Troy Wins Fourth In A Row 76-66 Over Appalachian State

Monday, February 20

Troy, Ala.

7 PM

Troy University

16-12 (8-6)

Appalachian State

8-18 (3-12)

Appalachian State

Troy

Troy Wins Fourth In A Row 76-66 Over Appalachian State

2/20/2017 9:51:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score

By: Russ Schaffer

Box Score

TROY, Alabama – Jordon Varnado led Troy in points for the fourth straight game and the Trojans won for the fourth time in a row after dispatching Appalachian State 76-66 on Monday night.

Troy (16-12, 8-6) led by just two with 11:40 remaining, but Varnado and solid defense down the stretch helped the Trojans play with a double-digit lead for the majority of the final 10 minutes.

Following a layup by Isaac Johnson that cut Troy's lead to 52-50, the Trojans rattled off a 13-2 run that allowed for the home side to slow up the possessions and drain some time off the clock.

The lead was at least nine points from the 10:06 mark all the way until there was just 1:20 remaining in the game. At that point, Appalachian State (8-18, 3-12) made things interesting by hitting a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to seven.

Jeremy Hollimon was fouled on the subsequent possession, but he was only able to hit one of two free throws. That was followed just five seconds later by a 3-pointer by Bennett Holley that got the score to 71-66 in Troy's favor.

That, however, was the closest it would get as neither team scored on the next two possessions before two free throws by Varnado made it a seven-point lead with just 42 seconds to play.

Troy scored the final three points of the game and didn't allow Appalachian State to score again to close out the victory. Two more free throws by Varnado with 14 seconds remaining boosted his total to a team-high 21 points on 6-18 shooting. He also finished with 12 rebounds for his 10^th career double-double.

It was a steady shooting performance throughout the game as the Trojans shot 46.4 percent (26-56) from the field and 37.5 percent (6-16) from 3-point range.

Quotable
"It was one of those gritty, tough performances," head coach Phil Cunningham said. "I thought we won the game on the defensive end because we were having some trouble scoring. We were having trouble hitting free throws, but they were having some trouble offensively themselves hitting 3-pointers. The defense was the key down the stretch."

Stat of the Game
Appalachian State never let the game get out of hand but were unable to sustain serious momentum after going on multiple scoring sprees throughout the game. Troy led for a total of 34:42 in the contest and only trailed for 2:32. Though the Trojans didn't score any field goals for the final 3:21, neither did Appalachian State as the Mountaineers did not hit any of their final four shots.

Turning Point
Troy led 33-32 at the half, but a layup by Griffin Kinney 33 seconds into the second half gave Appalachian State the 34-33 lead. The Mountaineers would not lead again on the night as the Trojans went on a 14-2 run in the subsequent 3:26 to take an 11-point advantage. Though Appalachian State countered with a 9-2 run, the offensive inconsistency made it so that Troy never surrendered the lead.

Noteworthy
• The fourth consecutive win in Sun Belt play marked the first time that has happened since a stretch of seven consecutive conference wins from Feb. 11-Mar. 8, 2010.

• The 21 points from Jordon Varnado marked the eighth time this season the forward has scored 20 or more this season.

• It was the first win over Appalachian State in Troy history. The Trojans were 0-6 to start the series history.

Up Next
The Trojans will go on the final road trip of the season starting with a matchup against Texas State on Saturday. For more information on Troy men's basketball, follow the team on social media at @TroyMensHoops or visit TroyTrojans.com.