Troy Drops Away Matchup at Eastern Illinois, 71-67

Monday, November 21

Charleston, Ill.

12 P.M.

Troy University

2-2

Eastern Illinois

3-2

TROY

Eastern Illinois

Troy Drops Away Matchup at Eastern Illinois, 71-67

11/21/2016 3:49:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score

By: Russ Schaffer

Box Score

CHARLESTON, Illinois – In a back-and-forth contest that saw four lead changes in the final seven minutes, Troy (2-2) came up just short in a 71-67 defeat on the road to Eastern Illinois.

It turned into a crucial free throw shooting contest coming down the stretch. Troy took a 55-54 lead on a Juan Davis, Jr. free throw with 6:39 left in the game for the first lead since 9-8 early on.

The Panthers then had a shot to regain the lead but proceeded to miss four straight free throws by Patrick Muldoon and Muusa Dama in a subsequent 40-second span.

The Trojans extended the lead to 59-56 on two more Davis, Jr. free throws with 3:56 to go, but that was immediately answered as Cornell Johnston proceeded to hit a 3-pointer just 20 seconds later for the Panthers that tied it up.

Troy once again got ahead on a Jeremy Hollimon layup with 2:26 left to play. That, however, would be the last lead of the game. Demetrius McReynolds, who led Eastern Illinois (3-2) with 19 points, responded with a 3-point play for a 62-61 lead then followed it up 21 seconds later with a 3-pointer that made it 65-61.

Undeterred, the Trojans rallied back to tie it at 67 with a 3-point play on a foul on a Hollimon layup. With 39 seconds to go, Troy had the chance to regain the lead, but Hollimon missed both free throws.

The Panthers hit on just 13-of-21 free throws (61.9 percent), but four at the end were the most crucial as two by Montell Goodwin, who finished with 16 points, created a 69-67 advtanage and two more by Johnston iced the 71-67 win.

Kevin Baker had a team-high 15 points on five 3-pointers. The sixth would have been the biggest as his heave from deep for the potential win missed the mark with two seconds to go.

While it was a tale of free throw shooting in the end, it was also a tale of two halves. Troy was weighed down by 14 turnovers in the opening frame to Eastern Illinois' six. Troy scored 33 in the first half on 50 percent shooting. Jordon Varnado had seven in the first half and finished with a double-double with 11 rebounds and 11 points.

Troy slimmed the turnovers down to nine in the second half, but the damage was already done as those turnovers led to 23 points for Eastern Illinois.

Quotable
"The two statistics that jump off the page are turnovers and the free throws," head coach Phil Cunningham said. "We had a chance, but we weren't consistent at the free throw line. We weren't bad, but we had a couple of chances to put it away at the free throw line and didn't do it. The turnovers are the big story, that's how they got the lead. It's one of those games where it's like a Sun Belt two-game series. We took care of business at home, we put ourselves in position to get the sweep on the road, but we just didn't finish."

Stat of the Game
The 23 turnovers were the first time Troy had more than 20 turnovers since having 21 at South Alabama on Feb. 16 of last season. Despite losing those possessions, Troy looked as if it would have the ball with the shot clock off to end the game. Cornell Johnston missed the go-ahead 3-pointer with 15 seconds on the clock. Juan Davis, Jr. grabbed the rebound, but he was called for traveling and the possession went back to Eastern Illinois.

Turning Point
Prior to the rebound by Davis, Jr. with 15 seconds left, the Trojans had a pair of free throws for the potential win. Demetrius McReynolds fouled Jeremy Hollimon with 39 seconds to go, but both shots at the line rimmed out. It didn't get easier for the senior guard as he then fouled Montell Goodwin, who hit both free throws for the winning scores.

Noteworthy
• Jordon Varnado posted a double-double in both games against Eastern Illinois this year. He had 22 points and 10 rebounds on Nov. 14 at home.

• The five 3-pointers tied a career-high for Kevin Baker. Baker also connected on five in the season opener against Toccoa Falls.

• Three players have now had games with five offensive rebounds after Juan Davis, Jr. grabbed five against the Panthers. DeVon Walker had five against UAB and Alex Hicks had five in the home game against Eastern Illinois.

• Despite the two misses at the end, Troy shot a season-best 70.4 percent from the free throw line on 19-of-27 shooting.

Up Next
The Trojans will continue the road trip with a contest at San Francisco on Wednesday and at Hawai'i on Friday. For more information on Troy men's basketball, follow the team on social media at @TroyMensHoops or visit TroyTrojans.com.