Trojans Renew Rivalry With Warhawks Friday and Saturday – THV11.com KTHV

Little Rock returns home for a pair of games against ULM this weekend at the Jack Stephens Center, getting underway at 6:30 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday as part of a pair of weekend doubleheaders with the Trojan women. Hayden Balgavy and Patrick Newton will have the call on ESPN+ with Trojan Hall of Famer Ray Tucker handing the radio play-by-play duties on 106.7 FM The Buz2.

GAME STORYLINES

Little Rock enters the weekend tied for third in the Sun Belt's West Division race at 4-4, one game back of 5-3 Louisiana and two games behind 5-1 Texas State, which holds the current tiebreaker with the sweep of the Trojans January 15 & 16.

Little Rock heads into the weekend with a 20-17 all-time series advantage on ULM. The Trojans are 12-6 all-time against the Warhawks in Little Rock, winning four of the last five games against ULM at the Jack Stephens Center.

Little Rock swept the season series against ULM in 2019-20, defeating the Warhawks 73-72 in Monroe on Dec. 19, 2019, before a 79-63 victory in Little Rock on Feb. 27, 2020.

Ruot Monyyong has 10 double-doubles on the year, ranking third nationally. His 26 career double-doubles is 11th nationally among active Division I players and he is two shy of matching Rashad Jones-Jennings for the all-time program mark.

Monyyong is the Sun Belt's active leader in rebounding with 470, ranking second nationally in total rebounds (170) and seventh in both total (11.1) and defensive (8.0) boards per game.

Monyyong is also the Sun Belt's active leader in blocks with 89 for his Trojan career, ranking sixth in program history. The Trojans have the top-two active block leaders in the conference as Kris Bankston sits second with 70 in a Little Rock uniform.

As a team, Little Rock boasts 15 double-doubles on the year (Ruot Monyyong - 10, Markquis Nowell - 4, Nikola Maric - 1). That is second nationally behind Illinois of the Big 10, which has a combined 16, and one better than Louisiana's 14.

Markquis Nowell enters the weekend needing 66 points to join the Trojan 1,000-point club. He notched a combined 65 points in the two games against ULM during the 2019-20 season, scoring 33 points in Monroe (Dec. 19) and 32 in Little Rock (Feb. 27).

NEWS AND NOTES

SCOUTING THE WARHAWKS2020-21: 4-11 overall, 2-6 Sun BeltLast Three Games:L vs. Texas State (69-63), L vs. Texas State (57-47), L at Arkansas State (93-72)Head Coach:Keith Richard (ULM, 1982). 11th season at ULM (125-205); 20th season overall (275-322)Key Players:#24 Russell Harrison (Jr., F): 13.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 81.3 FT% #2 Koreem Ozier (Jr., G): 12.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 45.5 FG% #5 Marco Morency (Jr., G): 8.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 36.4 3FG% #15 Josh Nicholas (Sr., G): 7.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 45.5 FG% #3 Elijah Gonzales (Jr., G): 6.9 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 51.9 3FG%

SEASON RECAPLittle Rock swept the two-game season series from ULM in 2019-20, beginning with a 73-72 win over the Warhawks in Monroe on December 19, 2019. The Trojans then toppled ULM 79-63 at the Jack Stephens Center on Feb. 27, 2020 in a game that clinched at least a share of the regular season Sun Belt title.

LAST TIME OUTLittle Rock split a weekend series at UT Arlington, finishing the season series with a 3-1 record against the Mavericks. The Trojans led by as many as 21 on Friday, outlasting UTA 66-59, then had their worst shooting performance of the season, shooting just 32.8% from the floor and trailed the entire game in a 66-61 defeat Saturday afternoon.

WARHAWK KILLERMarkquis Nowell enjoyed playing against ULM last season as the junior scored a combined 65 points while knocking down 15 three pointers in two games against the Warhawks. In the game at Monroe, Nowell scored 33, including three threes in the final 90 seconds with the game-winner from just inside half court. In the game in Little Rock, he followed it up with 32 points, knocking down seven threes with a pair of steals.

500-500 MANRuot Monyyong continues to inch closer to an impressive career mark, seeking to become the only active Sun Belt player with both 500 career points and 500 career rebounds. Monyyong currently sits at 565 points and 470 rebounds for his career, looking to bolster his claim as the league's Preseason Player of the Year.

CLEANING THE GLASSRuot Monyyong continues to establish himself as one of the nation's top rebounders, pulling down 33 in two games at UT Arlington over the weekend, including a career-high 19 against the Mavericks on Saturday. He has registered 11 double-digit rebounding games this season, including seven-straight, sitting second nationally in total rebounds (167), and seventh in both total rebounds (11.1) and defensive rebounds (8.0) per game.

CHASING THE CROWNRuot Monyyong continues to draw closer to becoming Little Rock's all-time double-double leader. One of the national leaders, Monyyong has registered a double-double in six of the last seven games and has 10 on the season, ranking third nationally. His efforts over the weekend upped his career total to 26, sitting two shy of matching Rashad Jones-Jennings (2005-07) for the program's all-time mark of 28. Monyyong's 26 career double-doubles is 11th among active Division I players.

CLOSING IN ON 1,000Markquis Nowell continues to inch closer to joining an elite Trojan club. With his 30 points in two games at UT Arlington, he upped his career point total to 934, leaving him 66 shy of becoming the 21st member of the Trojan 1,000-point club and the first since Will Neighbour in 2014. He continues to move up the all-time Trojan greats in a handful of other categories, remaining Little Rock's all-time leader in free throw percentage.

CONSISTENT NIKOLANikola Maric has been arguably Little Rock's most consistent player in 2020-21, scoring in double figures in 14 of 15 games and ranking second on the team with a 14.4 scoring average. He is quietly making his run at 1,000 career points, scoring 675 for his career while starting 45 of his 61 games as a Trojan.

RUOT BLOCK PARTYRuot Monyyong came up big with nine blocks in two games against UT Arlington over the weekend, upping his career total to 89 and sitting sixth all-time in program history. He has registered at least one block in every game this season and is one shy of matching Tony Chime (1991-95) for fifth all-time.

THROWING IT DOWNLittle Rock's size has made it one of the Sun Belt's top dunking threats, holding a 43-24 advantage on the opposition this year following last years' 96-43 advantage. Ruot Monyyong has thrown it down 21 times for the Trojans in 2020-21, upping his career total to 78, while Kris Bankston sits at 103 career dunks following his nine on the season.

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Trojans Renew Rivalry With Warhawks Friday and Saturday - THV11.com KTHV