Troy Drops Tough Loss to St. Louis

Saturday, November 10

Saint Louis, MO.

7 p.m.

Troy University

1-1

St. Louis

2-0

Troy

Saint Louis

11/10/2018 11:37:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

St. Louis, Mo. – A late second half comeback sent Troy away with a tough 62-58 loss to St. Louis in a physical non-conference matchup at Chaifetz Arena on Friday night.

The Trojans (1-1) went into halftime with a 29-23 lead after shooting 42 percent (5-of-12) from the three-point line and held the Billikens (2-0) to just nine field goals made and an 18 percent (2-of-11) clip from behind the arc but St. Louis caught fire in the final minutes of the second half to overcome the deficit.

Senior Jordon Varnado posted a double-double in a game-high 20 points with 15 rebounds and a block. Senior BJ Miller added eight points with two assists and two steals. St. Louis saw four players score double digits led by senior Tramaine Isabell Jr. dropping 16 points and sophomore Jordan Goodwin adding 15 points, nine rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block.

With 5:24 remaining in the game, Troy held a 47-42 before Isabell banked in a desperation shot clock-expiring three two-feet in front of the half court logo that allowed the Billikens to gain momentum. St. Louis would proceed to hit two more three-pointers in a row to take a 51-49 lead before Varnado knocked down a jumper to tie it at 51 with 3:38 remaining.

After an 10-3 run by St. Louis, senior BJ Miller made both technical foul shots to bring the score to 61-56 with 21 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession sophomore Darian Adams was fouled as he took a three-point attempt and made 2-of-3 at the line to bring Troy within three (61-58, 19 seconds remaining).

Troy fouled Isabell who missed the first free throw of the 1-and-1, giving the Trojans a last chance to tie it. Junior Devante Foster had a good look from behind the arc but the ball touched every part of the rim then bounced out, handing Troy a 62-58 loss.

Quoting Coach Cunningham
"I'm really proud of how our guys played against a really tough and physical team," head coach Phil Cunningham said. "I thought we matched their toughness and physical play particularly in the first half. I thought the second half they came out to open the half and got into us really good and got us out of our offensive rhythm."

"We made the change to the zone because we were worried about foul trouble, even playing zone they were able to foul Alex (Hicks) out with a couple of offensive fouls. This is one of those games, no moral victories but we were right there, and they finally solved our zone. They hit four threes at the end of the shot clock and that changed the game. We fought back and had the ball with 20 seconds to go and had a great look just couldn't get it to drop."

Quick Hits
- Troy did not take a free-throw attempt in the first half but knocked down 11-of-15 (73.3 percent) in the second half
- 14 of Varnado's 20 points and seven of his 15 rebounds came in the second half
- 10 out of the 11 Trojans that saw action scored at least two points

Up Next
Troy will face Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Monday, Nov. 12 with tipoff slated for 6 p.m. (CT). The game is a part of the Barclays Center Classic and will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra.