Tennessee Tech last week and have their sights set on the Leathernecks on Thursday and then finish the road trip at Lindenwood on Saturday.
The WIU game can be heard on 1067 Buzz2 with Trey Schaap bringing the pregame show 15 minutes prior to tip. ESPN+ is also streaming the matchup. The game follows the women's contest that begins at 5 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
On Saturday at Tennessee Tech, the Trojans protected the lead down the stretch and left the Eblen Center with a semi-comfortable 77-71 win.
The Trojans led by eight with 17 seconds left but after a three-pointer by Matthew Sells were forced to make free throws to secure the win.
Jordan Jefferson hit a pair following Sells's three and after another Eagles' three-pointer by Daniel Egbuniwe,
Johnathan Lawson hit a set to ice the game. The Trojans were 11-of-14 for the game from the line.
Ante Beljan led the Trojans with 22 points and seven rebounds.
Mwani Wilkinson added 12 points and 10 boards. Lawson scored 12 points and dished out three assists.
Tuongthach Gatkek chipped in 11 points and 4 assists. Jefferson hadn't played since a Nov. 27 win against Maryland-Eastern Shore after enduring a back injury. He also added 11 points and made all four of his free throws.
ROAD WARRIORS
Technically, Little Rock is only playing two road games this week, but they are playing three games away from home in the span of four days. After the Trojans' scheduled game with Lindenwood Saturday, they play a makeup game with Eastern Illinois at 2 p.m., Monday also at Lindenwood, which is located in St. Charles, Mo. – a St. Louis suburb. That game was originally scheduled as a Trojans' home game on Saturday, Dec. 21 but was postponed when Little Rock manager Josh Claxton died in a car accident earlier that morning.
The trip was extended an extra day to give the team two days to make the 509-mile bus trip to Macomb, Ill. They practiced on Tuesday at the Jack Stephens Center and then arrived in the St. Louis area around 6:30 p.m., Tuesday. They bussed the final 158 miles of the trip on Wednesday afternoon.
In total, Little Rock will spend six days on the road. That is the second-longest stretch of the season. In November, the Trojans played at Tulsa on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at Arkansas on Friday, Nov. 22 and at Illinois on Monday, Nov. 25. They left on Tuesday and didn't return until a week later.
WELCOME BACK
Senior guard
Jordan Jefferson returned to the court after battling a nagging back injury. Jefferson's last action was Nov. 27 against Maryland Eastern Shore. The Marietta, Ga., native scored 11 points, grabbed 3 rebounds and snagged 2 steals in just 19 minutes of action. His jumper in the lane in the second half and making all four of his free throws was particularly clutch. The performance was made even sweeter with his parents were in attendance.
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Several Trojans are among the leaders in individual defensive statistics in the Ohio Valley Conference. Senior
Mwani Wilkinson leads the league in blocked shots (1.6) and is fourth in steals with 1.8.
Tuongthach Gatkek is fourth in blocks with 1.3 and is third in steals with 1.9.
Isaiah Lewis is 6
th in steals with 1.9
Gatkek's five blocks against Central Arkansas is tied for the most in the OVC this season.
THE SERIES
Western Illinois has one win out of the five all-time meetings and that 117-82 victory came on Feb. 20, 1979 in Macomb, Ill. The Trojans have won four other meetings, including two last year in WIU's first year in the OVC. They won 63-60 in Macomb and 82-57 at the OVC Tournament in Evansville, Ind.
FIRST LOOK: WESTERN ILLINOIS
Marko Maletic, a 6-foot-6, 208-pound forward, leads the Leathernecks in scoring with 16.9 points per game. The London, Ontario, Canada native has also played at Laramie (Wyoming) County Community College, Long Island and Toledo. He also adds just over three rebounds per game.
Ryan Myers, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., adds just over 14 ppg. Myers began his career at Iona and also played at Indiana Hills (Iowa) Community College.
Senior guard Sean Smith averages 12.1 ppg. The 6-foot-3, 185-pounder played at San Diego (Calif.) Mesa Community College, John A. Logan (Ill.) Community College and Alabama State before arriving in Macomb. He is also the second-leading rebounder with 5.3 rpg.
The Leathernecks are trying to shake a four-game losing streak.
A couple were close. WIU lost to UT Martin 85-83 at home to start the streak and fell at league-leading Morehead State, 51-47, last Thursday. Southern Indiana rolled past them 78-66 last Saturday.
Chad Boudreau is in his second season as head coach at WIU. In his debut, he led the Leathernecks to a 21-12 record, which was the most overall victories in school history since the 2012-13 season. The 13 league wins was also the most since the 2012-13 season and the 21 wins by a first-year head coach was the most since Stix Morley won 19 games in the 1947-48 season.
Boudreau was an assistant at Indian Hills and Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He was also a head coach at Highland College in Freeport, Ill., before joining the WIU staff as an assistant and eventually being named interim head coach on April 7, 2023.
