Troy Falters Late Against the Cajuns

Saturday, January 22

Lafayette, La.

7:00 p.m.

Troy University

13-6,4-2Sun Belt

Louisiana

9-8,4-3Sun Belt

Troy

Louisiana

1/22/2022 11:26:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

LAFAYETTE, La. - Troy allowed the Cajuns to finish the game's final three minutes on a 12-2 run, falling 69-59, at the Cajundome.

The Trojans (13-6, 4-2 SBC) sit tied for third in the Sun Belt Conference after turning the ball over 18 times.

All five starters for the Trojans shot below 50 percent as Efe Odigie led the team in scoring with 14. Off the bench, TK Smith shined, finishing with nine points - six from the free-throw line.

Louisiana (9-8, 4-3 SBC) gets itself above .500 despite playing without their leading scorer, Jordan Brown. Instead, Kobe Julien led with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting.

He was just one of four Cajuns to score double-digits (Dou Gueye - 10, Trajan Wesley - 12, Kentrell Garnett - 11) en route to their victory.

3:12 Remaining
Troy sparked a 5-0 run with 5:01 remaining in the game off a massive second chance 3-pointer from Khalyl Waters to tie the game, 55-55.

The score stayed tied, 57-57, after Waters knocked down two from the charity stripe following a made jump shot from Wesley and the Cajuns.

Then with 3:12 remaining, Greg Williams Jr. knocked down a triple, and the run was on for the Cajuns.

Louisiana spent the next three minutes on a 12-0 run before Waters was sent to the line to stop the bleeding.

Entering the Locker Room Down
The Trojans were down 30-28 at the half after allowing the Cajuns to finish on a 5-0 run. With 2:03 left in the half, Garnett knocked down a shot from deep to tie the game at 28 apiece.

Louisiana followed the deep shot with two points off a turnover by Smith to claim the lead.

Both teams shot under 40 percent from the field (Troy - 35 / Louisiana - 39) in the half - free throws accounted for 21 percent of the points scored.

Straight From Cross Himself
" I thought our guys played hard. We played solid defense in the half-court. Louisiana hit some tough shots down the stretch. We were in our zone, and we made them take some contested shots. A couple of times, they just drove us one on one and were able to finish plays. I thought our careless turnovers were really the difference in the game. They got 25 points off of our 17 turnovers, and we only turned them over 11 times and only got seven points off of it. So, to me, that was the difference in the game."

"It's hard to be great defensively when you're throwing the ball to the other team. The games where we have been good, we had low turnovers, and the games where we haven't, it's been a struggle for us, so we have to clean it up. This is probably more what we thought would happen with the layoff. Against Louisiana Monroe, that first half was beautiful. We did get a little bit sloppy there in that second half, but you know tonight we definitely were way too careless with the basketball."

Numbers to Look Back On
• This loss extends the Cajuns' series lead to 19-5 - Troy has lost six straight.
• The Trojans finished the game 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from behind the arc. This is the first time the Trojans have lost this season despite shooting above 35 percent from deep.
• Turnovers were the Trojans' kryptonite, finishing with 18. Louisiana took advantage of the loose ball, converting 25 points off turnovers.
• Troy allowed the Cajuns to score 39 points in the second half. The Trojans are 3-5 when they allow an opponent to score 35 or more in the second.

Where Are We Going Next?
The Trojans will return from the Bayou for a date with South Alabama on Thursday in the Mitchell Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.