Troy University Athletics
Arkansas State Handles Troy, 91-68
1/31/2006 12:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)
Official Game Statistics
Troy vs. Arkansas State Game Notes
JONESBORO, Ark. - Isaac Wells scored 20 of his career-high 24 points in the first half, while Troy struggled with its shots and could never recover as Arkansas State handed Troy its worst defeat of the season, 91-68, Wednesday night at the Convocation Center. The loss was a season-high third straight for the Trojans, who fall to 10-10 overall and 3-5 in the Sun Belt Conference.
Cedric Jackson led Troy with his third double-double of the season, 17 points and 10 rebounds. Bobby Dixon, the leading scorer in the SBC and the last remaining Trojan to reach double figures in every game, tallied 13 points, but that was his lowest total in 10 games. Sammy Sharp added 10 points and five rebounds.
Arkansas State tallied 50 points in the opening period, the highest-scoring first half of the year by a Troy opponent. Even worse, the Trojans shot just 15.8 percent, hitting six of 38 attempts overall and just three of 21 three-pointers. The Trojans scored first on a Dixon three-pointer, but saw the Indians roar back with eight straight points, all by Wells. Arkansas State countered a Jacob Hazouri basket with six more points to lead 14-5 with 13:41 remaining in the first half.
"The first half we seemed a step slow, and when we did get open shots we missed them," said Head Coach Don Maestri. "Boo, Jarvis, Bobby, Jacob... no one could get on track. We looked a little tired tonight. Now we just have to get things straight for the upcoming home stretch. If you are not ready to play in this league, it will make for some long nights."
A Boo Ramsey three-pointer closed the gap to six 13 seconds later, but seven straight ASU points over the next 48 seconds pushed the lead into double digits for the first time at 21-8. The difference was still 13, 27-14 with 6:14 left, when the Indians exploded. They scored seven straight points to start a 23-3 run over the remaining time for a 50-17 lead at intermission. Troy was held scoreless for the final 4:57 of the period as Arkansas State tallied 16 points.
Troy improved its scoring in the second half, shooting 39.5 percent and scoring 51 points, but the Trojans never made a serious run. They closed to 19 points twice, the second at 76-57 with 6:52 remaining, but Arkansas State responded with 11 straight points to end the threat.
The loss was the worst suffered in conference play since Jan. 13, 2001, when the Trojans fell 94-47 to Samford. The 91 points scored by the Indians were the most by an opponent this season.
After three straight and six of eight on the road to open league play, Troy begins a four-game homestand Saturday night against Arkansas-Little Rock. Tip off is approximately 7:30 p.m. following the conclusion of the Troy-Arkansas State women's game.
