Troy Outpaced By UT Arlington 82-67 In Away Finale

Monday, February 27

Arlington, Texas

7 PM

Troy University

16-14, 8-8Sun B

UT Arlington

23-6, 13-3Sun B

Troy

UT Arlington

Troy Outpaced By UT Arlington 82-67 In Away Finale

2/27/2017 10:01:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score

By: Russ Schaffer

Box Score

ARLINGTON, Texas – In the final home game of the season for UT Arlington, the Mavericks were able to push past Troy for an 82-67 win on Monday night in the College Park Center.

The Trojans (16-14, 8-8) came out hot out of the gate and led 7-2 just two minutes into the game. Both squads put on a show to start the contest after a jumper by DeVon Walker gave the Trojans a 17-16 lead at the 13:17 mark of the first half.

Things began to slow up after that point as the Mavericks (23-6, 13-3) used stifling defense throughout the contest to force 15 Trojan turnovers and hold the visitors to 35.5 percent shooting in the first half and 41.0 percent overall.

It was another strong first half for Jordon Varnado as a layup gave him 10 points at the 9:40 mark of the first half, but UT Arlington began double-teaming him and held him scoreless for the rest of the game.

A free throw by DeVon Walker cut the Trojan deficit to five with 4:31 left in the opening frame, but the forecast of the game quickly changed as the Mavericks went on a 15-5 run to close out the half.

Jorge Bilbao, who was UT Arlington's leading scorer with 16, hit a layup two minutes into the second half to extend the home lead to 17. Troy never stopped battling, however, as a Wesley Person basket and free throw reduced the lead to 10 points at the 17:09 point.

Cutting the deficit into single-digits proved to be a hurdle the Trojans could not overcome, as the Mavericks' lead remained at least 10 for the entire second half.

Quotable
"The thing that stands out tonight is that UT Arlington is a well-oiled machine," head coach Phil Cunningham said. "They are playing at a high-level right now. I think they have a chance to get an at-large bid (to the NCAA tournament) if they don't win the Sun Belt tournament. They were ready to go tonight. They were playing to clinch a title tonight and it showed."

Stat of the Game
UT Arlington, led by Jorge Bilbao's presence, had a 44-24 advantage in the paint on the night. Bilbao's name was called all night, as the forward was 6-11 from the field for his game-high 16 points. He also defended Jordon Varnado for the majority of the night and held the forward to zero field goals in the final 29:40.

Turning Point
Plenty of time remained for Troy to close the gap after Wesley Person's free throw made it 51-41 in UT Arlington's favor with 17:09 to play. It was the Mavericks' balanced attack that never allowed the Trojans to get a string of defensive stops together. UT Arlington had four players score in double-digits and shot 31-62 (50 percent) from the field.

Noteworthy
• Juan Davis, Jr., was the leading scorer for Troy with 14 points fueled by three 3-pointers.

• It was an uncharacteristic night for Troy—the second-best free-throw shooting team in the Sun Belt—as the Trojans shot just 60 percent (9-15) from the line.

• The win clinched the regular season Sun Belt title for UT Arlington and the No. 1 seed in the Sun Belt tournament next week.

Up Next
The final two home games of the year will begin this weekend with a game against Arkansas State on Thursday. For more information on Troy men's basketball, follow the team on social media at @TroyMensHoops or visit TroyTrojans.com.