Troy University Athletics
Bowling Green Defense Shuts Down Trojans, 60-52
12/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)
Official Game Statistics
Troy vs. Bowling Green Game Notes
TROY, Ala. - A tough Bowling Green defense limited Troy to just 27.8 percent shooting from the field -- the worst this decade -- as the Falcons handed the Trojans a 60-52 defeat Monday night at Trojan Arena. The Falcons fared just slightly better, shooting 41.7 percent overall.
Cedric Jackson led the Trojans (4-4) with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Bobby Dixon added 12 points and five boards. Sammy Sharp just missed his second consecutive double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. John Floyd paced the way for Bowling Green (3-6) with 13 points, while Matt Lefeld chipped in 10 points.
Neither team scored until Troy's Jacob Hazouri knocked down two of three free-throw attempts with 16:18 left in the first half. The teams traded leads three times and drew five ties over the next ten minutes, and neither team led by more than three until a three from Dusan Radivojevic put Bowling Green up 25-19 with 2:39 on the clock.
A pair of free throws from Perrick Robinson gave the Falcons their largest lead of the half at 27-19 with 12 seconds left, but Jarvis Acker cut Troy's deficit to five when he banked in a three at the buzzer to go into the locker room trailing 27-22. The bucket ended a stretch of 9:13 without a field goal for the Trojans.
Bowling Green scored five points in the first minute of the second period to take a 32-22 lead, and a three from Radivojevic with 16 minutes to play gave the Falcons a 12-point lead at 37-25.
The Trojans responded with a 7-0 run on a three from Jackson and a field goal and layup from Sammy Sharp to cut BGSU's lead to 37-32 with 14:36 left. Bowling Green answered with a 6-0 run to push its lead back to double digits at 43-32 with 12 minutes remaining.
Troy did not close the gap to less than eight until Dixon found Sharp above the rim, and the dunk brought Troy to within seven at 50-43 with 3:45 on the clock. Dixon knocked down a three on Troy's next possession, putting it down just 50-46 with 2:56 to play.
The Trojans held Bowling Green scoreless on its next two possessions, but they could not take advantage on the offensive end. Sharp was sent to the free-throw line with 2:14 left and the chance to cut BGSU's lead to two, but the junior could not get either attempt to drop and it remained a two-possession game.
The Falcons scored the next five points, then hit five of seven free throws in the final 49 seconds to preserve the win.
The Trojans return to the court on Thursday when the travel to Cincinnati to face Atlantic 10 member Xavier. The 7:30 p.m. (EST) contest -- the final action before a short Christmas break -- will be televised live on Fox Sports Ohio.
