Troy Records First Road Win At Hawai’i, 65-63

Saturday, November 26

Honolulu, Hi.

12 a.m.

Troy University

3-3

Hawaii

3-3

Troy

Hawai'i

Troy Records First Road Win At Hawai’i, 65-63

11/26/2016 3:02:00 AM | Basketball (M)

Box Score

By: Russ Schaffer

Box Score

HONOLULU, Hawai'i – In the final away game on a four-game stretch from home, Troy never trailed en route to a 65-63 victory in Hawai'i.

The Trojans (3-3) battled back every time the Rainbow Warriors threatened. Hawai'i (3-3) tied it up at 60 with 2:02 remaining in the game, but Troy never allowed the lead to dissipate.

Two free throws by Alex Hicks brought the score to 62-60 and two more subsequent free throws by DeVon Walker had Troy on the cusp of victory with 1:06 remaining.

As they did for the rest of the night, Hawai'i continued to keep it close. Gibson Johnson cut the lead back to one on a jumper with 59 seconds in the game.

Those would be the last Rainbow Warrior points. Jordon Varnado, who tied for the team-lead with Wesley Person with 14 points, missed a layup with 30 seconds left, but the potential-winning possession for Hawai'i never came as Noah Allen turned it back over to Troy.

Kevin Baker hit 1-of-2 free throws with four seconds left to ice the win and the last Rainbow Warriors shot fell to the wayside to give the Trojans the first road win on the year.

Those two free throws were part of the best free throw shooting night Troy has had this season. The Trojans shot 80 percent on 16-of-20 shots from the charity stripe.

The Rainbow Warriors were kept in the game largely by the play of Jack Purchase. The forward had a game-high 21 points on 6-of-13 shooting.

Troy got off to a blistering start in their first ever matchup at Hawai'i. The Trojans raced out to a 16-0 lead just 5:18 into the game on scoring from four different players.

Person led the charge with a 3-pointer to start the game off just 27 seconds into the game. From there, Troy used quick scoring that was fueled by 14 first half turnovers by Hawai'i.

The Trojans got the lead all the way up to 27-11 with 9:31 left in the opening frame, but the Rainbow Warriors shifted the momentum to go on a 13-6 run that decreased the halftime deficit to 33-24.

Quotable
"We got that big lead in the first half, but we knew they were going to get back into the game," head coach Phil Cunningham said. "They're a talented team. The crowd got into the game, and (Hawai'i) got back into it pretty quick. We just kind of held on there to the end. Our guys played with a lot of toughness and played good defense."

Stat of the Game
It took until 14:29 in the first half for the Rainbow Warriors to get on the board. Troy led 16-0 to start the game before Jack Purchase hit a 3-pointer to get Hawai'i on the board. The Trojans used 3-pointers from Wesley Person and Jordon Varnado to boost up a score that was also aided by three other Varnado shots, two free throws by Alex Hicks and a layup by Juan Davis, Jr.

Turning Point
The game came down to the final possession for Troy to escape with the win. Despite leading for 38:36 on the night, the Trojans would have suffered a heartbreaker on the potential final possession. Noah Allen, who came into the game averaging a team-high 19 points, never got a shot off. Allen was held to just 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting.

Noteworthy
• The 16-0 start in the first 5:18 was just one point shy of the 17 points Troy scored in the entire first half against UAB. The 24 points the Rainbow Warriors scored in the first half were the fewest points the Trojans have allowed in a half this year.

• Alex Hicks and DeVon Walker both had three blocks on the night. It marked career-bests for the duo playing in their respective sixth game as Trojans.

• Hawai'i connected on just five 3-pointers on the season, which was the fewest amount Troy has allowed on the season.

• Troy had 10 steals and forced 18 Hawai'i turnovers.

Up Next
The Trojans will have six days off before hosting USF on Dec. 1. For more information on Troy men's basketball, follow the team on social media at @TroyMensHoops or visit TroyTrojans.com.