Late Run Comes Up Short as Troy Falls at App State

Saturday, February 22

Boone, N.C.

3 p.m.

Troy University

9-20,5-13Sun Be

Appalachian State

16-13,10-8Sun B

Troy

Appalachian St.

Photo by: Jay Crain

Late Run Comes Up Short as Troy Falls at App State

2/22/2020 7:00:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

BOONE, N.C. -- Despite using an 11-3 run to cut the Appalachian State lead to just 60-53 with 2:45 to play and holding a 32-27 halftime lead, the Troy Trojans men's basketball program fell 68-59 Saturday afternoon at the Holmes Center.

The Trojans (9-20, 5-13 Sun Belt) were hampered by an early 26-8 run by the Mountaineers over the first 10:55 of the second period that gave the home side a 56-40 lead with 7:59 to play.

Behind a pair of three-pointers from Desmond Williams and Charles Norman, the Trojans cut the App State advantage to seven, but Justin Forrest (24 points) nailed a clutch triple that gave App a 63-53 lead with 1:47 to play.

Down the stretch, the Trojans continued to battle, but App State used five free throws to hold on for the victory.

Troy returns to action next Saturday at South Alabama. Tip-off from the Mitchell Center is set for 6 p.m.

After App State opened a 13-6 lead with 12:20 remaining in the half, the Trojans used a 21-7 run over the next 8:11 to open a 27-20 advantage with 3:40 remaining in the half.

Following a 6-0 run from App State over the next minute cut the Trojans advantage to 27-26, Troy scored five of the final six points to take a 32-27 lead at the break.

In the opening moments of the second half, App State used a 15-4 run to take a 45-36 lead with 13:18 left to play.

After a Troy timeout, the Trojans used a mini 4-0 run to cut the App State advantage to just 45-40.

Need a push, the Mountaineers scored 13 of the next 15 points to take a 58-42 lead with 7:14 to play.

A 9-2 Troy run highlighted by the 3-pointers from Norman and Williams, cut the App State advantage to just 60-53.

The Trojans regained possession of the basketball 15 seconds later, when Nick Stampley slide in and drew a charge.

On the ensuing Troy possession, the Trojans missed a 3-pointer. App State grabbed the rebound, setting up the dagger triple from Forrest.

All nine Trojans who saw action scored at least four points for Troy, led by Ty Gordon's 11 point output.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:
• Troy shot an impressive 16-of-19 from the charity-stripe.
• The Trojans missed just one free throw attempt (11-of-12) in the second period.
• The Trojans shot just 7-of-28 from the field in the second half, and just 2-of-12 from distance.
• Troy falls to 3-15 when hitting fewer than 10 3-pointers.
• After holding App State to just 26.9 percent (7-of-26) shooting in the first half, the Mountaineers shot a blistering 16-of-26 (61.5 percent from the field)
• Khalyl Waters turned in 8 points and career-high 3 steals.
• Waters hit his first career three with seven seconds left in the first half.
• Troy shot just 7-of-28 (25 percent) from the floor in the second half.
• Gordon has now scored at least 10 points in 19 straight games.

HEAD COACH SCOTT CROSS:
"The first half tonight was one of the better halves of basketball that we've played all year. I thought our guys were really locked-in on the defensive end of the floor, and we were flying around and forcing deflections. We were playing together as a team and moving the ball. I couldn't have asked for anything more in the first half. In the second half we missed some wide open shots which let down our energy. Then we tried to force a few things because we were struggling to score. I did feel like our guys kept fighting and gave us an opportunity to pull it out. We played the right way today which is a stepping stone. We have to establish our culture and how we're going to play and tonight we did that. Credit App State. They put Kendall Lewis on Ty, and his length bothered him. We probably needed to move the ball better, but it's hard when you miss shots, because then you start second-guessing yourself. Ty was really picking them apart in the first half. In the second half we just didn't quite hit enough shots to win the game. We did some positive things tonight. I thought Tyrek [Williams] gave us a lift and Khalyl was awesome. They gave us a good presence with Nick [Stampley] inside. So despite us not winning the game, I'm proud of our effort. We have to find a way to win the final two games, and I'm going to do everything in my power to get us to the point where we can win those last two. Then we'll see if it's good enough for us to make the conference tournament."

On the foundation that's being established:
"When our guys play like this you can see that we're going to be successful in the future. We're undermanned right now due to injuries and other circumstances. Having Zay [Williams] and Jakevan [Leftridge] back next year will give us a huge lift because they're both great passers and high IQ players. They're good defenders too. Everyone on this roster with the exception of Chuck will be back and a year older. It was encouraging to see us bounce back tonight. This is a long and unique road trip. So I was proud of us for continuing to battle and I'm excited for the future."