Win Streak Goes to 10 as Troy Downs WKU

Saturday, February 14

Troy, Ala.

7:30 p.m.

Troy University

Western Kentucky

2/14/2009 6:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)

TROY ? Brandon Hazzard had a career night with 35 points as the Troy Trojans took control of first place in the Sun Belt East Division with an 87-82 win over Western Kentucky on Saturday night at Trojan Arena.

The victory also gave Troy (17-10, 12-3 SBC) 10 wins in a row, the longest since the team won 13 straight games during the 2003-04 season. Hazzard set a new career-high with 35 points, including hitting 6-of-8 three pointers. The junior from Atlanta scored 19 points in the second half.

With the win over Western Kentucky University (17-8, 11-3 SBC), Troy moves into sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt Conference's East division.

“If I was a spectator, I would have had as fun of a time at a game here in Troy as could have been had in a long time. There were great plays made all-around, great passes, great dunks, hustle plays, guys diving on the ground,” head coach Don Maestri said.

“The courageousness of our team showed up tonight. This is a Sweet 16 team from last season we were playing. They beat Louisville badly, which is an outstanding team. When Western Kentucky came out in the second half and took it right to us, we showed one of the signs of being courageous. We did not fold. We did not let the game get away, did not let the score get away. We did one heck of a job by not letting this game get away.”

Hazzard hit two 3-pointers in the first five minutes and the second made it a 9-8 game in favor of Western Kentucky. Mario Telfair got two down low to give Troy its first lead and Hazzard got the feed of an inbounds play for two more and a 12-9 Troy lead with 13 minutes left.

Kenny Ware got a fast break lay-up off a feed from Vogler to give the Trojans a 24-23 lead heading into the under eight minute media timeout. Steffphon Pettigrew tied the game with a free throw, put Troy right back on top with a trey, 27-24. Ware finished the game with 18 points, on 4-of-7 shooting from deep. He played 27 minutes off the bench.

“We got great contributions from everyone. Kenny Ware came off the bench and scored 18 points. Antywan Jones came up to me and told me that Kenny was hot and he wanted him to start in his place, but I felt like we needed to start the game with what we had been starting with. That just shows you the selflessness of our guys. I thought Richard Delk played very well. That dunk really put the exclamation point in. Brandon Hazzard had an awesome game. That was one of the best shooting performances we have had here in a long time,” Maestri said.

After a three-point play by the Hilltoppers tied the game, Ware kept his hot shooting going with three more from deep for a 32-29 Trojans lead. Troy missed a shot at the shot clock buzzer to go into halftime leading by one, 35-34. Hazzard scored 16 points in the first half and Ware added 10 before the break.

Richard Delk started the second half scoring for Troy with two, but WKU opened with back-to-back treys to take a 40-37 lead. Pettigrew knocked down another 3-pointer, but Hazzard answered with two. Pettigrew split a pair of free throws then Tom Jervis brought the fans to their feet with a thunderous jam. He sliced the WKU lead down to just a point with a baseline jumper on the next possession, 44-43 with 16 minutes to go.

Orlando Mendez-Valdez made his presence felt with 3-pointers on consecutive trips, but Delk found two for the Trojans and a four-point deficit. Mendez-Valdez made another three as the shot clock expired.

Ware hit a three ball in transition to slice the Hilltopper lead down to just two points, 59-57. Troy tied the game on a lay-up by Delk. Ware's trey with 8:08 to go gave the Trojans a three point lead, 64-61.

Hazzard and Telfair each sank a pair of free throws to give Troy a 71-67 lead with 5:47 to go in the game. After Slaughter sank a 3-pointer for the Hilltoppers, Hazzard countered with his own 3-point basket. Jeremy Evans got a put-back for WKU to make it 74-72 in favor of the Trojans.

Vogler drained a pair of free throws to make it a five-point game, 77-72 with 2:38 left on the clock. After making a steal and getting fouled, Hazzard split a pair from the for a 78-72 lead.

Mendez-Valdez forced a shot from deep early in the shot clock and after a Troy rebound, Delk brought the house down with an electric slam down the middle of the lane for an eight point lead with 1:39 on the clock. Delk scored 14 points, with 10 coming in the second half. He also grabbed six rebounds and dished out three assists.

Troy hit 7-of-12 free throws during the final 90 seconds to ice the victory, including Hazzard hitting 6-of-8 from the stripe.

Vogler posted 11 assists, nine points and six rebounds. Mendez-Valdez and Slaughter each scored 20 points for WKU, respectively. Kerusch (15 points), Pettigrew (15 points) and Evans (12 points) also scored in double-figures. Troy's bench outscored the Hilltopper reserves 25-0. Vogler played a full 40 minutes for the third time in his Troy career.

Troy is in action again on Thursday when the team travels to Miami, Fla. for a date with Florida International. Barry McKnight will bring you all the action from courtside on the Troy ISP Network.