CHARLESTON, Illinois – Little Rock finishes up the regular season with two road games this week. First, it's Eastern Illinois (10-19, 12-6) Thursday night and then the regular-season finale at SIUE, who is tied for second place in the Ohio Valley Conference with the Trojans.
Thursday night's game begins 25 minutes following the women's game at 5 p.m. The game can be heard on 106.7 Buz2 with Ray Tucker on the call or streamed on ESPN+.
LAST TIME OUT
Senior guard
Jordan Jefferson promised he'd "show out" on senior day against Western Illinois Saturday. And he did, it just took him a bit to get going. Jefferson scored 17 of his game-high 25 points in the second half and Little Rock overcame a 17-point first half deficit to roll past the Leathernecks, 75-61, as a large homecoming crowd of more than 2,000 watched on.
After trailing by 17 points late in the first half, the Trojans cut the deficit to 39-36 at halftime.
WIU led by five early in the first half, but that's when Jefferson started heating up. He made a floating jumper and was fouled and hit the free throw.
Moments later fellow senior
Mwani Wilkinson, who finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds, hit a three-pointer to give the Trojans a 45-44 lead with just over 15 minutes left, and they never relinquished it.
A 12-0 run, which also included a Jefferson 3-pointer, was capped by a Wilkinson jumper in the lane that gave Little Rock a 53-45 lead with 13:13 remaining.
JEFFERSON IN ELITE COMPANY
Little Rock senior
Jordan Jefferson is one of just six players in the Ohio Valley Conference who have played at their respective program for all four years.
Jefferson's 101 games played ranks fourth among current OVC players. SIUE's Desmond Polk has played 139 games in four seasons. His teammate Ray'Sean Taylor, a star guard, has 115. Southern Indiana's Jack Mielke has totaled 102. Behind Jefferson is EIU's Rodolfo Bolis at 99 and David Kawmwanga at UT Martin, who has 67 after enduring an injury-plagued senior season.
GLAD TO BE ON THE ROAD … AGAIN
Most teams are not at not comfortable on the road. Not the case for Little Rock. They are 7-1 in league road games and finished 5-4 at home in league contests.
"My team likes playing on the road," Trojans head coach
Darrell Walker said after his squad overcame a 17-point deficit to beat Western Illinois at the Jack Stephens Center. They said they are glad to be back on the road again. I don't know what it is, but we are a close team, and I think they have bonded on the road."
THE SERIES
Little Rock is 3-4 all-time vs. EIU, including a 2-3 mark since joining the OVC two years ago. The Trojans are 1-2 at Groniger Arena on the campus of EIU.
SCOUTING REPORT: EIU
The Panthers upset the Trojans, 56-54, last month at Lindenwood University at St. Charles, Mo. The game was originally scheduled for Dec. 21 but was postponed after Little Rock student manager Josh Claxton passed away in a car accident the morning of the game.
EIU trailed by seven late in the game but took the lead with just seconds left. A buzzer-beater by the Trojans'
Tuongthach Gatkek was waved off after a review and the win awarded to EIU.
The Panthers are 4-4 since that win and have won two-straight as they picked up a road-series sweep of Southern Indiana and Morehead State last week.
The two teams are on opposite ends of the standings, but they do have one thing in common. Both squads are ballhawks on defense. Little Rock leads the OVC in steals with 9 and ranks No. 26 in the nation. EIU is second in the league 8.7.
Senior guard Nakyel Shelton is one of the top players int the OVC and leads EIU with 16.3 ppg. Junior guard Zion Fruster averages 11.6 ppg and senior guard Artese Stapleton is averaging almost 11 ppg and has scored nearly 1,500 points in his career.
