Trojans Fall to Louisiana-Lafayette Wednesday Night

Wednesday, January 5

Lafayette, LA

7:00 p.m.

Troy University

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Trojans Fall to Louisiana-Lafayette Wednesday Night

1/5/2011 10:25:29 PM | Basketball (W)

Troy couldn't overcome the play of Mercedes Johnson in the post

By: Travis Jarome

Box Score

LAFAYETTE, La. – An inside game against an outside game was the story of the Sun Belt Conference game between Troy University and Louisiana-Lafayette on Wednesday night inside Earl K. Long Gymnasium.

The inside game of Louisiana-Lafayette proved too much for the Trojans on this night, as the home team came away with a hard-fought 73-63 victory in conference play.

The posts for Louisiana-Lafayette – Mercedes Johnson and Kemi Rotibi – combined for 52 of the Ragin' Cajuns 73 points; while the guard play of the Trojans combined for 42 of the Trojans' 63 points in the contest.

“The story of the game was their low post play against our guards,” Troy head coach Michael Murphy said. “They couldn't guard is on the perimeter and we couldn't defend them well enough in the post.”

Mercedes Johnson led Louisiana-Lafayette (9-7, 2-1 Sun Belt) with 36 points on 13-of-23 shooting from the floor, and 10-of-12 shooting from the free throw line. The junior needed just nine points entering the game to give her 1000 for her career, and she wasted no time in getting them as she had 10 points before the second media timeout of the contest.

Kemi Rotibi finished the night with a double-double for Louisiana-Lafayette with 16 points and 11 rebounds. She finished 7-of-15 shooting from the floor in the contest.

Meanwhile, junior DeAngela Sword (Montgomery, Ala./Pensacola JC) finished the night with a career-high 26 points for the Trojans. She was 8-of-15 shooting from the floor and 9-of-11 shooting from the free throw line.

“I am proud of the effort our kids put forth tonight,” Murphy said. “We had some players who weren't feeling well tonight, and we just had to gut it out. We had some players who had to play 30-plus minutes in the game, and when you are not feeling well that is tough to do.”

Sophomore Jamesha Blake (Atlanta, Ga./SW DeKalb HS) was one of the players not feeling well in the game, and she finished with seven rebounds. Meanwhile, freshman Dominique Ross (Covington, Tenn./Covington HS) came off the bench to finish with nine points – leaving the game for an extended period in the second half after getting hit in the face going for a loose ball.

“Dominique Ross had another great night coming off the bench for us,” Murphy said. “Jamesha Blake is another one of those players who doesn't have great numbers, but plays hard. She finished with a good number of rebounds and made some plays for us although she wasn't feeling well.

“The work ethic of this team is there. They work extremely hard, and I couldn't be prouder of the way they work each and every day with the low numbers we have. I am proud of the effort they give on a nightly basis.”

The first half was a battle between the two teams as they traded baskets for the first seven minutes of the game, when Ieva Nagy (Adelaide, Australia/Annesley College) gave the Trojans a 16-15 advantage on a jumper from the corner.

From that point, Louisiana-Lafayette turned a one-point deficit into a five-point lead with a mini 6-0 lead to take the lead for good from the Trojans. The Trojans would not go away however, as they fought back from a 20-point deficit in the second half and had several chances to cut the lead to single digits. Unfortunately, Louisiana-Lafayette had an answer for every Troy run in the second half.

The Trojans finished the night shooting 40 (22-for-55) percent from the floor and 37.5 (3-for-8) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 76.2 (16-for-21) from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Louisiana-Lafayette shot 40.9 (27-for-66) percent from the floor and just 8.3 (1-for-12) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 72 (18-for-25) percent from the free throw line, and won the rebounding battle 43-38.

Troy (4-12, 1-2 Sun Belt) returns to action Saturday afternoon against West Division-leading UALR at the Jack Stephens Center. Tip is set for 4:30 pm, and the game can be heard on WTBF-94.7 FM beginning with the pregame show at 4:15 pm.

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