Troy University Athletics
Wednesday, March 18
Troy, Ala.
7 pm
Troy University
91
vs
93
College of Charleston
Furious Troy Comeback Falls Short
3/18/2009 5:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)
TROY ? Despite a furious second half comeback the Troy Trojans fell short 93-91 against the College of Charleston in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) Wednesday night at Trojan Arena.
After trailing by 19 points at halftime, Troy head coach Don Maestri made several adjustments in the locker room, specifically switching to a man defense which meant having senior forward Mario Telfair supplant seven-footer Tom Jervis in the post.
“Charleston has an outstanding team that can really shoot the ball well. After halftime we switched to a man-to-man defense. Our guys then did a phenomenal job of getting us back into this game. This game really kept our program's track record of big comebacks going. Our basketball team did not quit. You could see it in their eyes at halftime that they were not beaten. [Telfair] played the best game of his career. He played every minute of the second half and he played all out for every one of them. He made some great plays defensively and offensively,” Maestri said.
Telfair responded with the game of his life for Troy (19-13), including playing the entire second half. He scored a career-high 27 points with a career-best nine rebounds. He also hit a career-high 9-of-11 free throws.
The junior for St. Petersburg, who recently cut off his trademark braids, didn't feel like the haircut had too much of an effect on his outburst.
“I did feel a little bit lighter,” Telfair said with a grin. “But it was more that I just wanted to keep playing. I just felt like I didn't want the season to end. I wanted to get us another win and to keep playing with my teammates.”
Brandon Hazzard's first 3-pointer of the second half cut the Cougars' lead down to 62-49 and Michael Vogler followed that up with a lay-in for a five-point swing in favor of the Trojans. Telfair sank two from the free throw line on three straight trips to make it an 11-0 Troy run and pare the lead down to 62-57 with 13 minutes to go.
Troy tightened the defense down once more for another stop and after a Telfair put-back of a Vogler miss the Trojans had made a difference that was once as many as 19 points, just a three point differential with 12:10 left in the first half.
Andrew Goudelock's long two and triple halted the Trojans' 13-0 run, but Richard Delk countered for the Trojans with a spinning lay-up in the lane. Another tip-in by Telfair got Troy back within four points. Hazzard found the bottom of the bucket for a triple, then Delk split a pair of free throws after a steal to leave Troy behind by just one point, 72-71.
Goudelock finished with a game high 26 points for the Cougars. Tony White, Jr. added 21 points and Marcus Hammond scored 12 as the other double-figure scorers for College of Charleston (27-8).
A Telfair dunk made it 82-79 with just over two minutes left, but the Cougars countered with a two in the paint by Dustin Scott but Telfair sank two free throws to negate the basket. Donavon Monroe scored a put-back for Charleston, but Hazzard connected on his fifth triple to cut the lead to two points, 86-84. Hazzard finished with 21 points on 5-of-8 shooting from deep with four rebounds in 38 minutes of play.
White went to the line with 38 seconds left and his squad leading by two, he sank two, but Telfair scored a quick two for Troy to make it a two point game again with 31 seconds remaining, 88-86.
Goudelock took his turn next and split a pair. Delk went coast-to-coast for two and a one-point deficit 89-88 with 19.6 remaining. After another foul, White connected on one and the Delk was fouled going for the rebound sending him to the line for two and a chance to tie.
The Sun Belt's Newcomer of the Year split the shots and the Trojans sent Goudelock to the line once more. He sank both his shots and Hazzard missed a potential game-tying attempt with five seconds left.
Simmons hit one of two, but Troy's Vogler was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 1.8 left. Vogler sank the first two and intentionally missed the third but Troy could not come up with the loss ending the Trojans' season.
Hazzard hit three of his first four shots to score eight of Troy's first 11 points, but back-to-back treys from White had Charleston out front 20-13 with 13 minutes left in the first half.
Goudelock kept the Cougars' hot shooting going with another triple. Charleston connected on six of its first eight 3-pointers. Josh Williams' first career block sparked back-to-back baskets for Troy, but Matt Sundberg provided another offensive outburst for Charleston as he drilled back-to-back treys for a 36-23 lead.
College of Charleston stretched their lead out to 46-28 with three minutes to go in the first half, but Delk converted a three-point play to pare the lead down to 15 points, 46-31.
The Cougars answered with a pair of triples and a runner in the lane as time expired in the first half to send the Trojans into halftime down 56-37. The 56 points scored by Charleston were the most Troy had surrendered in the first half all season. Charleston hit 13-of-19 3-pointers in the opening half, good for 68 percent of their attempts.
Delk finished the game with 18 points, four rebounds and three steals. Vogler contributed his typical all-around effort with 14 points, six assists and seven rebounds. Williams recorded his first career blocked shot during the first half.
The game ends the career of four Troy seniors ? Telfair, Williams, Tom Jervis and Kenny Ware. Maestri said he would remember the 2008-09 edition of the Trojans fondly and was sad to see the group finish their time.
“This basketball team may be one of the most fun teams that David Felix and I have had in our 27 years here. They played the game the way it should be played, which is they played team basketball. The sad part is we won't be able to practice any more. It's a sad but true statement for this team, but all good things must come to an end,” the veteran coach said.
Maestri was also extremely complimentary of the Gazelle Group, the organization that founded the CBI in 2007.
“This postseason tournament is a great event. It allows teams that had a great year to get a reward. We were proud to be in it and proud to be the only team other than Western Kentucky in our league that was still playing. I hope people realize how big of a favor the group that started this tournament did for college basketball. I hope this catches on more and more. It was great for our university, it was great for our fans and it was great for our team. It's a great reward for a group of guys that performed well all year,” he said.
