Men's Basketball Win Streak Snapped at UTA

Saturday, January 1

Arlington, Texas

2 p.m.

Troy University

10-5,1-1Sun Belt

UT Arlington

6-7,2-0Sun Belt

Troy

UT Arlington

Men's Basketball Win Streak Snapped at UTA

1/1/2022 6:51:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

ARLINGTON, Texas – UT Arlington ended the game on a 10-0 to erase a five-point Troy lead and snap the Trojans' five-game winning streak in the process with a 62-57 victory Saturday afternoon at College Park Center in Sun Belt Conference action.

The Trojans (10-5, 1-1 SBC) were led by a two-headed monster in Efe Odigie (13) and Duke Deen (12). Both players finished in double-figures while combining for 13 rebounds. Odigie led Troy in scoring for the fifth time this season and second game in a row.

For the Mavericks (6-7, 2-0 SBC), David Azore showed why he entered the game fifth in the Sun Belt in scoring after putting up 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field. Seven of those came in the final two minutes of the game.

How Was it Decided
The Trojans were down by as many as seven points in the second half before battling back to take the lead first the first time after four straight makes from the free throw line from Odigie.

Troy led by six with 3:28 to play, 55-49. Then things turned disastrous as the Trojans were held to just two points for the remainder of the game while the Mavericks put up 13.

Javon Levi sparked the game-winning 10-0 run for the Mavericks after converting a layup with 2:30 remaining. Azore accounted for seven of UTA's 10 points during the spur thanks a perfect 2-of-2 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line.

Troy committed four turnovers and shot 0-of-4 from the field to close the game.

Resilient First Half
The Trojans were resilient through the first half after finding themselves down 20-6 just eight minutes into the game. Troy charged back, going on a 15-1 run over the next three minutes to bring the deficit down to just one.

After both teams went scoreless over a four-minute stretch, UTA distanced itself from the Trojans by nine before Troy battled back to within five at the break, 34-29.

Straight from Head Coach Scott Cross
"Our guys played really hard. To outrebound them by 21 shows that our guys were playing with effort. We had a six-point lead with 4:41 to go, and then we turned the ball over probably two or three times during that stretch, and they went on a 10-0 run. No matter how good your defense is if you turn the ball over, the other team's going to have a numbers advantage, and UTA capitalized on those turnovers and made us pay.

"It's very, very unfortunate. We had an opportunity to really put ourselves in a great position to be 2-0 in conference play on the road. It would have set us up great for being in contention for winning the conference championship.

"Everything happens for a reason, and we've got to get back to work. We've got a nice homestand coming up where we have four home games. We have to protect Trojan Arena, and hopefully, our guys will be locked in for that."

Notable Numbers
• Saturday's game marked the first time this season that the Trojans limited their opponent to under 40 percent shooting from the field and failed to win the game.

• Troy sits at 1-1 following the opening weekend of Sun Belt play; the Trojans have started 1-1 each of the last four seasons.

• The Trojans shot 30 percent from the field, which was the lowest the team has shot all season. Their previous low was at Florida with 32.1 percent.

What's Coming Next?
The Trojans return to Trojan Arena for a four-game homestand beginning with a matchup against Coastal Carolina on Thursday at 6 p.m.