MACOMB, Ill. – The Trojans begin their final road trip of the season Thursday night at Western Illinois. Tip time is 7:30 p.m.
WIU sits in last place of the Ohio Valley Conference but scored a big home win against in-state rival Eastern Illinois Tuesday night.
GAME INFO
Who: Little Rock (9-16, 6-8) at Western Illinois (5-21, 1-14)
When: 7 p.m., Thursday, February 12
Where: Western Hall (4,781),
Macomb, Ill.
Listen: 106.7 Buz2 Listen
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SERIES HISTORY
• Little Rock leads the all-time series 7-1.
• The Trojans have not lost to the Leathernecks since Western Illinois joined the OVC in 2022.
• WIU won the first meeting, 117-89, in Macomb in 1979.
COACH SPEAK
"This is an important road series for us. If we can win both games, we will finish out the season at home and build momentum. It starts with finishing these two games in the final road series of the season."
—
Darrell Walker, Little Rock Head Coach
TROJAN TIDBITS
•
Johnathan Lawson surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career Thursday, and
Braxton Bayless followed Saturday. Bayless, a graduate student, is in his final year of eligibility at Little Rock after Division I stops at Niagara and Western Kentucky. He posted 14 points and eight rebounds Saturday.
• Truman Claytor continues to increase his impact off the bench. After scoring a career-high 16 points at Tennessee Tech, Claytor added 15 points in the loss to SIUE and set career highs in field goals attempted (13) and made (6). He also knocked down a career-best three three-pointers.
• Little Rock is seeking a season sweep of WIU. The Trojans earned an 86-79 victory in the first meeting, with
Cameron Wallace scoring 21 points and Lawson adding 20.
• The final road trip of the regular season concludes Saturday at Eastern Illinois (3:30 p.m.). Little Rock will then return home for four games to close out February.
SCOUTING THE LEATHERNECKS
• Western Illinois snapped a lengthy skid Tuesday night with a 79-70 win over Eastern Illinois. The Leathernecks' previous Division I victory came at North Dakota in their final nonconference game of the season. WIU also defeated Hannibal-LaGrange (NAIA) during that stretch.
• Western Illinois ranks 10th in the OVC in scoring offense (65.3 ppg) and 10th in scoring defense (76.3 ppg allowed).
• Lucas Lorenzen, a 6-foot-4 junior guard, leads WIU in scoring at 15.4 points per game and averages just over four rebounds per contest.
• Karyiek Dixon leads the Leathernecks in rebounding at 7.2 per game but has not played since suffering an injury against Morehead State. He grabbed 13 rebounds in the earlier meeting at Little Rock and posted a season-high 18 in the win at North Dakota.
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