(Photo/Pawan Khanal)Sophomore guard Tahj Small tied his season-high of 12 points against Louisiana on Thursday.Kennedy RoyStaff Writer Troy men’s basketball lost home games to Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana at Trojan Arena last week by a combined total of seven points. The team’s record is now 9-18 overall and 5-11 in the Sun Belt Conference with four games remaining in the regular season. Against Louisiana-Monroe, the Trojans fell to the Warhawks despite a last push in the second half 74-71. Defense was the difference in Thursday’s game, and the Trojans just couldn’t execute on the defensive end of the floor. After the game, Head Coach Scott Cross talked about the defense’s performance. “I think tonight came down to our defensive effort more than our offensive effort,” Cross said. “Our starters were defending perfectly, and then we subbed at the first media timeout. “After the timeout, our intensity dropped, and ULM hit about six shots in row. At that point, we start missing and we weren’t defending them at all.” The Trojans trailed early and battled back but ultimately fell to the Warhawks. Troy trailed 34-19 at the half but found a way to get within striking distance in the second half. The Trojans couldn’t finish the comeback with the final score being 74-71. Nick Stampley went 8-10 from the free-throw line and finished with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. The double-double was Stampley’s first of his career. KJ Simon and Tahj Small also finished with 12 points. Charles Norman posted 11 points and drained three 3-pointers. After losing to the Warhawks, the Trojans took on Louisiana for senior night and lost despite a furious second-half rally and a career night from Ty Gordon. The Trojans went into the locker room down 36-27 and allowed the Ragin’ Cajuns to take a 9-2 run in the second half. The Trojans swapped runs with the Ragin’ Cajuns with the help of Gordon, who scored 19 points in the second half alone. Gordon finished with 28 points in the game in 29 minutes of playing time. The junior guard shot 8-9 in the second half and 12-17 for the game. His 28 points are the highest for any Trojan all season. The Trojans were able to cut into the lead in the second half, but one area where the team lost late in the game was at the free-throw line. The Ragin Cajuns’ shot 39 times from the charity stripe converted 30 of the shots while the Trojans went 13-20 from the line. Next the team takes a road trip to take on Coastal Carolina Thursday at 6 p.m. before traveling to Boone, North Carolina, to take on Appalachian State.
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