MOREHEAD, Kentucky – A national television audience will see two of the top teams in the Ohio Valley Conference battling Saturday. Little Rock (15-9, 9-4) travels to Morehead State (14-10, 9-4) and will tip off at 1 p.m., at Ellis T. Johnson Arena on ESPNU. The game can also be heard on 106.7 Buz2 with Trey Schaap on the call with the pregame starting at 12:45 p.m.
The two teams are knotted with Southeast Missouri in a three-way tie for second place in the Ohio Valley Conference, one game behind SIUE. SEMO plays at Southern Indiana, who Little Rock cruised by Thursday night, and SIUE is idle after a 75-58 win at Tennessee Tech Thursday night. The winner of Saturday's game pulls into a tie for first place with SIUE.
LAST TIME OUT
Little Rock took the lead in the first two minutes of the game and never lost it in a 74-56 win against Southern Indiana Thursday night at Liberty Arena.
The Trojans led by as many as 18 points in the first half and held a 37-24 halftime lead. Once the lead grew to double digits, the Screaming Eagles (9-14, 4-9) were never able to knock it back to single digits. The closest they came was 10 with 11:17 to go in the game, but the margin was back to 12 moments later.
Johnathan Lawson hit his first three three-pointers in the first half to finish 5-of-8 from behind the arc for a game-high 19 points.
Jordan Jefferson came off the bench to score 17 points, and he also nabbed four steals and added two assists.
Mwani Wilkinson recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds with 4 assists.
Ante Beljan added 10 points.
JEFFERSON BACK TO FORM
Senior guard
Jordan Jefferson enjoyed his best game of the season, and he did it very efficiently. Jefferson missed nine games after not playing after a Nov. 27 win against Maryland Eastern Shore.
He has played well in the seven games since his return and Thursday night, he reached his peak scoring 17 points and nabbing 4 steals and dishing out 2 assists in 25 minutes. He has scored in double figures four times since his return, including 11 points in a win at Tennessee Tech in his first game back after recovering from the back injury. The 25 minutes played also marks a high since his return.
STICKING WITH THE STARTERS
All of the Trojan starters played more than 30 minutes Thursday night other than sophomore guard
Isaiah Lewis. Lewis played 23 minutes and was spelled by senior
Jordan Jefferson, who played the most minutes of the season after rebounding from a nagging back injury. The only other reserve that saw action Thursday night was
Creed Williamson, who played 10:33.
THE SERIES
Morehead State leads the series 3-2. The Eagles have won the past two games including a 59-53 victory at Little Rock on Jan. 9. Since joining the OVC two years ago, the Trojans have only played at MSU once and lost 76-72 on Jan. 26, 2023.
SCOUTING REPORT: MOREHEAD STATE
The Eagles are reeling after two straight home losses, including a shocking 80-51 trouncing at the hands of SEMO Thursday night. That loss came on the heels of a 72-64 loss to Tennessee Tech. They are now 1-3 in the past four games.
Kenny White Jr. leads the Eagles with 12.8 ppg. The 6-foot-7, 225-pound senior, who has also played at UT Martin, Murray State and Tennessee Tech, leads the team in rebounding with 6.3 boards per game. Sophomore guard Jerone Morton, a 6-4, 200-pounder, adds 11.2 ppg.
Morton scored 17 points in the win over the Trojans last month. Anouar Mellouk scored 14 points in the win. He is only averaging 7.2 ppg for the season.
The Eagles rattled off four more straight wins following the road trip to Little Rock that saw the game moved to the afternoon because of an impending snowstorm. The Trojans played that game without the services of
Tuongthach Gatkek, who was serving a suspension. Jefferson and Williamson also were still nursing injuries and unavailable.
