Trojans Fall in SBC Opener

Thursday, December 29

Denver, Colo.

8:00 p.m.

Troy University

University of Denver

Photo by: Cass Davis

12/29/2011 10:38:00 PM | Basketball (M)

By: Matt Mays

Box Score

DENVER, Colo. – The Troy men's basketball team couldn't overcome a slow first half as they fell at Denver in their Sun Belt opener, 79-62, on Thursday at Magness Arena.

Will Weathers and R.J. Scott lead the Trojans (5-7, 0-1) with 13 points each while Justin Wright was also in double figures with 11 points. Brian Stafford led Denver (11-2, 1-0) with 26.

The Trojans would shoot 50.0 percent (6-of-12) from beyond the arc in the second half, but only hit one triple in the first as they fell into a 41-25, halftime hole.

Denver shot 50.0 percent (27-of-54) on the night from the floor while the Trojans were at 39.0 percent (23-of-59). The Trojans outscored the Pioneers in the paint, 28-22, but fell victim to 11 Denver three-pointers as the Pioneers shot 34.4 percent from deep (11-of-32).

The Trojans return to the floor on Saturday when they travel to take on North Texas at the Super Pit at 3:00 p.m. After that match-up, the Trojans will return home for a date with Middle Tennessee on Thursday, January 5.

For more information on the Trojans, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter at @TroyAthletics or become fans on Facebook.

DENVER 79, TROY 62

The two sides played a tight contest early as the Trojans trailed by three at 16-13 with 11:27 to go in the first. However, at that point the Pioneers hit three straight three-point baskets within a one-minute span as they jumped out to a 25-13.

With the Denver run came a six-minute scoreless streak for the Trojans as they wouldn't score again until the 5:09 mark with the score at 27-13. Tim Owens would get the tip-in basket to get Troy within 12 at 27-15.

However, the Trojans would remain cold as Denver would build their lead to 41-20 at the 1:00 mark with their seventh three-pointer of the half. The Trojans would get their first on the next possession when R.J. Scott hit one from the corner to cut the lead to 41-23.

Scott would get a fast break basket after a Denver turnover on the next possession to cut the lead to 41-25 at halftime. Denver's Brian Stafford led all scorers in the first half with 16, including 4-of-7 from deep.

The Pioneers shot 48.4 percent (15-of-31) in the first half while the Trojans hit just 31.3 percent (10-of-32). The story of the half was the three-point shooting, as the Trojans, who averaged 10.6 threes per game coming in, shot just 11.1 percent (1-of-9) in the first half.

Denver on the other hand shot 35.0 percent (7-of-20) from deep.

The Trojans hit three of their first five shots in the second half to go along with tough defense as they cut the Pioneer lead to 12 at 45-33 at the first timeout of the half. However, Denver would grow the lead back to 20 at 58-38 at the 11:47 mark.

The Trojans then scored eight straight in 1:30 to cut the lead back to 12 at 58-46. The Trojans began pressing the Pioneers at the 6:30 mark and used a 5-0 run that ended with an Emil Jones three-pointer at the 4:30 mark to cut the lead to 11 at 68-57.

The Trojans would continue to press and force the Pioneers into mistakes as they would cut the deficit to single-digits at the 1:44 mark, 71-62 with an Emil Jones layup.

The Trojans went the final 2:55 without Weathers as he went down after being fouled going for a loose ball, and Denver hit their free throws down the stretch as they took the 79-62 victory.