Dylan Hurst
Staff Writer
The Trojans struggled against Texas State’s defense as they fell 58-44 on Thursday night in Sun Belt Conference action in Trojan Arena.
The Trojans made only 15-of-50 shots (30 percent) from the field but held the Bobcats to just 6-of-20 (30 percent) from the field.
Senior Alex Hicks led the Trojans with 13 points alongside eight boards while fellow senior BJ Miller recorded seven points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists.
Troy’s sophomore duo of Darian Adams and Javan Johnson both scored eight points in the game with Adams collecting four assists.
Troy started the game shooting 3-of-3 from the field which led to a 13-6 lead with 13:23 remaining in the first. The Bobcats answered with a run of 12-3 to take their first lead of the game 18-16 with 8:26 remaining in the first half.
The Trojans gained momentum in the start of the second half, quickly reducing the Bobcats’ lead to just four, 37-33, at the 14-minute mark. The Bobcats once again responded with a 15-2 run to get an advantage of 52-35 that they would not give up.
In Saturday’s action, Troy could not come back from its first-half deficit in a 79-66 loss to UT Arlington in Sun Belt Conference action in the final home regular-season game in Trojan Arena.
The Trojans had four players to score double-digit points in the game, but the Mavericks shot 29-of-55 during the game to pad their lead.
Junior Charles Norman led the Trojans with 15 points, 12 from four three-pointers made in a career-high of 28 minutes of action off the bench. Sophomore Darian Adams scored 13 points, two rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.
Senior BJ Miller scored 11 points with four assists, a rebound, a block and a steal while fellow senior Alex Hicks racked up 10 points with eight boards, a game-high three blocks, two assists and a steal.
Troy had no answer for UTA in the first half, as the Mavericks made 7-of-10 (70 percent) shots from behind the arc and 18-of-29 (62.1 percent) from the field which led to its high 48-34 halftime lead.
Troy went on a 17-3 run in nine minutes after halftime to reduce UTA’s deficit to just two points at 53-52. The Mavericks responded with two made three-point shots that started an 11-2 run to increase their lead back to 10 points, 64-54, with 8:30 remaining in regulation.
Troy’s last push brought the Mavs’ lead down to seven, but UTA wouldn’t let up and won with a score of 79-66.
The Trojans will finish out the regular-season next week when they travel to App State on Thursday and Coastal Carolina on Saturday. Tip for Thursday’s game is set for 6 p.m. CST while the game against the Chanticleers is slated for 1 p.m. CST.
