Troy Advances with Victory

Sunday, March 7

Hot Springs, Ark.

6:45 pm

Troy University

South Alabama

3/7/2010 11:00:00 PM | Basketball (M)

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Troy Trojans knocked the second round monkey off their backs, picking up a 67-55 victory over South Alabama on Sunday night in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt tournament.

The victory came over the same USA squad that eliminated the Trojans in a similar scenario a season ago. That Troy squad was the third seed in the tournament – this year's team is the top seed.

“Obviously, we are happy to win the first game, coming in after last year losing the first one,” head coach Don Maestri said. “This is a good feeling knowing that you get to stay another night and play tomorrow.

“I don't think we shot the ball really well, but we were able to get spurts to get the lead and maintain it most of the game. We kept a little bit of pressure on them to get back into the basketball game.”

The Trojans (34.5 percent) actually shot a lower percentage from the field than did the Jaguars (35.8 percent), but sank three more 3-pointers and seven more free throws to aid their cause.

The victory moved Troy into the semifinals of the league tournament for the first time in school history. The Trojans had been 0-3 in three previous quarterfinal appearances.

Both teams started slowly over the first five minutes and with 14:09 left in the first half Troy held an 11-6 lead. The Trojans widened their lead to 26-15 on three-point play by Antywan Jones.

Jones finished his night with five points and a career-high 13 rebounds. It was just the third double-digit rebound game of Jones' career. He helped the Trojans to a 45-35 advantage on the glass and helped his team limit the Jaguars to only 10 offensive boards.

The Trojans widened the lead all the way to 20 at 35-15 with just more than two minutes left. The 15-0 run – Troy's first of the season – was highlighted by a Hazzard layup with 2:20 remaining.

A portion of that long run included a 12-0 spurt with Michael Vogler on the bench with two fouls. The Lynn Haven, Fla.-native struggled with foul trouble all game and finished with just five points and five assists.

“I was surprised we got the lead, but it wasn't because we were playing well,” Maestri said. “We played well in spurts and if you look at the stats they tell you that.”

The Jaguars followed Troy's burst with a 6-0 run to close to within 14, but Delk answered for Troy with a 3-pointer as time expired in the first half to leave his Trojans with a 17-point lead at the break, 38-21. Hazzard and Delk both scored 10 for Troy in the opening period.

The 21 points allowed by Troy in the first half was the lowest first half total by a Trojans opponent this season.

South Alabama opened the second half with four straight points, but Delk halted the run with a trey from the top of the key. A pair of free throws by Hazzard made it 45-30 with 16 minutes to go.

The Jags continued their strong second half play and a two by Martino Brock pared Troy's lead to its lowest since 6:07 mark of the first half at 11 points. Two by Javier Carter dropped the Jaguars' deficit into single digits with 11 minutes remaining, 50-41.

Tim Williams put in a two and Allyn Cooks tacked on a free throw leaving Troy on top by eight with 6:31 left in the contest. Levan Patsatsia got a tap in to go for a 58-46 lead with less than four to go.

Vogler, Delk, Hazzard and Vernon Taylor combined to sink 9-of-12 free throws in the final two minutes to put away the Jaguars.

Delk led Troy with 17 points and Hazzard added 16. Taylor was the only other double-figure Trojans with 11. Cooks paced USA with 13.

The win advances Troy to face Western Kentucky on Monday night. Tip-off is set for 6 pm in Summit Arena. The game will be televised as part of the Sun Belt TV package and locally on CSS.