Troy University Athletics
Thursday, January 2
Monroe, La.
7 p.m.
Troy University
5-9,1-2Sun Belt
63
at
79
ULM
5-7,1-2Sun Belt
1
2
F
TROY
33
30
63
La.-Monroe
31
48
79
Photo by: Chris Davis
Trojans Fall at ULM
1/2/2020 9:44:00 PM | Basketball (M)
MONROE, La. -- Despite a 15-0 run and a career-high 10 points from Tahj Small, the Troy Trojans fell 79-63 Thursday night at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
The loss drops the Trojans to 1-2 in Sun Belt Conference play, and to 1-6 away from Trojan Arena.
In defeat junior Ty Gordon poured in 17 points, while Small added the 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Trojans forced eight consecutive turnovers to close the first period of play and used the 15-0 spurt to take a 35-31 lead with 19:22 remaining, but the Warhawks were able to outscore the Trojans 48-28 down the stretch to snap a five-game losing streak.
Thursday's matchup with ULM was a back-and-forth affair at the start, as neither Troy (5-9, 1-2 Sun Belt) or ULM (5-7, 1-2 Sun Belt) were able to take more than a five-point lead over the first 10 minutes of play.
After 14-6 outburst gave ULM a 31-20 lead with 4:07 remaining, Gordon and the Trojans exploded for 13 unanswered points behind a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the floor and three clutch 3-pointers. The eight ULM turnovers pushed the home teams total to 11, marking the 10th time that Troy has forced at least 10 turnovers in a half.
Following the Zay Williams ally-oop dunk that gave Troy the 35-31 advantage, the teams played nearly even over the next seven minutes, as Troy enjoyed a 48-47 lead with 10:14 left in the game.
From that point on, the Trojans made just seven total field goals, and were outscored 32-15 by ULM. The Trojans shot 1-of-11 from behind the arc in the second half and were outscored 21-7 at the free-throw line.
The Trojans return to action Saturday night at Louisiana. Tip-off from Lafayette is scheduled for 7 p.m.
HEAD COACH SCOTT CROSS:
"We were outplayed for 36 minutes of the game tonight. We had that one four-minute stretch to close the half where we turned them over and hit a few 3-pointers, but we let our offense dictate our defense too much. When we hit shots, our defense was really strong, but when we missed shots our defense suffered. They shot 59 percent against us in the second half which is unacceptable. Defensively we got out-manned and out-played. I'm very disappointed in the way we played. Our defense was ranked first overall in the Sun Belt the first two games of conference play, so it's disappointing to see how we played here tonight. It's always hard to win on the road. Now we need to find a way to come back and get a victory on Saturday night."
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:
• Troy falls to 0-5 this season when allowing 70 points or more.
• Conversely, the Trojans are 1-7 when scoring fewer than 70 points.
• Small scored all 10 of his points in the second half.
• Gordon scored 13 of his 17 in the first half. The junior shot just 2-of-7 from the field in the second half after shooting 5-6 in the first half.
• Freshman Desmond Williams failed to score for the first time in his Troy career. He was 0-for-3 in his 20 minutes of action.
• Troy led at halftime for the ninth time this season. The Trojans fell to 3-6 in those instances.
• The Trojans were outrebounded tonight and are now 1-6 this season when being outrebounded. The lone Troy victory when an opponent grabbed more rebounds was Troy's 77-59 victory over Coastal (Dec. 19).
• Troy made six first half 3-pointers.
• ULM turned the ball over 18 times Thursday.
• Darian Adams scored seven points, grabbed seven rebounds and recorded four assists. The seven points are the fewest he has scored all season (at Indiana), and snaps a streak of four straight games in double-figures.
• Zay Williams failed to reach double-figures for the first time in six games (Shorter). He scored eight tonight.
The loss drops the Trojans to 1-2 in Sun Belt Conference play, and to 1-6 away from Trojan Arena.
In defeat junior Ty Gordon poured in 17 points, while Small added the 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Trojans forced eight consecutive turnovers to close the first period of play and used the 15-0 spurt to take a 35-31 lead with 19:22 remaining, but the Warhawks were able to outscore the Trojans 48-28 down the stretch to snap a five-game losing streak.
Thursday's matchup with ULM was a back-and-forth affair at the start, as neither Troy (5-9, 1-2 Sun Belt) or ULM (5-7, 1-2 Sun Belt) were able to take more than a five-point lead over the first 10 minutes of play.
After 14-6 outburst gave ULM a 31-20 lead with 4:07 remaining, Gordon and the Trojans exploded for 13 unanswered points behind a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the floor and three clutch 3-pointers. The eight ULM turnovers pushed the home teams total to 11, marking the 10th time that Troy has forced at least 10 turnovers in a half.
Following the Zay Williams ally-oop dunk that gave Troy the 35-31 advantage, the teams played nearly even over the next seven minutes, as Troy enjoyed a 48-47 lead with 10:14 left in the game.
From that point on, the Trojans made just seven total field goals, and were outscored 32-15 by ULM. The Trojans shot 1-of-11 from behind the arc in the second half and were outscored 21-7 at the free-throw line.
The Trojans return to action Saturday night at Louisiana. Tip-off from Lafayette is scheduled for 7 p.m.
HEAD COACH SCOTT CROSS:
"We were outplayed for 36 minutes of the game tonight. We had that one four-minute stretch to close the half where we turned them over and hit a few 3-pointers, but we let our offense dictate our defense too much. When we hit shots, our defense was really strong, but when we missed shots our defense suffered. They shot 59 percent against us in the second half which is unacceptable. Defensively we got out-manned and out-played. I'm very disappointed in the way we played. Our defense was ranked first overall in the Sun Belt the first two games of conference play, so it's disappointing to see how we played here tonight. It's always hard to win on the road. Now we need to find a way to come back and get a victory on Saturday night."
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:
• Troy falls to 0-5 this season when allowing 70 points or more.
• Conversely, the Trojans are 1-7 when scoring fewer than 70 points.
• Small scored all 10 of his points in the second half.
• Gordon scored 13 of his 17 in the first half. The junior shot just 2-of-7 from the field in the second half after shooting 5-6 in the first half.
• Freshman Desmond Williams failed to score for the first time in his Troy career. He was 0-for-3 in his 20 minutes of action.
• Troy led at halftime for the ninth time this season. The Trojans fell to 3-6 in those instances.
• The Trojans were outrebounded tonight and are now 1-6 this season when being outrebounded. The lone Troy victory when an opponent grabbed more rebounds was Troy's 77-59 victory over Coastal (Dec. 19).
• Troy made six first half 3-pointers.
• ULM turned the ball over 18 times Thursday.
• Darian Adams scored seven points, grabbed seven rebounds and recorded four assists. The seven points are the fewest he has scored all season (at Indiana), and snaps a streak of four straight games in double-figures.
• Zay Williams failed to reach double-figures for the first time in six games (Shorter). He scored eight tonight.
Team Stats
TROY
ULM
FG%
.397
.522
3FG%
.304
.455
FT%
.556
.765
RB
25
35
TO
16
18
STL
4
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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