Trojans Drop Extra Period Heartbreaker at Chattanooga

Sunday, December 15

Chattanooga, Tenn.

3 p.m.

Troy University

4-7,0-0Sun Belt

Chattanooga

7-5,0-1SoCon

OT 1

TROY

Chattanooga

Photo by: Frank Mattia

Trojans Drop Extra Period Heartbreaker at Chattanooga

12/15/2019 6:38:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The Troy Trojans men's basketball program saw its three-game winning streak snapped Sunday afternoon, as the Trojans fell 84-80 in overtime at McKenzie Arena. The game was Troy's first overtime game since a 95-90 victory at Arkansas State back on Jan. 12, 2019.

The difference in the game proved to be the free-throw line as Chattanooga (7-5) converted on 20-of-28 free throws (10-12, second half), outscoring Troy (4-7) 20-14 at the line.

In defeat, freshman Desmond Williams scored a career-best 20 points, junior Darian Adams scored 19 points (13 first half) and dished out a career-best eight helpers while Zay Williams recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds for his first-career double-double.

Troy started extremely quickly on Sunday afternoon, as the Trojans connected on six of their first 10 shots from the field and led 14-10 seven minutes into the game.

Chattanooga would respond to the early Trojan run, using a 12-5 outburst to tie the game at 22 with 7:46 left in the first half.

After an 8-3 spurt gave Troy a 30-25 lead with five minutes left in the period, Chattanooga scored seven of the next nine points to tie the game at 30 with 3:27 remaining.

An 11-4 Troy run gave the Trojans a seven-point advantage with 33 seconds left in the half, as Troy took a 41-36 lead into the locker room.

In the first half, Troy shot 14-of-25 (56 percent) from the field and 10-of-11 from the free-throw line.

Following the halftime break, Chattanooga countered an early Troy basket with a 7-2 run to cut the Trojan lead to just two points (45-43) with 17:18 left in the game.

After a 5-0 Troy run gave the Trojans a 50-43 lead with 15:55 remaining, the Mocs answered with a quick 5-0 burst to cut the Trojan lead back to just two (50-48) with 14 minutes left.

The two teams continued to battle down the stretch, as neither the Trojans or Mocs were able to record more than a two-possession lead.

The Trojans did take a five-point advantage with 2:53 remaining in the game on a Ty Gordon (11 points, 4 rebound), but back-to-back 3-pointers from Chattanooga's Matt Ryan (23 points, 7 rebounds) tied the game at 73 with 1:57 left.

Both teams had opportunities over the final 117 seconds, but neither side was able to find the game-winning basket.

In the extra session, Chattanooga outscored Troy 11-4 over the first four and a half minutes to take an 84-77 lead.

A Desmond Williams 3-pointer cut the Chattanooga lead to four with 10 seconds remaining, but the Mocs were able to hold on for the four-point victory.

Troy opens the second season on Thursday evening, when Sun Belt Conference foe Coastal Carolina travels to Trojan Arena. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
• Troy scored 41 first half points for the second time this season.
• The Trojans received 10 points from four players for the fourth time this season. Troy was previously 3-0 in those instances.
• Des William's 20 points are the most a true freshman has scored since Jordan Varnardo scored 25 at Seton Hall (Dec. 10, 2015).
• Troy recorded 10 offensive rebound for the 10^th consecutive game. It's the longest streak since the 2013-14 (15 games) season.
• Adams 19 points were one shy of his career high, set at Texas A&M back on Nov. 20.
• He has recorded at least 10 points in eight of the teams 11 games.
• Troy shot 26-of-48 (54.2 percent) from the field in regulation tonight, and 16-of-29 on two point field goals.
• The Trojans outscored UTC 34-22 in the paint.
• Troy record two more field goals (29) than Chattanooga (27).
• Despite leading the two matchups for 61:42, Troy dropped both contests against Chattanooga. The Mocs led the two matchups for just 11:29.
• Troy falls to 1-4 in games decided by two possessions or fewer.

HEAD COACH SCOTT CROSS:
"I think our guys played hard tonight. You have to credit Chattanooga. They're a really good basketball team who would finish in the top-three in our league. We had an opportunity to win both games this season, as we led for over 60 minutes in the two games. In hindsight, I probably should have gotten Ty [Gordon] and DA some more rest. Down the stretch, I think they were a bit tired, which hurt us. Our style of play is demanding, and I need to lean on our bench a bit more. I thought our bench was solid tonight led by Khalyl [Waters] and Ty. We blew a couple of defensive assignments down the stretch, but I'm proud of how our guys battled. We're going to continue to get better from this result."

On Des Williams:
"Des was awesome tonight and really kept us in the game. He hit so many big shots for us. He's so dynamic in transition and is starting to shoot the ball with confidence. He's also an elite defender because of how quick and athletic he is. He was awesome tonight."

On Thursday's Matchup with Coastal:
"Coastal is a really good team. I've watched them on film, and they have some quality wins. They have a couple of guys who can really score the ball, and we're going to have to be locked in. Coastal is always a strong rebounding team, and they're good on the defensive end too. It wont be an easy game, but I'm glad we'll be at home in front of our home crowd."