Troy University Athletics
Senior Trio Rallies Trojans Past Florida Atlantic, 92-87, in Overtime
2/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. - Neither team hit a field goal in overtime, but Troy outscored Florida Atlantic 7-2 at the free throw line during the extra five minutes to lead the Trojans to a 92-87 overtime win over the Owls Saturday night at Trojan Arena. Seniors Sammy Sharp, Richard Chaney and Cedric Jackson all topped 20 points to help the Trojans rebound from back-to-back losses.
Sharp tied his career high with 25 points, while Chaney added 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Jackson earned his third double-double of the season -- 21 points and 10 boards - primarily by hitting all 10 of his free throw attempts before fouling out in overtime.
DeAndre Rice of Florida Atlantic led all scorers with a school-record 39 points. Three other players topped double figures for the Owls -- Paul Graham (14), Carlos Monroe (12) and Jeff Palmer (10)..
Troy (10-14, 5-8) needed to rally just to force overtime. It trailed 78-69 after Rice hit a pair of free throws with 5:47 to play, but used a 13-4 run over the next two minutes to even the game at 82 with 2:50 left. Rice then hit a three - FAU's last field goal of the contest - with 2:17 to play, but Chaney tied the score at 85 with 27.0 seconds left with a three-pointer from the right wing.
Nearly three minutes of overtime passed before either team scored, with Florida Atlantic taking an 87-85 lead on two Monroe free throws, but Justin Jonus answered at the 1:34 mark to even the game at 87. After an Owl turnover, Chaney hit a pair of free throws to put Troy ahead, the sealed the game with two more tosses from the line with 14 seconds left. The capper came from Sharp after he rebounded a desperation three with two seconds left.
One of the reasons we won tonight was our senior leadership,? Head Coach Don Maestri said of Sharp, Chaney and Jackson in his postgame press conference. We really needed this win. Sammy got us started early and kept it up all game. CJ and Rich came up big at spots when we needed it most.?
FAU started the game strong, leading for the first 17-plus minutes. However, the biggest margin was only five points at 10-5 and Troy was able to gain its first lead at 33-31 with 2:56 to play after Sharp, himself, went on an 8-0 run.
From there, the teams exchanged the lead five times until the Owls rattled off five straight points for a 42-38 lead. Troy tallied the final points of the half to trail by only a deuce, 42-40, at the break.
Florida Atlantic created some separation early in the second half. A 9-0 run pushed the Owls' lead to double digits for the first time, 62-52 with 14:26 to play. Brent Crews tallied back-to-back lay-ups to complete the surge.
However, Troy struck back with six straight points on a Boo Ramsey three-pointer and a three-point play by Chaney to pull back to within four, 62-58. The Trojans continued their surge just over a minute later after trailing by five, 66-61, by hitting five straight free throws to even the game at 66 at the midway point of the second half.
But Florida Atlantic rattled off eight straight points for a 74-66 lead at the nine-minute mark. The Owls added a point to that margin before Troy finally rallied.
We fell behind three times, but I thought each time we could come back,? Maestri added. When we got to overtime, I had a good feeling that luck would turn our way.?
Troy heads back out on the road next week. The Trojans visit Florida International on Thursday and Arkansas-Little Rock on Saturday.
