Late 3-Pointer Sinks Trojans Against UCSB

Thursday, December 19

Logan, Utah

6:30 p.m.

Troy University

4-5

UC Santa Barbara

6-3

UC Santa Barbara

TROY

Photo by: Joshua Thurston

12/19/2013 8:58:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score

By: Joe St. Pierre

Box Score

LOGAN, Utah – A late, long-range 3-pointer by UC Santa Barbara was the difference maker, as Troy (4-5) fell to UCSB (6-3), 57-54, in the opening game of the 2013 BTI Classic, hosted by Utah State.

"One thing that has been consistent with our team is that we've played good defense," said head coach Phil Cunningham. "This is the best offensive team that we've played and we held them to 57 points. Unfortunately tonight we needed to hold them to 53."

Troy led by as many as seven points in a back-and-forth second half, but UCSB got hot late, hitting several 3's down the stretch. Kyle Boswell hit the game-winner with eight seconds remaining, while Troy's desperation attempt to tie it up came up short.

Hunter Williams had a tremendous game for the Trojans, scoring a team-high 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc. Jeff Mullahey hit three 3's of his own, finishing with 11 points. Kevin Thomas was Troy's leading rebounder with 11 boards and tied for the team lead with four assists.

UCSB's Alan Williams, the Big West preseason player of the year, finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Gauchos.

The Trojans shot well from beyond the arc, hitting 12-of-28 (42.9 %) attempts. The weak spot for the Trojans came from the charity stripe, as Troy shot 12-of-22 (54.5 %) from the line.

Troy was slow out of the gate, getting down 9-0 in the early going. The Trojans would trail by as many as 10 points in the first half before coming back to tie it up at the break.

The Trojans now need to recover quickly, as they will take on Western Illinois tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. for their second game of the BTI Classic.

Fans can keep up with all the action by following Troy men's basketball on Twitter at @TroyMensHoops and on Instagram at @TroyHoops.

For more information on all of Troy Athletics, fans can find the Trojans on Twitter and Instagram at @TroyAthletics, or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/TroyAthletics.