Troy Routs ULM, Ties NCAA Record

Saturday, January 21

Troy, Ala.

7:30 p.m.

Troy University

University of Louisiana at Monroe

Photo by: Edward Fieder

1/21/2012 10:09:00 PM | Basketball (M)

By: Matt Mays

Box Score

TROY, Ala. – The Troy men's basketball team ended its home skid in fashion by tying an NCAA record and downing ULM, 91-63, at Sartain Hall on Saturday night.

The Trojans (7-11, 2-5) took a 42-26 halftime lead thanks to an Emil Jones buzzer-beating 3-pointer, but little did they know the shot was the start of something special. Troy came out on fire in the second half and hit its first 10 3-point attempts to bury the Warhawks (2-19, 1-7) and tie an NCAA record with 11 consecutive makes from beyond the arc without a miss.

Justin Wright led the Trojans with 18 points while Will Weathers posted his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 assists. Emil Jones (17) and R.J. Scott (16) were also in double figures for the Trojans.

Steven McClellan led ULM with 14 points while Charles Winborne chipped in 11.

The record was the icing on the cake in a game that turned out to be exactly what the Trojans needed heading into a week that features two tough road games.

Troy shot 46.9 percent (15-of-32) from deep overall while avoiding a fifth straight home loss in front of an enthusiastic Sartain Hall crowd of 2,388.

“We had great support tonight,” head coach Don Maestri said. “When you play as poorly as we did in the last two games, it's a great thing to see even more people here tonight.”

“At halftime we talked about performing well in the second half and showing our appreciation to the crowd.”

That is exactly what Troy did as they built their lead to as many as 35 points in the second half and raced away for a 28-point victory, their most lopsided conference win since joining the Sun Belt.

The Trojans return to the floor on Thursday when they travel to take on Middle Tennessee at the Murphy Center. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m. in that contest.

Be sure to check back with TroyTrojans.com for a preview of that match-up. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter at @TroyAtheltics or become fans on Facebook.

TROY 91, ULM 63

For the second straight game the Trojans got off to a good start, but this time it was due to their defense and they were able to hang up for the rest of the half. Troy held ULM to just 3-of-11 to open the contest and held a 16-7 advantage at the first media timeout.

After the cold start, Hugh Mingo checked in for the Warhawks and scored their next eight points, cutting Troy's lead to 20-15, but Justin Wright then caught fire. The junior hit two 3-pointers in a 30 second span to push the lead to double digits at 26-15.

An R.J. Scott triple a another Wright basket built the lead up to 16 at 31-15 with 7:51 to go. The Trojans led in the first half by as much as 18 at 35-17 with 6:19 to go in the first. ULM cut the lead to 13 with less than a minute to go, but Emil Jones' buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave Troy a 42-46 lead.

Troy shot a season-best 50.0 percent (18-of-36) in the first half while holding ULM to 36.7 percent (3-of-8). The Trojans hit 5-of-18 from deep while ULM was 3-of-8.

The Trojans kept their foot on the gas as they opened the second half with a 10-2 run to build a 24-point lead at 52-28 less than four minutes into the half. A Steven Cunningham triple built the lead up to 30 at 61-31 with 14:21 to go in the game.

Troy didn't let up in the second half as they caught fire from beyond the arc, making their first 10 shots from deep. Those 10 makes combined with Emil Jones' make at the end of the first tied an NCAA record of 11 consecutive 3-pointers without a miss.

Their lead grew to as many as 35 with 5:11 to go as Troy shot 63.0 percent (17-of-27) in the second half, their best shooting percentage in any half all season.