Troy Starts 2010 with a Win

Saturday, January 2

TROY

7:30 PM

Troy University

Denver

1/2/2010 11:00:00 PM | Basketball (M)

TROY – The Troy men's basketball team adjusted to the methodical style of the Denver Pioneers and came away with a 64-46 victory on Saturday night in Trojan Arena.

The Trojans outscored Denver 41-22 in the second half to pick-up the win and improve to 3-0 in Sun Belt play.

“They run a Princeton zone offense,” head coach Don Maestri said. “They are very patient. They look for good shots. They constantly cut into the lane. They cut back out. They back screen you. Our kids, I think, did a good job of adjusting to their cuts and making sure nobody was wide open. It's very difficult to play defense for a long period of time. You can't lose your intensity after one or two passes. You have to stay intense the whole time. I was really happy that we were able to do that.”

Troy (8-6, 3-0) started the game with a 12-5 run over the opening six minutes of the first half. The Pioneers (10-4, 3-1) closed the gap and took a 15-14 lead with a 10-2 run up to the 5:42 mark.

The slow paced game continued with solid defense from both squads as each unit worked deep into the shot clock. A back-and-forth game ensued and Denver's Nate Rohnert couldn't get a shot off in the final seconds of the first half, but his team took a 24-23 lead into the break.

Troy's 23 points scored in the first half narrowly eclipsed the season-low total of 21 scored by the Trojans in the opening stanza at UAB on November 24.

The Trojans opened the second half with a 14-4 run to take a 37-28 lead with 14:29 left in the contest. Michael Vogler and Richard Delk combined to score 11 of the 14 points during the push.

Troy scored on four of its first five possessions of the second half. Something Maestri attributed to the Trojans' patience.

“The mental adjustment we made in the second half, which sounds kind of funny for us, was for us to be more patient on offense,” Maestri said. “To work the ball more, to pass the ball and then someone may have an opportunity to get a better shot after four or five passes.

“I thought we did a great job of being patient on offense against a team that is very patient on offense. That's not an easy adjustment to make for a fast break team like we want to be. I thought our kids did a great job of that.”

Troy continued to work the shot clock on each possession and two points by Brandon Hazzard stretched its lead out to 12, but Denver countered with a lay-up by Kyle Lewis. A leaner by Vernon Taylor gave the Trojans a 14-point advantage, 47-33, with 9:19 to go.

“I think we went with whatever was working and that happened to be working,” Hazzard said. “The best thing to do when you have a lead is to be patient. We knew they were going to stall a lot of the time and we were able to use their offense against them.”

A tip-in by Delk with 4:21 on the clock ran Troy's lead all the way to 17 points – the largest lead to that point. A 3-pointer by Andrew Hooper soon followed, but Antywan Jones provided a Troy answer with a pair from the stripe.

Delk, who was scoreless and did not attempt a shot on Thursday at ULM, was one of two Trojans in double figures.

“I think the last game, everybody was hitting, so I wasn't worried about shooting,” Delk said. “I just wanted to win the game. Tonight I came out a little more aggressive.”

The senior scored 16 points and grabbed a team-best seven boards. He also set a career high with five steals.

Hazzard sank 6-of-6 free throw attempts in the final 2:29 to ice the win for the Trojans. He finished with a team-best 23 points on 3-of-4 from deep.

Poor foul shooting continued to be a trend for Troy. The team struggled in the first half, but rallied late to hit 18-of-29 attempts from the line. For the season, the team is shooting 67.3 percent at the charity stripe.

The Trojans are in action next on Thursday night when they travel to Boca Raton, Fla. to face Florida Atlantic. Tip-off is set for 6 pm central time.