Troy Comes Up Short In 81-69 Loss At UL Lafayette

Saturday, January 27

Lafayette, La.

2 P.M.

Troy University

9-13, 3-6SBC

UL Lafayette

19-3, 9-0SBC

TROY

Louisiana

Troy Comes Up Short In 81-69 Loss At UL Lafayette

1/27/2018 4:58:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score

By: Russ Schaffer

Box Score (PDF)

LAFAYETTE, La. – Troy trailed by just four at halftime, but the Trojans were unable to contain an explosive Ragin' Cajuns squad as UL Lafayette remained perfect in Sun Belt play with an 81-69 victory on Saturday.

With B.J. Miller making his first start at point guard and Javan Johnson making his first ever start, Troy (9-13, 3-6) exploded out to a 15-7 lead on the back of six points from a physical Miller.

As the case would be all night, the whistles started coming out as Troy got in foul trouble and UL Lafayette (19-3, 9-0) got to the foul line early and often. The Ragin' Cajuns shot 31 free throws (26-31) compared to just 11 attempts (10-11) by the Trojans.

It wasn't only the fouls that caused issues as Jakeenan Gant had 19 points in the first half and finished with 24 while Jonathan Stove and Frank Bartley each had 18. Troy's offense was powered by Jordon Varnado who had 18 points.

The forward cut the deficit to five on two free throws with 11:08 remaining, but baskets then became hard to come by as the Trojans got just one field goal in the next 6:26 before Miller's jumper with 4:42 remaining ended the drought. Troy could not get closer from that point on despite Miller tying a career-high with 17 points.

QUOTABLE
"We didn't take care of the ball in the second half," head coach Phil Cunningham said. "I thought that was the biggest difference in the game; we ended up with 20 turnovers. We shot 49 percent against a really good defensive team.

"You can't win on the road with 20 turnovers. I saw a lot of positive things out there tonight. B.J. Miller was good tonight; he was the toughest guy on the court. What a tough environment for Javan Johnson to get his trial by fire. I thought he played well. I feel good about our team right now."

UP NEXT
It will be rivalry week next week as Troy is hosting a "whiteout" game against South Alabama on Feb. 3.

NOTEWORTHY
• Javan Johnson had 11 points, five rebounds, two blocks and a steal in his first start.

• Wesley Person was held to just eight points on 4-8 shooting from the field.

• The Trojans went 49.1 percent (26-53) from the field to the Ragin' Cajuns 41.8 percent (23-55).

For more information on Troy men's basketball visit TroyTrojans.com or follow the team on social media at @TroyMensHoops.