Troy University Athletics
Georgia Tech Runs Past Troy 85-55 Thursday Afternoon
12/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)
ATLANTA, Ga. - Troy missed its first 12 shots from the field in falling behind 12-0 and never completely recovered in a 85-55 loss to Georgia Tech Thursday afternoon at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The loss was the third straight and sixth in seven games for the Trojans, who fall to 5-8 overall.
Troy was led by Cedric Jackson's 14 points, while Sammy Sharp just missed a double-double of 10 points and nine rebounds. Jeremis Smith and Thaddeus Young each had 16 points and nine rebounds to lead Georgia Tech (9-3). O'Darien Bassett, who entered the game averaging 18.8 points per game, finished the game with just four points on just one-of-14 shooting.
It took Troy almost seven minutes to break into the scoring column. Jerome Odem hit a three from the left side with 13:18 remaining to cut the Yellow Jacket lead to 12-3. After it reached 13 at 18-5 with 11:55 to play, Troy made its first charge. The Trojans used a 13-3 run to close to within 21-18 with 8:11 to play.
But Tech scored the next 10 points to push the lead back to 13, then ended the period on a 7-0 run to lead by 17 at the break, 1:27.
The Yellow Jackets poured it on in the second half, opening a 34-point lead in the final two minutes.
I thought the layoff affected us, particularly when it came to conditioning,” Head Coach Don Maestri said. Of course, we also played a very good team in Georgia Tech. We missed a lot of shots, especially the guys who need to lead us - O'D (O'Darien Bassett), Richard (Chaney) and Jerome (Odem). We were able to get back into the game after we fell behind so early, but we couldn't sustain the momentum.”
Troy finished the contest shooting a season-low 30.3 percent from the field overall (20 of 66), making just eight of 25 three-pointers. The Trojans were also outrebounded 59 to 34, including 31-10 in the second half.
They dominated the offensive glass,” Maestri continued. But we need to forget about this and be ready for UALR on Sunday. This is the kind of game that simply gets us back in uniform and gets us back playing again before Sun Belt action on Sunday.”
Troy looks to gain its first Sun Belt Conference win of the season on Sunday when it welcomes UALR to Trojan Arena. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
