Survive and Advance: Offensive Outburst Pushes Troy Past UTA

Friday, March 5

Pensacola, Fla.

8 p.m.

Troy University

11-16,4-12Sun Belt

UT Arlington

13-13,9-8Sun Belt

Troy

UT Arlington

Survive and Advance: Offensive Outburst Pushes Troy Past UTA

3/6/2021 1:04:00 AM | Basketball (M)

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

PENSACOLA, Fla.  -- Behind a complete effort up and down the roster, the Troy men's basketball program defeated UT Arlington Friday night, 91-86 at the Pensacola Bay Center.

In the victory, the Trojans received 26 massive points from freshman Duke Miles and 20 clutch points from Desmond Williams. Seniors Nick Stampley (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Khalyl Waters (17 points, 10 rebounds) each recorded a double-double while Zay Williams battled foul trouble to contribute nine points and seven boards in just 16 minutes of action.

In the wire-to-wire victory, Troy (11-16) outrebounded UTA 47-34, and led by as many as 17 points.

David Azore had a team-best 21 for UTA (13-13), while Tyler JC product and Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year candidate Shahada Wells scored just 19 points lead the Mavericks. Wells was limited to just two points in the first half and to just 10 points in the first 39 minutes of action.

After the Trojans used a triple from Stampley and a layup from Miles, UTA used a jumper Nicolas Elame and a triple to tie the contest at five. The 5-5 tie was the closest that UTA would get the remainder of the night.

After Waters and Stampley sparked a 7-2 Trojan run that gave the visitors a 12-7 lead, the Mavericks answered with the next four to cut the Troy lead to just 12-11 with 15:09 to play.

As he did all night, Dez Williams sparked the Trojans, hitting a clutch triple that gave Troy a 15-11 lead with 14:43 to play.

UTA used a pair of free throws to cap a 6-3 spurt that cut the Trojans lead to just 18-17 with 9:34 to play.

Then the Trojans seized control. Over the next 3:48 of game action, Miles and the Trojans outscored UTA 14-2 to take a first-best 32-19 lead with 5:46 to play.

UTA was able to slowly claw its way back into the ball game over the final 5:42 of the period, using a clutch four-point play from David Azore with less than five seconds remaining in the half to cap a 12-7 run that cut the Trojans advantage to just 39-31 at the break.

After the break, the Trojans were able to regain the momentum, using a Stampley 3-pointer with 18:34 to play to spark a 13-7 that gave the visitors a 52-38 lead with 15:49 to play.

UTA was able to score 10 of the next 15 points to cut the Troy advantage to just 55-45 with 13:13 to play, but as they did all night, the Trojans dug deep and used a 8-0 run over the next 87 ticks to take a game-high 63-46 lead with 11:46 to play. The two key plays of the stretch were an and-one layup by Miles, and a key shot from Dez Williams where he dropped a defender and splashed a wide-open step-back triple.

UTA was able to score the next six points over the next 46 seconds to cut the Troy lead to just 11 (63-52) with 11 minutes to play, but the Trojans clamped down on the defensive end, holding UTA scoreless for the next 2:54 of game action. Troy was able to outscore UTA 4-0 over that span to lead 67-52 with 8:50 to play.

A clutch Waters triple gave Troy a commanding 70-54 lead with 7:50 to play, but UTA tried a last ditch effort over the next 3:04 of game action to cut the once 17-point Trojan advantage to just eight with 4:46 to play.

On the ensuing Troy possession, Zay Williams nailed a mid-range jumper to steady the ship, and give the Trojans a 72-62 advantage with 4:10 to play.

The Mavericks expanded the run to 15-6 to cut the Troy lead to just 76-69 with 2:38 to play, but the Trojans scored the next eight to take an 84-69 lead. The 8-0 run featured six clutch free throws and a layup by Jakevan Leftridge.

Wells and the Mavericks tried to put the pressure on the Trojans, but Troy responded by hitting 13 of its final 14 free throws to seal the programs first victory in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament since the 2017-18 season.

By virtue of tonight's 91-86 victory, the Trojans will advance to the Sun Belt Quarterfinals tomorrow night against Coastal Carolina. Tip-off from Hartsell Arnea is set for 7:30 p.m. Despite leading at the half in three of the four contests, the Trojans dropped all four matchups to CCU this season.

HEAD COACH SCOTT CROSS:
"I'm just so proud of our guys. We've had a lot of adversity and struggled down the stretch. We've been in a lot of close games where we couldn't figure out how to come out on top. I felt l like our guys played about as hard as they could in a basketball game tonight. This was a complete 40-minute effort. They deserve it because we've been working hard since July 20th for this moment. This is one of the hardest working groups I've coached. They spend a lot of time in the gym, and before tonight we just didn't see the results shooting-wise. Tonight, our guys shot it with confidence and the ball started going in."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
• Miles' 28-points were a career-high.
• The freshman recorded his third game with at least 20 this season.
• Miles scored 18 of 28 in the second period.
• The freshman nailed an impressive 10-of-12 from the line including his last six attempts.
• Williams nailed a career-best six shots from behind the arc. The guard was an amazing 3-of-4 from deep in the second period.
• The guards six triples are the most by a Trojan since Chuck Norman hit six triples in his final game as a Trojan last season vs. UTA (Mar. 3).
• Troy's two Montgomery guards scored a combined 48 points on an impressive 14-of-21 shooting.
• After starting just 4-of-10 from the line in the first period, Troy nailed 19-of-23 from the line in the second period.
• Troy shot an impressive 14-of-28 from the field in the second period, and scored 52 points in the second period.
• The Trojans 52 points in the second half, the most they've scored in a half this season.
• Troy won for the first time this season when allowing more than 75 points.
• The Trojans were 0-8 in those instances this season.
• Troy is now 11-6 this season when outrebounding its opponent.
• After spending 12 seasons at UT Arlington, Cross defeated UTA for the first time in his career.
• The victory snapped a five-game losing streak against UTA a seven-game losing streak overall for the Trojans.