Troy University Athletics
Bassett's 32 Leads Troy Past Southeastern Louisiana, 86-84
11/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. -- O'Darien Bassett scored 32 points to lead five players in double figures Saturday as Troy battled past Southeastern Louisiana, 86-84, at Trojan Arena.
Jerome Odem tallied 14 points and five assists, while Sammy Sharp added 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Richard Chaney went for 12 points and seven boards and Cedric Jackson chipped in 11 points. Daryl Cohen led Southeastern Louisiana with 25 points, while Quennell Green -- Bassett's first cousin -- tallied 17 points.
Both teams posted excellent shooting numbers as the Trojans connected on 52.7 percent from the field, while the Lions hit 50.8 percent. The teams also combined for 22 three-pointers -- 13 for SLU and nine for Troy, while committing only 21 turnovers.
Troy (4-2) opened a 17-point lead in the opening half, 37-20 with 5:30 left. It came on the heels of a 16-0 run that started on back-to-back threes by Odem near the eight-minute mark.
Southeastern Louisiana (4-1) used a 7-0 run in a span of 1:22 to cut the lead back to single digits, 39-30 with 3:26 remaining in the half. Each team scored 10 points over the rest of the period, sending Troy to the locker room up 49-40.
The Lions contiuned their surge at the start of the second half, tying the game for the first time at 51 with 16:51 remaining on the heels of an 11-2 run. The teams were even again at 53 before Troy went back ahead by 10, 69-59 with 11:38 to play.
Southeastern took its first lead of the second half with a 12-2 run that made the score 76-75 with 5:04 remaining, but Troy scored four straight points on jumpers by Bassett and Jackson and never trailed again. The Lions cut the margin to one again on a pair of Terry Bryant free throws with 3:52 to play, but Chaney hit four straight free throws to push the lead to 83-78 with 2:34 to play.
The lead was still five after Sharp made just one of three tosses from the charity stripe with 59.7 seconds on the clock before Bryant hit a three at the top of the key with 40 seconds remaining to make the final score.
Odem missed a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left that could have sealed the Troy win, but Patrick Sullivan's jumper to tie with two ticks left was long.
"This was a big win for us," Head Coach Don Maestri said. "Southeastern is a very tough team, one of the most intense we will play all year. I was pleased that when the took the lead, we didn't panic. We made some big plays down the stretch and hit some big free throws overall. However, we still need to learn how to put people away."
Troy has a quick turnaround as it travels to Alabama State in Montgomery on Monday night. The contest kicks off a five-game road trip for the Trojans.
