Troy Begins Play in Utah

Tuesday, December 21

Logan, Utah

6:30 p.m.

Troy University

Western Michigan University

Photo by: Edward Fieder

12/21/2010 12:26:24 PM | Basketball (M)

Trojans Part of 2010 World Vision Basketball Invitational sponsored by Gossner Foods.

By: Taylor Bryan

GAME NOTES :: LIVE STATS :: LISTEN LIVE

LOGAN, Utah – The Trojans have traveled more than 1,900 hundred miles to play in the 2010 World Vision Basketball Classic sponsored by Gossner Foods beginning with Western Michigan on Tuesday evening.

The Trojans will play three games in three days, as play continues with Idaho State on Wednesday at 6:30 central time and the host Utah State on Thursday at 9 pm.

The meeting will be the first-ever between the Trojans and Western Michigan. Troy is 10-10 all-time against MAC schools, including a loss to Miami (Ohio) earlier this month.

Vernon Taylor leads Troy in scoring at 15.2 ppg. Bernard Toombs is the team's leading rebounder with 8.5 rpg.

The game includes extra interest for Trojans junior forward Shawntez Patterson, a Detroit, Mich. native. Patterson is familiar from many of WMU's student-athletes from his high school and AAU experience.

The 6-foot-7 forward scored a career-high 24 points for Troy on Saturday in a loss to Belmont.

The Trojans have lost nine consecutive games after winning their season opener against Huntingdon College. The streak is tied for the second longest streak in program history.

Troy's all-time record long losing streak is 11 games, a mark that has been reached twice, but both were more than 30 years ago.

Tip-off for Tuesday night's game is set for 6:30 pm central time in Dee Glenn Smith Spectrum. Barry McKnight will bring you all the action from courtside beginning at 6 pm with the State Farm Pregame Show.