TROY, Ala., Dec. 20 - Ramell Taylor scored 21 points
and Matt Massey added 20 but Southern Utah wasn't able to overcome a balanced
effort by Troy Tuesday night as the Thunderbirds fell to the Trojans, 80-72.
Justin Wright scored 13 points to lead Troy, including five
in the final 1:28 to stifle a Thunderbird run and help put the game away.
Troy most of the second half but never by more than eight
and the Thunderbirds got within two after Ray Jones, Jr., hit a 3-pointer and
Massey scored in a layup to make it 67-65 with 3:12 to go. It then appeared SUU might have a
chance to tie the game but Massey and Ray Chambers got tangled up going for a
rebound and Massey was whistled for a foul. Chambers hit two free throws to
push the Troy lead back to four, then Will Weathers stepped in fromt of a
Stevenett pass and drove the length of the floor to push the Trojan lead to
71-65 with 2:16 to play.
Wright hit a 3-pointer to stake the Trojans to a 76-67 lead
with 1:28 to play, then after an SUU miss scored on a second-chance basket to
push the Troy lead to 76-67 and effectively seal the victory.
"I thought we played 36 minutes of good basketball but late
in the first half and again down the stretch we didn't get a rebound, we turned
the ball over a couple of times, and we gave up a couple of easy baskets and in
a close game you can't afford to do that," SUU Coach Roger Reid said. "I did
see some good things, but in the end it wasn't going to happen, we had some
breaks go against us and it just wasn't to be I guess."
After leading most of the first half the Thunderbirds went
cold near the end of the period, scoring just four points in the final 4:00,
allowing Troy to overcome a 29-28 deficit and take a 36-33 advantage into the
break.
Fouls played a big part in the first game, as two SUU
starters spent a significant portion of the first period on the bench. Ray
Jones, Jr., had four assists in the half but picked up his second foul at the
9:52 mark and spent the rest of the period on the bench. Damon Heuir sat most
of the half after being called with his second foul with 14:23 to go in the
period. Both players also picked up fouls early in the second half and wound up
spending significant time on the bench but neither wound up fouling out.
Stevenett finished with a game-high seven rebounds and had
16 points while Jones, Jr., had six assists.
SUU dipped to 4-6 overall on the season while Troy evened
its record at 5-5 in remaining undefeated at home.
-- SUU --
