Troy University Athletics
Trojans Open Stretch Run at Home
2/10/2008 6:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)
For the Troy University men's basketball team, the final six games of the regular season stand as the biggest challenge of the year.
The Trojans (10-13, 3-9) are tied with FIU for fifth in the Sun Belt Conference East Division, but are still only two games out of position to host a first round tournament game. With the Trojans having lost seven of their last nine games, making up that ground would appear to be tough.
But, with the next two games, starting on Sunday, against the league's two front-runners, the challenge seems to be even greater. The Trojans host South Alabama on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Trojan Arena.
Troy coach Don Maestri said that thoughts on the Sun Belt Tournament, which opens on home courts on March 5 before moving to the Mitchell Center in Mobile, are not a consideration for his team with six games left to play.
“The conference tournament is not on anyone's mind at this point,” Maestri said. “We are only concerned with playing well from game to game. The conference tournament doesn't have anything to do with it for us right now.”
Even playing well from game to game is a stretch for the Trojans at this point. In their last two outings the team has performed almost flawlessly for a half before crumbling in the second half, suffering disappointing road losses at both New Orleans and Denver.
“We have to start playing two halves of basketball,” Maestri said. “We have played well in the last couple of games in the first half, but not in the second. We have to figure out how to play a solid 40 minutes of basketball. That is the only way we can have success. For that to happen, we have to have everyone on the team making contributions.”
Against UNO and Denver the Trojans built double-figure leads in the first half, led by eight and nine points respectively at halftime, only to surrender more than 50 points in the second half of both games. Denver's 55-point second half outburst to win on Thursday night was particularly tough considering that the Pioneers were averaging just 56 points per game.
The Trojans must put those losses behind them quickly with South Alabama (19-4, 11-1) and Western Kentucky (19-5, 11-1) coming up in back-to-back games.
The Trojans gave both teams a challenge the first time they met. The South Alabama game was another that got away in the second half. The Trojans led 47-46 at halftime, only to lose 84-73.
“They are the best team in this league, no matter how you look at it,” Maestri said. “When you break it down by position, they have players at every position who are outstanding. They are a good shooting team, an outstanding rebounding team and, it goes without saying, a very well coached team.”
The primary challenges presented by the Jaguars are senior guards Demetric Bennett and Daon Merritt. Bennett leads the team, and is third in the league, at 20.5 points per game while, at the same time, averaging 5.8 rebounds. Merritt averages 11.6 points per game from his point guard spot, but also leads the league in assists at 5.22 per game.
“They are the only team in the league that have two players back from last year that were All-Conference,” Maestri said. “Bennett is an outstanding player who can beat you in so many different ways and their point guard, Merritt, is outstanding. They just have so many strengths. We will have to play our best game of the year to even have a chance.”
Of course, Troy fans need only look to the final game of last season to see what is possible. The Trojans went into Mobile and upset the league champion Jaguars 92-88 to earn a first round home game in the Sun Belt Tournament.
“We have so many new players on the team this year, that win over South Alabama last year is not even a factor,” Maestri said.
The Trojans (10-13, 3-9) are tied with FIU for fifth in the Sun Belt Conference East Division, but are still only two games out of position to host a first round tournament game. With the Trojans having lost seven of their last nine games, making up that ground would appear to be tough.
But, with the next two games, starting on Sunday, against the league's two front-runners, the challenge seems to be even greater. The Trojans host South Alabama on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Trojan Arena.
Troy coach Don Maestri said that thoughts on the Sun Belt Tournament, which opens on home courts on March 5 before moving to the Mitchell Center in Mobile, are not a consideration for his team with six games left to play.
“The conference tournament is not on anyone's mind at this point,” Maestri said. “We are only concerned with playing well from game to game. The conference tournament doesn't have anything to do with it for us right now.”
Even playing well from game to game is a stretch for the Trojans at this point. In their last two outings the team has performed almost flawlessly for a half before crumbling in the second half, suffering disappointing road losses at both New Orleans and Denver.
“We have to start playing two halves of basketball,” Maestri said. “We have played well in the last couple of games in the first half, but not in the second. We have to figure out how to play a solid 40 minutes of basketball. That is the only way we can have success. For that to happen, we have to have everyone on the team making contributions.”
Against UNO and Denver the Trojans built double-figure leads in the first half, led by eight and nine points respectively at halftime, only to surrender more than 50 points in the second half of both games. Denver's 55-point second half outburst to win on Thursday night was particularly tough considering that the Pioneers were averaging just 56 points per game.
The Trojans must put those losses behind them quickly with South Alabama (19-4, 11-1) and Western Kentucky (19-5, 11-1) coming up in back-to-back games.
The Trojans gave both teams a challenge the first time they met. The South Alabama game was another that got away in the second half. The Trojans led 47-46 at halftime, only to lose 84-73.
“They are the best team in this league, no matter how you look at it,” Maestri said. “When you break it down by position, they have players at every position who are outstanding. They are a good shooting team, an outstanding rebounding team and, it goes without saying, a very well coached team.”
The primary challenges presented by the Jaguars are senior guards Demetric Bennett and Daon Merritt. Bennett leads the team, and is third in the league, at 20.5 points per game while, at the same time, averaging 5.8 rebounds. Merritt averages 11.6 points per game from his point guard spot, but also leads the league in assists at 5.22 per game.
“They are the only team in the league that have two players back from last year that were All-Conference,” Maestri said. “Bennett is an outstanding player who can beat you in so many different ways and their point guard, Merritt, is outstanding. They just have so many strengths. We will have to play our best game of the year to even have a chance.”
Of course, Troy fans need only look to the final game of last season to see what is possible. The Trojans went into Mobile and upset the league champion Jaguars 92-88 to earn a first round home game in the Sun Belt Tournament.
“We have so many new players on the team this year, that win over South Alabama last year is not even a factor,” Maestri said.
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