Hazzard?s Clutch Play Keys Win

Thursday, January 22

Troy, Ala.

7 p.m.

Troy University

New Orleans

1/22/2009 6:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)

TROY ? Brandon Hazzard hit back-to-back three's with less than five minutes to go to give the Troy Trojans a final push to victory in a 83-72 win over New Orleans on Thursday night at Trojan Arena.

After Troy (10-10, 5-3 SBC) had allowed their lead to slip down to just five points, despite leading by as much as 17 in the second half, Hazzard nailed the two long distance shots to stretch the lead back to eight points. Hazzard's shots sandwiched a Darrian McKinstry three.

Following the back-to-back treys by Hazzard, the Trojans came up with four consecutive defensive stops against UNO (8-11, 3-5 SBC) including a steal and a tip leading to a steal by Kenny Ware. Hazzard finished the game with 26 points on 4-of-7 shooting from deep.

“Brandon hit another big three for us and he made all of his free throws when we needed them. Then we got four stops on defense and that is one of the things you have to do to be able to finish off a game,” head coach Don Maestri said.

“At times it was not a very pretty game. There were lots of turnovers for both sides, but if you look at the stats, we shot over 50 percent and over 45 percent on three's. It didn't seem like our offense was clicking well, but we did some good things. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to win this game and there were times where we played not to loose, but in the end we did what we needed to win. I can't give enough credit to New Orleans. They did an excellent job defensively. That was probably the best man-to-man defense we have faced this season.”

The win moved Troy to .500 on the season for just the second time this year. It also gave the team three straight wins in Sun Belt play for the first time ever. Maestri said the win was significant for his team's confidence going forward in the Sun Belt season.

“There is no question you get more confidence the more you win. The more success the more confidence you have. It is a good feeling for them to win the last three games. Maybe it will pay big dividends down the road,” he said.

Hazzard keyed the Trojans' early offense hitting his first two three point tries. Michael Vogler nailed his first three and the Trojans opened up an early 9-3 advantage.

Hazzard scored 10 of Troy's first 13 points, but New Orleans roared back with a pair of baskets by Destin Damachoua. Kyndall Dykes' first two points of the night would cut Troy's lead down to just four points, 21-17.

Dykes hit two free throws with 4:55 to go to cut into the Troy lead, but Vogler answered with a three ball to leave the score at 38-24 with Troy firmly in command.

Hazzard led both teams with 14 points at the half. Vogler tallied 12 in the opening period.

Both teams started the second off cold before Delk and Vogler got the Trojans going with a pair of baskets. Dykes got a run-out lay up and Justin Archie picked off a Vogler pass up top and took it coast-to-coast to cut the lead to 13 points, 48-35. Vogler finished the game with a career-high 18 points with five assists. Delk also scored in double-figures for Troy with 16.

Delk hit his first three, but Archie and T.J. Worley connected from deep dropping Troy's lead down into single digits for the first time since there was eight minutes left in the first half.

UNO cut Troy's lead down to just five points with an Archie three-pointer, but Vogler got a runner in the lane for a 70-63 lead with 5:28 on the clock.

After two in the lane for the Privateers, Hazzard was able to convert on the consecutive chances with three-pointers. The junior from Atlanta hit six free throws down the stretch to ultimately ice the win. UNO never led in the game.

The Trojans got 21 bench points in the game, including six each from Ware and Mario Telfair. Ware led Troy on the boards with nine rebounds, while Tom Jervis grabbed eight rebounds. Worley led UNO with 21 points and Dykes posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

The Trojans are in action next on Saturday when they travel to Little Rock, Arkansas to face the Trojans of UALR. Tip-off is set for 7 pm. Barry McKnight will bring you all the action from courtside on the Troy ISP Network.