Troy University Athletics
Trojans Fall At Western Kentucky
2/13/2008 6:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Tryone Brazelton paced five Western Kentucky players in double figures, leading the Hilltoppers to a 92-57 victory over Troy University at E.A. Diddle Arena Wednesday night.
"I think early in the game we had a chance to keep the game close,"
Troy head coach Don Maestri said. "We missed a significant number of
three-point attempts, and we were playing a very good basketball team
like Western Kentucky. You can't afford to let them get a lead like
that, especially when we were playing with a lot less confidence coming
into the game."
Western Kentucky (20-5, 12-1 SBC) ran their win streak to 10 games with an impressive first half against the Trojans. The Hilltoppers jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the opening minutes of the game, and ran their lead to as many as 48 points in the second half until Troy caught fire from behind the arc in the final 4:54 of the game.
After the opening basket was scored by WKU's Courtney Lee, putting the Hilltoppers up 3-0, Western Kentucky shot 48.7 (19-of-39) percent from the floor and 50 (8-of-16) percent from behind the arc to jump to a 47-22 halftime lead.
Western Kentucky expanded their lead to an 88-40 lead with 4:54 remaining in the contest, and the Trojans were in danger of setting a new season-low for points. However, Brandon Hazzard connected on a three-pointer with 4:29 remaining, igniting a 17-4 Trojan run to end the game.
Jerome Odem connected on his first three-pointer of the run, trimming the lead to 88-46 with 4:06 to play. After a Western Kentucky basket, Josh Williams scored his first points of the game on a lay-up with 3:18 remaining in the contest and trimming the lead to 90-48. The Hilltoppers extended the lead to 92-48, before the Trojans scored the final nine points of the game.
Odem connected on another three-pointer to trim the lead to 92-51 with 2:47 remaining, and saving the Trojans from setting a new season-low in scoring. Williams hit the front end of a two-shot foul, trimming the lead to 92-52 with 2:36 to play; before Odem connected on his third three-pointer of the run with 2:04 remaining and cutting the deficit to 92-55. The final basket of the game was scored on a put back from Mario Telfair, to trim the lead to the final score.
Troy (10-15, 3-11 SBC) shot just 33.3 (20-of-60) percent from the floor and 29.7 (11-of-37) percent from behind the arc. They also shot 66.7 (6-of-9) percent from the free throw line, while being outrebounded 47-35 and turning the ball over 20 times.
"I think their defense was pretty good tonight, especially early on," Maestri said.
"They did a good job defensively, but we did miss some open shots that
you have to make in order to make it a competitive basketball game."
Meanwhile, Western Kentucky shot 49.3 (37-of-75) percent from the floor and 43.3 (13-of-30) percent from behind the arc. The Hilltoppers also shot 62.5 (5-of-8) percent from the free throw line.
Odem led the Trojans with 18 points, on 6-of-11 shooting from behind the arc. He was the lone Trojan in double figures on the night, while O'Darien Bassett and Justin Jonus added nine each in the loss.
Brazelton led Western Kentucky with 15 points, while Ty Rogers, A.J. Slaughter and Boris Siakam chipped in with 12. WKU leading scorer, Courtney Lee, was held to 10 points in the victory.
Troy returns to action on the road Saturday night at North Texas. The game is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Super Pit, and can be heard on the Troy/ISP Network.
