Trojans Drop West Alabama

Monday, November 7

Troy, Ala.

7:00 p.m.

Troy University

University of West Alabama (Exh.)

Photo by: Cass Davis

11/7/2011 9:30:00 PM | Basketball (M)

By: Matt Mays

Box Score

TROY, Ala. – The Troy basketball team hit the floor for the first time on Monday night at Sartain Hall as they knocked off West Alabama, 84-67.

The Trojans take the floor for their first regular season contest on Friday when they travel to Lubbock, Texas to take on Texas Tech. The Trojans and Red Raiders tip at 8:30 p.m. CT at the United Spirit Arena.

Check with TroyTrojans.com for a preview of that contest later in the week. Fans can also find the Trojans on Twitter @TroyAthletics or on Facebook.

TROY 84, WEST ALABAMA 67

The Trojans gave their fans a taste of the up-tempo, pressing style of basketball they plan to play this season as they took 80 shots, just six shy of last season's high of 86 against Idaho State. The Trojans also grabbed 20 steals, more than any game last season as they forced West Alabama into 28 turnovers.

The Trojans shot 40.0 percent from the floor on 32-of-80 shooting with five players in double figures. Daronte Clark led the Trojans with 16 points while Justin Wright (15), R.J. Scott (14), Ray Chambers (12) and Alan Jones (10) all posted double-figures.

Will Weathers posted a team-high 10 assists while the Trojans turned it over just 17 times. The Trojans also recorded 45 rebounds to UWA's 43 with 22 offensive boards.

The second half was one of runs as the Trojans extended their halftime lead 37-25 to open the half, but West Alabama went on a 10-0 to cut the lead to two at 37-35. It was then that Scott caught fire and dropped in three straight shots from deep to put Troy up 46-40.

Scott's last three sparked a 16-0 Troy run that pushed the lead to 59-40. The Trojans again forced West Alabama into mistakes as they picked up five steals on that run and went 6-of-11 from the floor. The Tigers finally ended the run with a basket at the 11:06 mark, four minutes after their last score.

That basket would spark the next run as UWA would go on a 12-4 run to cut the lead to 63-52. The Trojans would put things away with a 15-2 run in the late stages.

The Trojans immediately showed their new emphasis on offensive rebounding as the Trojans won the opening tip, and after missing a three point attempt, corralled the offensive rebound, missed another three, grabbed another board and put in a lay up to get on the board first.

The Tigers would jump out to an 11-4 lead as the Trojans started the contest 2-of-15 from the field. However, Troy would cut it to 11-7 at the under 12:00 media timeout.

Daronte Clark would then hit two straight threes followed by a Justin Wright steal and fast break dunk to give Troy an 18-15 lead and get the Sartain Hall fans on their feet for the first time.

The Trojans would extend their first-half lead to as much as 32-23 when R.J. Scott hit the Trojans fifth three pointer of the half. The Tigers would cut the lead to 32-25 at the break.

Troy shot just 32.5 percent (13-of-40) from the floor in the first half, but grabbed 10 offensive boards and eight steals to make up for the poor shooting. Clark led the Trojans with 11 points in the first frame on 4-of-6 from the floor and 3-of-5 from deep.