Trojans Come Back But Fall at Home

Saturday, February 4

Troy, Ala.

7:30 p.m.

Troy University

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Photo by: Kevin Glackmeyer

2/4/2012 10:28:00 PM | Basketball (M)

By: Matt Mays

Box Score | Photo Gallery

TROY, Ala. – The Troy men's basketball team made a comeback after being down big, but get the timely baskets in an 83-78 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette at home on Saturday night.

The Trojans (7-15, 2-9) found themselves down by 16 with less than four minutes to go, but didn't give in as they cut the Cajuns' (14-11, 8-3) lead down to three at 78-75 with 1:09 to go. Troy went just 1-of-4 from the field in the final stretch as they couldn't cut into the lead any further.

Will Weathers led Troy with 22 points while Justin Wright posted a career-high 21. Emil Jones posted his fourth double-double of the season with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Bryant Mbamalu posted a career-high 27 points to lead the Cajuns, including a 10-of-12 performance from the floor. Josh Brown posted a double-double for the Cajuns with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Trojans forced 23 turnovers on the night to help supplement a poor shooting night from beyond the arc. Troy was just 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) from deep, including a 1-of-10 mark in the first half.

Troy made a season-high 20 free throws on 27 attempts, with seven of the makes coming in the final flurry.

The Trojans return to the floor next Saturday, Feb. 11, when they host WKU. That game is slated for a special 1:00 p.m. tip time. The game with the Hilltoppers will mark the second to last in Sartain Hall for the Trojans.

For a full preview of that contest as well as more information from Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter at @TroyAthletics or become fans on Facebook.

TROY 78, LOUISIANA 83

The Trojans fell into an early as poor shooting to open the game led to a 14-4 deficit. The Trojans started the game 2-of-11 from the floor while Cajuns started 6-of-8 and built the early lead.

The Trojans begin to slowly chip away thanks to tough defense as they held the Cajuns without a field goal for nearly seven minutes. Emil Jones scored seven straight to tie things up at 16-16, but the Cajuns responded.

UL scored nine points in less than two minutes after a timeout as they took a 25-16 lead at the 6:11 mark. Daronte Clark then netted four straight for Troy to cut the lead to five at 25-20 with 5:20 to go. A Justin Wright layup with 10 seconds remaining got the Trojans within two, 30-28, at the break.

Although the Trojans shot just 32.3 percent (10-of-31), including 1-of-10 from deep, in the first half, they forced 11 Cajun turnovers to keep the halftime deficit at two.

The two sides battled back-and-forth in the early stages of the second half as the lead changed hands four times in the first eight minutes. However, the Cajuns came out on the good end of the fourth change with a 47-46 lead at the 12:35 mark.

They then used an old-fashioned three-point play to take a 50-46 lead at the 12:01 mark, their biggest lead of the half.

The Trojans would cut the lead to one at 50-49 before the Cajuns' Bryant Mbamalu scored eight straight to put Troy down nine at 58-49 with 9:00 to go.

Mbamalu would continue to streak as he hit two 3-pointers to help propel the Cajuns to a 14-point lead, 71-57, with 4:41 to go. The Cajuns extended the lead to as much as 16 at 75-59 with 4:06 to go, but that is when the Trojans began their come back.

The Trojans got most of their comeback at the free throw line with seven makes in the final four minutes as they cut the lead to one possession, 78-75, with 1:09 to go. The Trojans would go just 1-of-4 from the field after that however, as the Cajuns made six free throws for the final 83-78 margin.