CHARLESTON, Ill. – Trailing by nine early in the second half, Little Rock rallied back as the Trojans and Panthers combined for six ties and eight lead changes in a seven minutes span in the second half. But Eastern Illinois hit the key shots down the stretch to pull away for the 70-63 victory at Lantz Arena.
Little Rock was led by the duo of Myron Gardner and Jordan Jefferson, with Jefferson pacing the Trojans with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three point range with three steals. Gardner just missed his 11th double-double of the year, and flirted with his second career triple-double, finishing with 10 points, nine rebounds and seven assists along with three blocks and a pair of steals.