Troy University Athletics
Saturday, March 5
Pensacola, Fla.
2 p.m.
Troy University
20-10,10-6Sun Belt
69
vs
62
Little Rock
9-19,3-11Sun Belt
1
2
F
Little Rock
26
36
62
Troy
37
32
69
Troy Survives Little Rock to Advance to the Semifinals
3/5/2022 6:23:00 PM | Basketball (M)
PENSACOLA, Fla. - Efe Odigie dropped his fourth double-double of the season and Duke Deen added 15 points to lead Troy past Little Rock, 69-62, in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Saturday afternoon at the Pensacola Bay Center.
The fourth-seeded Trojans (20-10) advance to the semifinals for the first time since the 2016-17 season while capturing the team's first 20-win season in Scott Cross's tenure.
Odigie finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds - six were offensive, while Deen hit four 3-pointers en route to his 15-point outburst.
Nikola Maric (18) and Jordan Jefferson (17) brought Little Rock back, scoring double-figures on a combined 13-of-21 from the field in the loss.
Survival of the Toughest
Troy opened the second half with a comfortable 14-point lead, 40-26 after Desmond Williams nailed one from behind the arc just 34 seconds into the half.
After Odigie pushed Troy's lead back to 11, 42-31, with 17:12 left, Little Rock launched its attack, scoring 14 unanswered points in the next five minutes to take the three-point lead, 45-42.
Deen came to the rescue, knocking down three from deep and dishing out the assist to Kieffer Punter to five Troy a five-point lead, 53-48, with 8:18 left.
Jefferson brought Little Rock back within one point, 61-60 off a second-chance pull-up jumper in the paint with 59 seconds remaining.
The remainder of the game was the Odigie, Deen and Punter show, as the trio scored all of Troy's final eight points, including a dagger from Odigie with 16 seconds left to win the game, 69-62.
Final Six of the First
Neither Trojan team pulled away through the first 15 minutes of play, sticking to within a score for most of the first half.
Little Rock claimed the one-point lead, 23-22, with 3:39 remaining in the half on a free throw from Jefferson.
Odigie and Punter took off from there, converting eight straight points for the Trojans to push them to a nine-point lead, 31-22, with 1:29 remaining.
Nikola Maric ended a five-minute drought from the field for Little Rock with an easy dunk before Punter hit three from the charity stripe to give Troy the double-digit advantage, 34-24.
Eugene decided to get in on the action, dropping a dagger from deep to end the half and give Troy its largest lead in the first, 37-26.
In the final six minutes, Troy limited Little Rock to just one make from the field and a whopping six turnovers to stretch the lead.
Advancing Attitude From Cross
"I'm very thankful for this win. It was a hard-fought game, and Little Rock has itself a good basketball team. They made it tough and made a huge run in the second half. Credit to our guys. They didn't panic. They trusted in what we were doing, and we got it done."
"Efe Odigie is such a threat inside. He plays hard and scores it as good as any post player in this league. Cody Deen carried us in the second half, hitting those threes for us. He was the guy that gave us the lift. When we were struggling, he hit three after three. He ran the show for us."
Final Stats
• Troy wins its opening game of the Sun Belt Tournament, continuing its streak of winning the first game in each of the team's last four postseason appearances.
• Punter made his first start of the season tonight, scoring 10 points for his sixth game in double-figures.
• The Trojans win after leading at the half by 11, 37-26, putting their record at 14-1 when leading through the first 20 minutes.
• Troy converted 10 3-pointers in the victory on 45.5 percent shooting - third time the team has made 10 3-pointers in the last five games.
Onto the Next One
Troy returns to action tomorrow to take on Louisiana in the semifinal round, with tipoff set for 5 p.m.
The fourth-seeded Trojans (20-10) advance to the semifinals for the first time since the 2016-17 season while capturing the team's first 20-win season in Scott Cross's tenure.
Odigie finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds - six were offensive, while Deen hit four 3-pointers en route to his 15-point outburst.
Nikola Maric (18) and Jordan Jefferson (17) brought Little Rock back, scoring double-figures on a combined 13-of-21 from the field in the loss.
Survival of the Toughest
Troy opened the second half with a comfortable 14-point lead, 40-26 after Desmond Williams nailed one from behind the arc just 34 seconds into the half.
After Odigie pushed Troy's lead back to 11, 42-31, with 17:12 left, Little Rock launched its attack, scoring 14 unanswered points in the next five minutes to take the three-point lead, 45-42.
Deen came to the rescue, knocking down three from deep and dishing out the assist to Kieffer Punter to five Troy a five-point lead, 53-48, with 8:18 left.
Jefferson brought Little Rock back within one point, 61-60 off a second-chance pull-up jumper in the paint with 59 seconds remaining.
The remainder of the game was the Odigie, Deen and Punter show, as the trio scored all of Troy's final eight points, including a dagger from Odigie with 16 seconds left to win the game, 69-62.
Final Six of the First
Neither Trojan team pulled away through the first 15 minutes of play, sticking to within a score for most of the first half.
Little Rock claimed the one-point lead, 23-22, with 3:39 remaining in the half on a free throw from Jefferson.
Odigie and Punter took off from there, converting eight straight points for the Trojans to push them to a nine-point lead, 31-22, with 1:29 remaining.
Nikola Maric ended a five-minute drought from the field for Little Rock with an easy dunk before Punter hit three from the charity stripe to give Troy the double-digit advantage, 34-24.
Eugene decided to get in on the action, dropping a dagger from deep to end the half and give Troy its largest lead in the first, 37-26.
In the final six minutes, Troy limited Little Rock to just one make from the field and a whopping six turnovers to stretch the lead.
Advancing Attitude From Cross
"I'm very thankful for this win. It was a hard-fought game, and Little Rock has itself a good basketball team. They made it tough and made a huge run in the second half. Credit to our guys. They didn't panic. They trusted in what we were doing, and we got it done."
"Efe Odigie is such a threat inside. He plays hard and scores it as good as any post player in this league. Cody Deen carried us in the second half, hitting those threes for us. He was the guy that gave us the lift. When we were struggling, he hit three after three. He ran the show for us."
Final Stats
• Troy wins its opening game of the Sun Belt Tournament, continuing its streak of winning the first game in each of the team's last four postseason appearances.
• Punter made his first start of the season tonight, scoring 10 points for his sixth game in double-figures.
• The Trojans win after leading at the half by 11, 37-26, putting their record at 14-1 when leading through the first 20 minutes.
• Troy converted 10 3-pointers in the victory on 45.5 percent shooting - third time the team has made 10 3-pointers in the last five games.
Onto the Next One
Troy returns to action tomorrow to take on Louisiana in the semifinal round, with tipoff set for 5 p.m.
Team Stats
LR
TROY
FG%
.460
.417
3FG%
.400
.455
FT%
.667
.760
RB
29
29
TO
14
15
STL
8
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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