After trailing by 19 points at halftime, Troy head coach Don Maestri made several adjustments in the locker room, specifically switching to a man defense which meant having senior forward Mario Telfair supplant seven-footer Tom Jervis in the post.
“Charleston has an outstanding team that can really shoot the ball well. After halftime we switched to a man-to-man defense. Our guys then did a phenomenal job of getting us back into this game. This game really kept our program's track record of big comebacks going. Our basketball team did not quit. You could see it in their eyes at halftime that they were not beaten. [Telfair] played the best game of his career. He played every minute of the second half and he played all out for every one of them. He made some great plays defensively and offensively,” Maestri said.
Telfair responded with the game of his life for Troy (19-13), including playing the entire second half. He scored a career-high 27 points with a career-best nine rebounds. He also hit a career-high 9-of-11 free throws.
The junior for St. Petersburg, who recently cut off his trademark braids, didn't feel like the haircut had too much of an effect on his outburst.
“I did feel a little bit lighter,” Telfair said with a grin. “But it was more that I just wanted to keep playing. I just felt like I didn't want the season to end. I wanted to get us another win and to keep playing with my teammates.”
Brandon Hazzard's first 3-pointer of the second half cut the Cougars' lead down to 62-49 and Michael Vogler followed that up with a lay-in for a five-point swing in favor of the Trojans. Telfair sank two from the free throw line on three straight trips to make it an 11-0 Troy run and pare the lead down to 62-57 with 13 minutes to go.
Troy tightened the defense down once more for another stop and after a Telfair put-back of a Vogler miss the Trojans had made a difference that was once as many as 19 points, just a three point differential with 12:10 left in the first half.
Andrew Goudelock's long two and triple halted the Trojans' 13-0 run, but Richard Delk countered for the Trojans with a spinning lay-up in the lane. Another tip-in by Telfair got Troy back within four points. Hazzard found the bottom of the bucket for a triple, then Delk split a pair of free throws after a steal to leave Troy behind by just one point, 72-71.
Goudelock finished with a game high 26 points for the Cougars. Tony White, Jr. added 21 points and Marcus Hammond scored 12 as the other double-figure scorers for College of Charleston (27-8).
A Telfair dunk made it 82-79 with just over two minutes left, but the Cougars countered with a two in the paint by Dustin Scott but Telfair sank two free throws to negate the basket. Donavon Monroe scored a put-back for Charleston, but Hazzard connected on his fifth triple to cut the lead to two points, 86-84. Hazzard finished with 21 points on 5-of-8 shooting from deep with four rebounds in 38 minutes of play.
White went to the line with 38 seconds left and his squad leading by two, he sank two, but Telfair scored a quick two for Troy to make it a two point game again with 31 seconds remaining, 88-86.
Goudelock took his turn next and split a pair. Delk went coast-to-coast for two and a one-point deficit 89-88 with 19.6 remaining. After another foul, White connected on one and the Delk was fouled going for the rebound sending him to the line for two and a chance to tie.
The Sun Belt's Newcomer of the Year split the shots and the Trojans sent Goudelock to the line once more. He sank both his shots and Hazzard missed a potential game-tying attempt with five seconds left.
Simmons hit one of two, but Troy's Vogler was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 1.8 left. Vogler sank the first two and intentionally missed the third but Troy could not come up with the loss ending the Trojans' season.
Hazzard hit three of his first four shots to score eight of Troy's first 11 points, but back-to-back treys from White had Charleston out front 20-13 with 13 minutes left in the first half.
Goudelock kept the Cougars' hot shooting going with another triple. Charleston connected on six of its first eight 3-pointers. Josh Williams' first career block sparked back-to-back baskets for Troy, but Matt Sundberg provided another offensive outburst for Charleston as he drilled back-to-back treys for a 36-23 lead.
College of Charleston stretched their lead out to 46-28 with three minutes to go in the first half, but Delk converted a three-point play to pare the lead down to 15 points, 46-31.
The Cougars answered with a pair of triples and a runner in the lane as time expired in the first half to send the Trojans into halftime down 56-37. The 56 points scored by Charleston were the most Troy had surrendered in the first half all season. Charleston hit 13-of-19 3-pointers in the opening half, good for 68 percent of their attempts.
Delk finished the game with 18 points, four rebounds and three steals. Vogler contributed his typical all-around effort with 14 points, six assists and seven rebounds. Williams recorded his first career blocked shot during the first half.
The game ends the career of four Troy seniors ? Telfair, Williams, Tom Jervis and Kenny Ware. Maestri said he would remember the 2008-09 edition of the Trojans fondly and was sad to see the group finish their time.
“This basketball team may be one of the most fun teams that David Felix and I have had in our 27 years here. They played the game the way it should be played, which is they played team basketball. The sad part is we won't be able to practice any more. It's a sad but true statement for this team, but all good things must come to an end,” the veteran coach said.
Maestri was also extremely complimentary of the Gazelle Group, the organization that founded the CBI in 2007.
“This postseason tournament is a great event. It allows teams that had a great year to get a reward. We were proud to be in it and proud to be the only team other than Western Kentucky in our league that was still playing. I hope people realize how big of a favor the group that started this tournament did for college basketball. I hope this catches on more and more. It was great for our university, it was great for our fans and it was great for our team. It's a great reward for a group of guys that performed well all year,” he said.
Doc Anderson Invitational
Thursday, April 09
Player Postgame Press Conference (Esmee Ames, Megan Loftis) - West Georgia
Thursday, April 09
Eric Newell Postgame Press Conference (West Georgia)
Thursday, April 09
Troy vs. West Georgia - G2 (Full Highlights)
Thursday, April 09