Troy University Athletics
South Alabama rallies to beat Troy 75-64
1/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala.?” TROY, Ala.?” South Alabama broke a 46-46 with five straight points, then answered a Troy three with a 9-0 run enroute to a 75-64 victory over the Trojans Thursday night at Trojan Arena.
Cedric Jackson and O'Darien Bassett were the top scorers for the Trojans (7-10, 2-4) as they each posted 15 points. Justin Jonus followed close behind with 14. USA's Doan Merritt led all players with 18 points, while Demetric Bennett and Ernest Little both posted double-doubles. Bennett tallied 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Little chipped in 14 points and 11 boards.
Troy seemed poised to blow the game open in the early going. The Trojans opened a 20-6 lead by the 12:52 mark by hitting four of their first nine three-point attempts. But Troy went cold and the Jaguars heated up.
South Alabama scored nine straight to close to within five, 20-15, with 8:11 left in the period. The Jags answered a Cedric Jackson jumper with five more points to trail by only two, 22-20, at the 5:47 mark.
Troy responded after the lead was trimmed to one. Sammy Sharp hit a jumper and Jonus made a three to move the lead back to six at 29-23 with 4:15 left. The Trojans held on for a four-point advantage at halftime, 33-29, despite finishing the period at 31.4 percent, including just five of 20 (25.0 percent) from behind the arc.
The second half proved to be a different story for the Trojans as they were outscored by the Jaguars 46-31 over the 20 minutes. USA took its first lead of the game with 13:58 remaining during an 8-2 run that made the score 43-37. Troy even the game at 46 with 10:18 left, but then tallied just one field goal over the next four-and-a-half minutes.
The Trojans committed 10 turnovers while forcing 13, but were outscored 16-7 off of those miscues. Troy was also outrebounded 48-35.
Troy will continue its home stand as they face Arkansas State on Saturday at Trojan Arena at 7:30 p.m.
