Turnovers Cost Troy on the Road

Thursday, January 26

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

7:00 p.m.

Troy University

Middle Tennessee State University

Photo by: Thomas Graning

1/26/2012 9:25:00 PM | Basketball (M)

By: Matt Mays

Box Score

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Turnovers marred the Trojans on the road Thursday night as they fell to Middle Tennessee, 71-58, at the Murphy Center in Sun Belt action.

The Trojans (7-12, 2-6) committed a season-high 19 turnovers as the Blue Raiders converted them into 20 points thanks to 49.1 percent (26-of-53) shooting on the night. The Trojans shot 46.0 percent (23-of-50) but were just 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) from deep

Will Weathers led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, after scoring just three against Middle Tennessee earlier in the month. Justin Wright was also in double figures for Troy with 13 including three 3-pointers.

“The effort tonight by both teams was unbelievable,” said head coach Don Maestri. “For us to have a chance to cut it to nine with three minutes left, that showed the focus that we had.

“We knew it was going to be a war but our guys battled the whole night.”

The Trojans were held under 60 points for just the third time this season, with two of those coming against the Blue Raiders.

Middle Tennessee (20-2, 9-0) was led by LaRon Dendy and Raymond Cintron who each had 17. The win gave the Blue Raiders their first 20-win season in 20 years and pushed their current winning streak to 12 games.

The Blue Raiders hit 7-of-17 (41.2 percent) from deep and went to the free throw line 10 more times than the Trojans.

The Trojans return to the floor on Sunday when they travel to take on South Alabama at the Mitchell Center. After the contest with the Jaguars, the Trojans open a three-game homestand beginning on Feb. 2.

Fans can find out more about Troy hoops by visiting TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter at @TroyAthletics or become fans on Facebook.

MIDDLE TENNESSEE 71, TROY 58

Middle Tennessee shot 50 percent in the first half to build a nine-point lead and continued to shoot it well to open the second as they built their lead to as much as 18 at 64-46.

The Trojans cut it to 11 at 64-53 with 5:51 to go thanks to a 7-0 run, but they weren't able to get any closer than that thanks to some sloppy play offensively as the turnovers continued to stack up.

At the 6:33 mark the Trojans had already tied a season-high with 17 turnovers and they finished the contest with 19 after entering the game averaging just 12.9 per game.

Despite the miscues, the Trojans started pressing with 3:30 to go and had the ball with a chance to cut the lead to single digits with 3:00 to go, but came up empty.

The first half was a close but sloppy one for much of the time before a Blue Raiders run late gave Middle Tennessee a cushion. Troy and MT ended the half with 11 and nine turnovers, respectively, but a 12-2 Blue Raiders was the difference in the halftime deficit.

The run turned an 18-17 Troy lead into a 29-20 Middle Tennessee advantage at the 4:57 mark. The Blue Raiders carried the nine-point into the half, but it could've have been worse for the Trojans if not for the playmaking of Weathers.

The junior point guard hit a buzzer-beating floater as the Trojans went into the break trailing, 39-30. The last second shot marked the second straight game with a halftime buzzer-beater for the Trojans.

Both sides shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half, but Middle Tennessee also shot 50 percent (5-of-10) from deep while Troy was just 2-of-6.