Troy University Athletics
Saturday, December 6
Troy, Ala.
12 p.m.
Troy University
3-3
85
vs
73
Central Arkansas
0-8
1
2
F
Central Arkansas
42
31
73
Troy
39
46
85
Team Stats
UCA
TROY
FG%
.458
.592
3FG%
.292
.500
FT%
.857
.731
RB
30
26
TO
16
16
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Basketball (M)
G
/ Basketball (M)
G
/ Basketball (M)G
/ Basketball (M)G
/ Basketball (M)F
/ Basketball (M)Photo by: Chris Davis
Thomas' 2nd Straight Double-Double Leads Trojans to Victory
12/6/2014 3:37:00 PM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Alabama – The Troy men's basketball team earned a 85-73 win over Central Arkansas on Saturday at Trojan Arena. Senior Kevin Thomas paced the Trojans with his second straight double-double performance. Thomas poured in a game-high 22 points as he shot 10-of-11 from the floor while reeling in a game-high 11 rebounds.
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Three other Trojans tallied double digits to help propel the Trojans to victory. Musa Abdul-Aleem shot 7-of-11 from the floor on his way to 19 points. Oskar Reinfelds tallied a career-high 14 points and Wesley Person accounted for 12 points.
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Thomas came out on fire as his aggressive play allowed him to earn Troy's first six points. Abdul-Aleem then got on the board with a hard drive, layup and drew a foul. Central Arkansas kept pace, as it trailed 9-8. Kelton Ford, who tallied six points on the day, sunk his first basket as he snuck by the Bears' defense for an easy layup.
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With 16:15 left in the first half, Central Arkansas' Jake Zuilhof had back-to-back buckets on second chance attempts to give the Bears a 19-16 lead. The Bears kept the momentum going in their favor as they went on a 7-0 run up until the 6:30 mark. Thomas worked inside the paint for a layup as the Trojans trailed 26-22.
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Heading into the break, Troy trailed 42-39, the most points it has given up in the first half all season. For the third consecutive game, the Trojans shot better than 50 percent from the floor as it was 14-of-24 in the first half. Thomas and Abdul-Aleem each tallied 10 points for Troy.
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Coming out of the half, both teams appeared to be struggling, unable to find their groove. Thomas came up with a huge dunk as they Trojans went on an 8-0 run that included two back-to-back baseline three's for Abdul-Aleem.
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With 15:26 remaining, four of the Bears starters were in foul trouble with at least three fouls apiece and it sent Central Arkansas' leading scorer Zulihof to the bench. The Trojans and Bears continued to battle back and forth until Troy was able to go on a run when it shot six-of-eight with 6:13 remaining in the contest where it led 74-67.
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The Bears would never regain the lead as Troy finished the game shooting 5-of-7 from the field.
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Central Arkansas was led by Jordan Howard, who tallied 21 points and shot 7-of-13 from the floor. Zulihof reeled in a team-high seven boards and added 16 points. Mike Milligan added 15 for the Bears.
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For the game, Troy shot 59 percent from the field including 60 percent in the second half. Troy shot 50 percent from beyond the arc (8-of-16). The Trojans accounted for 20 of its points off of the Bears' turnovers. In the paint, Troy outscored Central Arkansas 40-36.
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Next, the Trojans travel down the road to Dothan, Ala., as they face Fort Valley State at the Dothan Civic Center on Thursday, December 11. Tip off between the Trojans and Wildcats is slated for 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at DothanCivicCenter.org, Etix.com or by calling (334) 615-3175.
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For more information on Troy, visit TroyTrojans.com. As always, fans can also find the Trojans on Twitter at @TroyMensHoops, Facebook, Instagram at @TroyHoops and on YouTube by searching for Troy Athletics.
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Three other Trojans tallied double digits to help propel the Trojans to victory. Musa Abdul-Aleem shot 7-of-11 from the floor on his way to 19 points. Oskar Reinfelds tallied a career-high 14 points and Wesley Person accounted for 12 points.
Â
Thomas came out on fire as his aggressive play allowed him to earn Troy's first six points. Abdul-Aleem then got on the board with a hard drive, layup and drew a foul. Central Arkansas kept pace, as it trailed 9-8. Kelton Ford, who tallied six points on the day, sunk his first basket as he snuck by the Bears' defense for an easy layup.
Â
With 16:15 left in the first half, Central Arkansas' Jake Zuilhof had back-to-back buckets on second chance attempts to give the Bears a 19-16 lead. The Bears kept the momentum going in their favor as they went on a 7-0 run up until the 6:30 mark. Thomas worked inside the paint for a layup as the Trojans trailed 26-22.
Â
Heading into the break, Troy trailed 42-39, the most points it has given up in the first half all season. For the third consecutive game, the Trojans shot better than 50 percent from the floor as it was 14-of-24 in the first half. Thomas and Abdul-Aleem each tallied 10 points for Troy.
Â
Coming out of the half, both teams appeared to be struggling, unable to find their groove. Thomas came up with a huge dunk as they Trojans went on an 8-0 run that included two back-to-back baseline three's for Abdul-Aleem.
Â
With 15:26 remaining, four of the Bears starters were in foul trouble with at least three fouls apiece and it sent Central Arkansas' leading scorer Zulihof to the bench. The Trojans and Bears continued to battle back and forth until Troy was able to go on a run when it shot six-of-eight with 6:13 remaining in the contest where it led 74-67.
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The Bears would never regain the lead as Troy finished the game shooting 5-of-7 from the field.
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Central Arkansas was led by Jordan Howard, who tallied 21 points and shot 7-of-13 from the floor. Zulihof reeled in a team-high seven boards and added 16 points. Mike Milligan added 15 for the Bears.
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For the game, Troy shot 59 percent from the field including 60 percent in the second half. Troy shot 50 percent from beyond the arc (8-of-16). The Trojans accounted for 20 of its points off of the Bears' turnovers. In the paint, Troy outscored Central Arkansas 40-36.
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Next, the Trojans travel down the road to Dothan, Ala., as they face Fort Valley State at the Dothan Civic Center on Thursday, December 11. Tip off between the Trojans and Wildcats is slated for 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at DothanCivicCenter.org, Etix.com or by calling (334) 615-3175.
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For more information on Troy, visit TroyTrojans.com. As always, fans can also find the Trojans on Twitter at @TroyMensHoops, Facebook, Instagram at @TroyHoops and on YouTube by searching for Troy Athletics.
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