Second Half Defense Falters, as Trojans fall at Alabama A&M.

Monday, November 25

Normal, Ala.

7 p.m.

Troy University

1-6

Alabama A&M

1-5

TROY

AAMU MBB 19-20

Photo by: Joey Meredith

Second Half Defense Falters, as Trojans fall at Alabama A&M.

11/25/2019 11:10:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- The Troy Trojans men's basketball program fell at Alabama A&M, 80-66 Monday night at Elmore Gymnasium.

Troy (1-6) allowed 11 Alabama A&M (1-5) 3-pointers, including seven in the second half.

In defeat, three Trojans scored in double-figures including Zay Williams, who scored a team-best 13 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists. Ty Gordon and Charles Norman each added 10.

Troy started the evening quickly, enjoying a 19-9 advantage at the second media time out of the ballgame.

After starting the half 1-8 from deep, the Bulldogs made three consecutive shots from behind the arc, to take a 23-21 lead at the under-eight media timeout.

The Trojans and Bulldogs continued to trade baskets in the closing moments of the first half, until the Trojans used a 9-0 run to open a five-point lead with 2:06 left in the half.

Alabama A&M would answer the Troy run with a quick 9-2 burst over the final 126 ticks to take a 36-34 lead into the break.

After missing their first attempt of the second half, Alabama A&M went on to hit four of their next five from distance to take a 53-43 with 13:40 remaining.

Following a break in the action, Troy switched from a zone to a 2-2-1 press that propelled the Trojans to a 7-2 run that cut the A&M lead to 55-50 with 12:12 remaining.

The Trojans were able to cut the deficit to down to just four (60-56) moments later, when Nick Stampley connected on a layup and was fouled with 9:37 left in the game.

Following the Stampley and-one, Alabama A&M put the game away for good over the next two minutes, using a 12-3 run to go up by 13 points.

Troy returns to action on Saturday afternoon when Shorter University visits Trojan Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• After cutting the A&M lead to four points, Troy missed their next 13 shots.
• Troy missed 14 of the final 15 shots that were attempted, including the final nine attempts from three.
• Alabama A&M outscored Troy 18-6 from the 9:37 mark until Gordon's free throws with 51 seconds left.
• After holding the Bulldogs to just 4-14 from three in the first half, Troy allowed Alabama A&M to shoot 7-13 in the second half.
• The Trojans shot just 4-22 from deep in the game.
• Since beginning the year 20-44 from three (UAB, UTC 1H), Troy has shot 28-133 (.211) from deep.
• Troy shot a season-best 76 percent (16-21) from the free throw line tonight.
• Darian Adams scored just nine points tonight. He failed to score at least 10 points for just the second time all season and for the first time since Indiana (11/16).
• Zay Williams recorded his fourth game with at least three assists tonight. He has recorded an assist in all seven games this season.
• Troy has allowed double-digit 3-pointers in consecutive games for the first time since last Jan. 24-26 (ULM, Louisiana).
• Davion Thomas tied his career-high, making four field goals. He had eight points in 12 minutes.
• The Trojans have shot below 40 percent from the floor in three consecutive games.
• Troy did assist on 15-of-23 made baskets tonight.

HEAD COACH SCOTT CROSS:
"Tonight, was disappointing and not very good in any facet except the free-throw line. Defensively we were rotating, and they were picking us apart. We need to do a better job staying in front of the ball. It was a point of emphasis yesterday in practice, and tonight, we didn't do a good enough job of executing that. I need to get this team tougher. We've been trying to make this team tougher since day one, but obviously I haven't done a good enough job. The bottom-line is A&M was a lot tougher and more physical than we were tonight. And they shot the ball well, and we didn't. Shooting the ball in the basket is the name of the game. We spend a lot of time in practice working on our shooting, so we need to do a better job of translating our execution in practice to the games, because 4-of-22 shooting from three isn't going to win you many games."