Drastic Changes Lead To Trojan Victory

Wednesday, March 5

Lafayette, La.

8:05 pm

Troy University

(5) Louisiana-Lafayette

3/5/2008 6:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)

LAFAYETTE, La. ? After losing nine of their last 11 games to end the regular season, Troy University basketball coach Don Maestri decided that his team needed to make drastic changes.

Following a lopsided loss to Middle Tennessee in the regular season finale, assistant coach David Felix made a dramatic suggestion.

Those changes were on full display in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at the Cajun Dome as the Trojans started an all guard lineup for the first time and went into a four-corner offense against the bigger and more physical Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns.

The unorthodox brand of basketball for the Trojans (12-18), despite a huge height differential, produced a 70-60 Troy victory over the homestanding Ragin' Cajuns, propelling Troy into the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Tournament against those same Blue Raiders.

That game will be played at the Mitchell Center in Mobile on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m.

The Trojans sent sophomores Michael Vogler and Brandon Hazzard to the floor as starters for the first time along with seniors O'Darien Bassett, Jerome Odem and Justin Jonus. Instead of forcing an up tempo game as is the Troy norm, the Trojans made every effort to slow the pace.

“We felt it was the only chance we had to beat them,” Maestri said of the change in philosophy. “The initial thought came from David. On the ride home after MTSU, he said we were going to have to do something totally different to beat Lafayette. They ran on us, shot the ball very well, and were really good against us the first time.

“We told the kids that we were going to put something different in. When we introduced it to them, they took to it right away. We told them they would get booed and, sure enough, they did. It is not a conventional way to play basketball, but it the way we had to play to have a chance to win.”

But it took some fortitude to make the offense work. In the first half the Trojans missed several open layups and ULL used its size advantage and solid outside shooting to build a 10-point lead, at 26-16, on consecutive three-pointers by Chris Gradnigo with just over seven minutes to play in the half.

The Trojans took a timeout at that point, not to make changes, but to reinforce that the way they were playing was the only chance they had to win.

“We missed four layups that gave them some momentum,” Maestri said of the ULL run. "We were executing the way we wanted, but we had to make some shots. If we could do that, then we'd put some pressure on them.”

The Trojans hung around for the rest of the first half, trailing 35-26 at the break. In that first half the Trojans hit just nine-of-20 shots, including just one-of-four from three-point range and got outrebounded 20-10. But, Troy stayed with the plan and, in the second half, started chipping away.

“We had some crushing losses this year and for them to come out and play this way and execute is just amazing,” Maestri said. “I am really proud of the way they played. When they got down by 10 they didn't panic.”

It was Vogler and Hazzard who hit consecutive threes early in the second half to give the Trojans some momentum. As Troy gained confidence in its new style of play, the pace of the game took a visible toll on the Cajuns, who grew increasing frustrated with their inability to run the floor.

That frustration was especially apparent on the faces of the various ULL players who were alternately given the job of covering Bassett. The Troy senior stood to the side of the court as the shot clock wound down on possession after possession, but when the time came to go to the basket, he took control, driving past every player the Cajuns' sent to try to stop him.

It was Bassett that keyed an 11-0 Troy run that started at the 13:56 mark and included an arcing three-pointer from Jonus at the 10:45 mark to give Troy the lead and ended on a buzzer-beating jumper by Odem at the 10:20 mark for a four-point lead, 47-43.

The Ragin' Cajuns were never able to regain the advantage. Every ULL basket was answered by the Trojans, either with a layup, free throws, or both.

Another buzzer-beating shot from Odem, this one from three-point range, gave Troy a 56-51 lead with 6:15 left. Bassett followed with a clutch running jumper in the lane that banked in to give him 1,000 career points with five minutes to play.

Another Odem three, followed by seven of eight from the free throw line salted away the Troy victory as a stunned crowd of 3,419 stood in silent disbelief.

“I am as proud of this team as I have been of any team in 26 years,” Maestri said. “This ULL team was starting to play great basketball. To make some of the shots we made in the second half, it was amazing. These kids made this work and it was a beautiful thing to watch tonight. You have to give all the credit to the kids.”

Odem and Bassett finished with 16 points each to lead the Trojans while Jonus added 14 and Vogler had 13. Between those four players, only Bassett, who took a one-minute rest, failed to play the entire 40 minutes. Mario Telfair, who had not played in three of the last four games, came on to play after Hazzard suffered a sprained ankle and scored six points and grabbed five rebounds in 22 minutes.

Gradnigo led ULL, which finished its season with a 15-15 record, with 20 points. Randell Daigle scored 16 points and La'Ryan Gary had 11.