Miami Comeback Stops Trojans

Saturday, December 11

Oxford, OH

3:30 p.m.

Troy University

Miami University (OH)

Photo by: Kevin Glackmeyer

12/11/2010 5:42:10 PM | Basketball (M)

Troy drops to 1-7 on the season.

By: Taylor Bryan

BOX SCORE (PDF)

OXFORD, Ohio – Troy led by nine with 4:25 remaining, but Miami closed out the game with a 18-4 run over the final five-plus minutes to knock-off the Trojans 80-73 on Saturday afternoon in non-conference action.

The RedHawks (5-5) connected on 8-of-10 3-pointers in the second half, led by Orlando Williams who hit 4-of-5 after the break. He led Miami with 16 points.

“They made some shots. Number 15 (Williams) hit three 3-pointers in a row that really turned the game around,” head coach Don Maestri said. “Then, we come down and have a great drive to goal, there's contact, and no call is made. That would have given us the lead back.

“This is the best game we have played this season. Obviously, we are getting better. It's easy to be disappointed because this was a game we felt like we should have been rewarded with a win. We can't break though. There is too much left this season. We are a better team now that we were two weeks ago.”

Troy (1-7) led by nine with 4:25 left, but the RedHawks connected on a pair of 3-pointers and after a Huddleston miss Miami got another trey to knot the game at 71-71.

Weathers got a big steal at mid-court and his run-out lay-in gave Troy a 73-71 lead. Julian Mavunga again knotted the game with two free throws with 2:30 left. Mavunga scored a team-best 16 points.

Troy turned it over on a shot clock violation with 1:29 to go and the RedHawks capitalized taking their first lead since the 11:29 mark of the first half at 76-73 on a trey by Williams.

The Trojans took a timeout with 55 seconds to go. Vernon Taylor missed a chance for Troy and the Trojans were forced to foul.

Quinten Rollins sank a pair at the line with 26 seconds left and put Miami up 78-73. Will Weathers missed a runner and Troy had to foul once more with 20 ticks on the clock. Antonio Ballard put the Trojans away with two more free throws.

The Trojans knocked down their first three 3-pointers, including two by Shawntez Patterson, and led 11-8 at the first media timeout. Patterson set a career high for the second straight game by scoring 15 on Saturday.

Bernard Toombs, who graduated on Friday, made his presence felt with a put-back dunk on a Taylor miss and then two points in transition for a 23-16 lead with 11:28 left in the first half.

Toombs had a double-double at the break and finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He did not score or record a rebound after halftime. Toombs played 38 minutes.

The Trojans stretched their lead out to 12 points, but Miami knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and combined with two free throws by Mavunga cut Troy's lead to just four.

Troy pushed its lead up to six on a 3-pointer by DeAndrae Ross, then Toombs converted a lob pass from Levan Patsatsia to lead 38-30 with 3:49 left.

With a minute left, the Trojans led by four, but Troy and Miami traded 3-point baskets and at the break the Trojans held a 44-40 lead.

The RedHawks started the second half with a 9-5 run for a tie at 49, but Troy countered with a 7-0 run to pull ahead 56-49 with 14:02 left. Included in the burst was Patterson's fifth 3-pointer.

The junior from Detroit, Mich. set a new career high with 15 points on the afternoon. It marked the second-straight game that Patterson had set a career high.

With Troy leading by six, Muvunga knocked down a free throw, but the Trojans answered with a Regis Huddleston 3-pointer for a 67-59 advantage. Huddleston was the fourth Troy player in double-figures with 11 points.

Chris McHenry answered with a trey. On the subsequent Troy possession, Taylor was called for an offensive foul and the turnover. The Trojans were able to withstand a push by Miami and added baskets on consecutive possession by Weathers and Huddleston for a 71-62 lead.

Weathers finished with a career-high 15 points. He added seven rebounds and four assists. Taylor totaled a career-best seven assists.

For the second-straight game, there was a large discrepancy on free throw attempts by the two teams. Troy attempted just five shots from the foul line, while Miami hit 17-of-22 attempts.

The loss continued the second-longest losing streak in Troy's Division I tenure. Troy lost eight-straight games to begin the 1994-95 season.

The Trojans are in action next on Thursday when they open Sun Belt play with Florida Atlantic at home.