Troy Drops Hard-Fought Battle at ULM

Thursday, January 24

Monroe, La.

7 p.m.

Troy University

10-9, 3-4

ULM

11-7, 4-2

TROY

ULM

1/24/2019 10:44:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

Monroe, La. – Troy fought hard all game but could not hold on late as it dropped a 75-69 decision to ULM in Sun Belt Conference men's basketball action inside of Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Thursday night.

The Trojans (10-9, 3-4 SBC) posted a decent shooting night at 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the field but the Warhawks (11-7, 4-2 SBC) cashed out at the free throw line, going 15-of-17 (88.2 percent) to remain undefeated at home this season.

Senior Jordon Varnado led the way with a game-high 29 points, tying his career high for the third consecutive game with 12 field goals made. Varnado also posted six rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal.

Senior Alex Hicks dropped 14 points with nine rebounds while sophomore Javan Johnson added 12 points and eight rebounds.

Troy trailed 67-61 with 2:49 remaining in the game before Varnado made a layup and drew a foul on the play which brought the Trojans within three after converting the free throw. ULM would answer with a jump shot on the other end to extend their lead to 69-64 with two minutes left.

Varnado once again took control and drew a foul which led to two made free throws to reduce ULM's lead to just three but the Warhawks responded by making a layup with 30 seconds remaining to seal the deal.

QUOTING COACH CUNNINGHAM
"I was proud of our team and how well they played in a really hostile environment; ULM had a great crowd and a great atmosphere. We did so many things well, they are one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country and we held them to 27.3 percent with only six made threes."

"We did so many things well just didn't finish the game. We needed to make a couple timelier threes and have less miscues at the end. ULM also scored five points with less than a second on the shot clock that ended up being the difference in the game. It was a heck of a college basketball game and I am proud of the way our guys fought."

QUICK HITS
- Sophomore Darian Adams tied his career high with posting a game-high eight assists
- Johnson's eight rebounds tied his season high and was just one short of his career high
- Troy's 19 assists on 28 field goals made is its third-most assists in a game this season

UP NEXT
Troy will face Louisiana on Saturday at 7 p.m. with the game broadcast live on ESPN+.