Trojans Continue Road Swing at Samford

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TROY, Ala. -- The Troy Trojans continue a three-game road trip Saturday afternoon at Samford. Tip-off from the Pete Hanna Center is scheduled for 2 PM. Saturday's matchup is the Trojans first afternoon game of the season.

LAST TIME OUT- (Troy, 1-4)
The Trojans enter the weekend looking to earn the program's first road victory of the season. On Wednesday night, the Trojans battled Texas A&M to the wire Wednesday evening at Reed Arena, giving the Aggies all they could handle in a 56-52 set-back. The Trojans enjoyed an eight-point halftime advantage, and held the Aggies to just 5-of-26 from the floor in first half and to just 17-53 for the game. Texas A&M didn't record a point over the final four minutes of the first half or a field goal over the final 4:16 of the game. The difference in the game proved to be the foul-line, as the home side enjoyed a 14-point advantage at the free-throw stripe. Troy was 3-of-9 from the line, while A&M was 17-23. Junior Darian Adams scored a game-high and career-high 20 points (8-19) and added four rebounds, while Ty Gordon added seven points and four rebounds in 25 strong minutes. The point-guard was one of three Trojans to record a positive +/- on the evening.

LAST TIME OUT- (Samford, 3-3)
Samford has alternated wins and losses over the first six games of the year. The Bulldogs opened the season with a tough double-overtime loss at Morehead State (90-86) before bouncing back with a home victory over Kentucky Wesleyan. The Bulldogs dropped a tough 93-65 decision at Belmont before defeating UVA Wise 102-64. Samford fell at North Alabama (61-55) last Saturday but bounced back nicely with a 13-point (70-57) victory over Manhattan College. The Bulldogs are 3-0 this season at the Hanna Center, outscoring opponents by 68 points in three games. Four Samford players are averaging at least 10 points per game, led by Josh Sharkey (16 points-per-game) and Robert Allen (15.3 points, 7.7 rebounds).

Trojan Storylines
• The Trojans have suffered three of four losses by a combined 11 points. The Trojans are 0-3 this season in games decided by two possessions or fewer.
• The D-1 teams that Troy has faced this season are a combined 14-4 this season. Indiana is 5-0, followed by Texas A&M (3-1), UAB (3-1) and Chattanooga (3-2).
• The Trojans will close out a six-game in 15 day stretch this weekend against Samford and Alabama A&M (Monday, 7 PM). Following a few days off for Thanksgiving the Trojans return to action next Saturday hosting Shorter (2 PM).
• The Trojans played lockdown defense in the first half of Wednesday, hold the Texam A&M Aggies to just five field goals, 17 points and 19.2 percent shooting. The five field goals allowed are the lowest against a D-1 opponent since Troy held South Alabama to just five field goals on Feb. 16, 2016. The 17 points allowed are the fewest in a first half since that same game against South Alabama. It was the eighth time since 2015-16 that Troy held an opponent below 25 percent shooting in a half.
• The Trojans are assisting on nearly 60 percent of all made field goals. The Trojans have made 126 field goals this season and have dished out 75 helpers.

The Series
Troy and Samford: The Trojans lead the all-time series 18-15. The last time the two teams played was back in 2015 (Nov. 23) at the Mean Green Showdown, hosted by North Texas. In the last matchup, Samford defeated Troy 83-79 despite 17 points from Jordon Varnardo.

Broadcast Information
TV: ESPN3: Blake Gardner (Play-by-Play)
Live Audio: TroyTrojans.com/live
Radio: Doug Amos on the Troy Sports Radio Network

One to Watch
Junior Darian Adams notched his first career 20-point effort Wednesday night at Texas A&M. The junior is currently averaging 14 points-per-game and has scored in double-figures in four of Troy's five games.

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Players Mentioned

Darian Adams

Ty Gordon

Troy University Athletics