Varnado Has Career Day In 88-59 Win Over Alabama A&M

Saturday, December 10

Troy, Ala.

2 P.M.

Troy University

5-4

Alabama A&M

0-8

Alabama A&M

Troy

Varnado Has Career Day In 88-59 Win Over Alabama A&M

12/10/2016 4:40:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score

By: Russ Schaffer

Box Score

TROY, Alabama – In the final home non-conference game of the season, Troy raced out to a fast start and never looked back in an 88-59 victory over Alabama A&M on Saturday afternoon in Trojan Arena.

The win got the Trojans (5-4) back over .500 for the first time since Nov. 21 and tied the best start to a season under the tenure of Phil Cunningham.

It was a statement day for Jordon Varnado, who finished with a career-high 27 points, eclipsing his previous best of 26 against Reinhardt on Nov. 15, 2015.

The forward was the Trojans leading scorer with 12 points in the first half. He then exploded out of the gate for 15 points in the first 5:34 of the second half.

Varnado was 10-for-12 from the floor, 2-for-2 from the 3-point line and 5-for-6 from the free throw line. He also added five rebounds and had two blocks, one of which was a thunderous block at the rim with 15:34 left in the second half on a layup attempt.

The Bulldogs (0-8) made the first basket of the game, but Kevin Baker answered with a 3-pointer 20 seconds later to give Troy a lead it never relented.

Just eight minutes into the game, a Shawn Hopkins 3-pointer put Troy up 20-6, one of eight 3-pointers Troy hit in the first half. The Trojans were 13-of-30 (43.3 percent) from behind-the-arc in the game.

Troy continually added to that lead and got it up as high as 26 in the first half en route to a 48-24 halftime lead, which marked the second-most points Troy has scored in the first half this year. The 24-point advantage was three shy of the Trojans' biggest halftime lead this season.

Troy continued to step on the gas coming out of the break. While Varnado had his 15-point explosion in the second half, Jeremy Hollimon was just behind him with 14 points in the final 20 minutes for 18 total on the afternoon. It marked the third-straight time Hollimon scored in double-digits after he led Troy in scoring the past two games.

Alabama A&M was led in scoring by Tracey Burnett, who had 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting. The Bulldogs also had double-digit scoring from Rakiya Battle and Quinterian McConico, who both had 10 points, respectively.

Quotable
"I didn't think we'd win as big as we did," Phil Cunningham said. "They've played well lately, so I didn't expect us to beat them like we did. We really came out firing on all cylinders and the defense didn't give up anything. That was the difference in the game. We're starting to shoot the ball better. We thought that would happen at some point and it is starting to happen now."

Stat of the Game
The 48 points scored in the first half only trailed the 65 scored against Toccoa Falls in the opener as the most points Troy has put up in the first half. Troy shot 18-for-32 in the first half (56.3 percent) and 8-for-14 from the 3-point line (57.1 percent) while Alabama A&M was just 8-for-29 (27.6 percent) from the floor and 1-for-6 (16.7 percent) from deep in the same span.

Turning Point
While victory seemed likely at halftime, the Trojans came out with a pair of exclamation point plays that sealed the deal. Juan Davis, Jr. got a steal and then raced down the court unopposed to finish the possession with a one-handed dunk that put Troy up 54-27 at the 17:46 mark. A couple minutes later, Varnado's aforementioned block on a layup attempt was the spark that allowed the lead to get to as high as 41.

Noteworthy
• Jordon Varnado's 27 points came without the forward playing the final 13:14 of the game.

• Jeremy Hollimon has 53 points in the past three games, which is just one point shy of the most points he has scored in a three-game stretch. Hollimon had 54 last season against North Texas, Southern Miss and Austin Peay.

• It was also the third-straight game of double-digit points for Juan Davis, Jr. The forward came off the bench to record 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting and a team-high eight rebounds.

• Alex Hicks' 3-pointer with 15:39 left in the first half marked the first 3-pointer of his career. He was 0-for-6 from deep coming into the game.

Up Next
Troy will play a "home" game in Dothan, Ala. against Point University on Wednesday before the team embarks on a four-game road stretch to close out non-conference play. For more information on Troy men's basketball, follow the team on social media at @TroyMensHoops or visit TroyTrojans.com.