Troy University Athletics
Troy Travels to Southeastern Louisiana for Friday matchup
11/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)
Just two days removed from a win in the home opener, Troy returns to the road Friday to face Southeastern Louisiana.
The Trojans (2-1) got double-figure scoring from six players, led by Boo Ramsey's 22 points, and shot a season-high 60 percent from the field in a 111-72 victory over Oakwood. Cedric Jackson posted the first double-double of the season Wednesday with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Other storylines for tonight's game:
The Series Troy holds a slim 8-7 advantage in the series, which dates back to the 1956-57 season. The majority of the games took place during the 1970s, when the schools shared membership in the Gulf South Conference. More recently, the teams split a home-and-home series on Dec. 11, 1999 and Nov. 25, 2002. The visiting team won both of those matchups, including an 87-81 Troy win in Hammond three years ago tonight. All-time, Troy is 4-5 in Hammond, but has won on back-to-back trips.
Maestri Against the Lions Head Coach Don Maestri was at the helm of the Trojans for the last two times these teams have faced each other. Therefore, Maestri stands 1-1 in his coaching career against Southeastern Louisiana.
On the Road Troy stands 0-1 in true road games this season, losing to Columbia in the championship game of the Columbia Classic last weekend. However, the mark is 1-1 in games outside of Troy as the Trojans defeated Quinnipiac in the opening round of that tournament. Last year, Troy was 5-9 in true road games.
Double-Double Dude Junior Cedric Jackson posted Troy's first double of the season on Wednesday. The forward from Columbia, S.C., tallied 12 points and 10 rebounds against Oakwood.f Sharing the Wealth When Boo Ramsey led the Trojans Wednesday with a career-high 22 points, he became the third different player in as many games to pace the team in scoring. Bobby Dixon tallied 19 points in the opener, followed by a career-high 29 from Jacob Hazouri against Columbia.
Hitting the Boards Troy held a 47-34 advantage on the boards on Wednesday, ending a streak of 14 straight games being out-rebounded. A year ago, the Trojans faced a rebounding deficit in 27 of the 30 games. Two of the three positive margins came in the first five games and in back-to-back outings (Piedmont, Belmont). The third time the Trojans had more boards than their opponents was during the first Mercer game (Jan. 21).
Three-Point Bombers Troy established a season-high with 17 three-pointers against Oakwood. In the first two games, the Trojans averaged only 12 per game (13 vs. Columbia and 11 vs. Quinnipiac). With 31 attempts, Troy's 54.8 percent effort from behind the three-point arc was the best since hitting 55.9 percent (19 of 34) against Mercer on Jan. 21, 2005.
Reaching a Milestone Head Coach Don Maestri makes his first attempt at career win No. 400 tonight. Already the career wins leader, he stands 399-263 in 23-plus seasons.
Three Good Starts Three Trojans have topped double figures in every game this season. Seniors Bobby Dixon and Jacob Hazouri and junior Cedric Jackson has each reached at least 10 points in three straight contests.
Another Good Start Redshirt freshman Daryl Davis opened his collegiate career with his first double-figure scoring effort against Quinnipiac. The Mobile, Ala., native tallied 11 points on five of 11 shooting (one of two at the line), while adding six rebounds and a pair of steals. He added an 18-point effort for a new career high against Oakwood.
Three-Point Champs, Again! For the second straight season in 2004-05, Troy led Division I in three-pointers made per game. The Trojans connected on an average of 11.3 per game. Conference rival Belmont was second at 9.7, followed by Louisville, Vanderbilt and Furman.
Come on, OT Excuse Troy if it wants to play longer than 40 minutes each game. Friday's 94-83 overtime victory over Quinnipiac was the Trojans' 10th straight in games needing extra time. The last loss in overtime occurred on Feb. 14, 1981, a 56-54 home setback against Mississippi College. Head Coach Don Maestri is 9-0 in overtime games, while the Trojans are 6-0 in their Division I history.
One Tourney Down Troy completed the first of two in-season tournaments on its 2005-06 schedule over the weekend. The next comes during the week between Christmas and New Year's. The Trojans will travel to Pittsburgh to participate in the Duquesne Holiday Tournament Dec. 30 and 31. The first-round opponent is the host Dukes, while either Appalachian State or Niagara awaits the next afternoon.
Hazouri Climbs up the List Senior guard Jacob Hazouri has climbed into eighth place on Troy's Division I career three-pointers list.He has 14 this season and 118 for his career. Here are the top 10 three-point shooters during the Division I era: 1. Rhodney Donaldson 269 1993-97 2. Robert Rushing 258 1998-2002 3. Ben Fletcher 160 2001-2003 4. Matt Holman 141 1999-2001 5. Kendrick Johnson 132 2002-04 6. Joey Raines 120 1997-2000 7. Lamayn Wilson 119 2000-02 8. Jacob Hazouri 118 2001- 8. Jeff Black 114 1993-97 9. Greg Davis 108 2002-04 10. Herbert Evans 102 2000-04
No More Shutouts When Patrick Phillips scored a basket with 9:52 left in the second half vs. Oakwood, he became the last active player this season to record a point. Phillips did not see action the first two games when the other 10 players tallied points at least once.
One-Two Punch As expected, Troy's Jacob Hazouri and Bobby Dixon rank 1-2 in the conference in three-pointers made per game. Hazouri leads the way with an average of 4.67 per contest (14 overall), while Dixon is tied for second at 4.00 per contest (12 overall). As a team, Troy is the overall leader with 13.67 per game.
Preseason Honors Senior guard Bobby Dixon was a third-team selection to the Sun Belt Conference preseason team. As a junior, Dixon fell just one three-pointer shy of the school's Division I record for makes with 91. Additionally, he led the team in scoring (14.9), assists (122) and steals (71).
