Troy University Athletics
Poindexter, Lipscomb down Trojans in crucial A-Sun matchup
2/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Seniors Eddie Baker and Corey Hornsby combined for 48 points, but it was James Poindexter and Lipscomb that would prove to be too much for the Troy University men's basketball team in an 87-79 win on Thursday night.
Poindexter scored 26 points, thanks to 6-for-11 shooting from 3-point land on the night. The Birmingham, Ala., native led three Bisons (16-11, 11-9) in double figures and capped an impressive season against the Trojans (12-16, 10-9 A-Sun), after scoring 28 on seven threes in the previous meeting in December.
Baker led the Trojans with 25 points, while Hornsby added 23, but it would be a 50-percent shooting night fro Lipscomb that would lead the Bisons to a win in their final game of the regular season. The Trojans had several opportunities to cut into the lead late, but two costly turnovers in the final minute led to their demise as Lipscomb held on to pass Troy in the clustered A-Sun standings.
"We just really didn't play good basketball tonight," Troy head coach Don Maestri said. "We made several mistakes, especially late in the game that cost us an opportunity to win the game. We have one game left, and we must turn around quickly and play well on Saturday, or our season will be over."
The Trojans, who could have clinched a spot in next week's A-Sun Tournament with a win against Lipscomb, now are faced with a game at Belmont on Saturday afternoon that could determine their postseason fate. The Trojans are now tied with Florida Atlantic for seventh in a league that only sends eight teams to the tournament.
The Trojans struggled mightily from the floor in the first half, shooting under 39 percent and only 27 percent from outside, and Lipscomb hit 50 percent of its shots, 47 percent from three-point land. The Trojans, however, managed to stay within just five, 42-37, at intermission.
Junior Bobby Dixon struggled from the floor for Troy but managed to score 18 points. The Chicago native was just 5-of-16 from the field. Hornsby, a native of Baton Rouge, La., had a tremendous game for Troy, shooting 10-for-16 from the floor and pulling down a team-high seven rebounds. Baker, a Jacksonville, Fla., native, was 9-of-14 from the floor. Both Baker and Hornsby hit three 3-pointers.
Brian Fisk added 19 points and six assists for the Bisons, while Eddie Ard scored 10 points. Cameron Robinson led a Lipscomb team that outrebounded Troy, 38-28, with 11 boards.
The two teams swapped the lead 11 times and were tied five times, but a 7-0 run by Lipscomb with about five minutes remaining turned a one-point Troy lead into six-point Lipscomb lead that Troy could never overcome.
The Trojans would cut it to as few as three points in the final minute, but Lipscomb drained 8-of-10 free throws in the final minute to hold off the Trojans.
Troy now needs to win at Belmont on Saturday, a game that will tip off at 2 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on the Troy Network. The game can be heard locally in Troy on WTBF-FM 94.7 or on the World Wide Web via www.troytrojans.com.
