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Varnado Hits Winner As Troy Defeats Eastern Illinois 70-67
TROY, Alabama – Troy and Eastern Illinois fought a close battle to the end that was capped off with a
Jordon Varnado jump shot with 3.4 seconds left to win a non-conference home game 70-67 on Monday.
Both teams got off to a slow start as six minutes into the game as Troy (2-0) led 9-6 with both teams shooting 33.3 percent from the floor with six combined turnovers.
Jordon Varnado got the Trojans going as the forward hit 7-of-9 shots in the first half—including a 3-pointer—to end the half with 15 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. He was the leader for Troy at the end of the night with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Despite active defense from Eastern Illinois (1-1), Troy stayed ahead by shooting 50 percent on 14-of-28 shooting in the first half compared to 27.6 percent shooting on 8-of-29 shooting for the Panthers.
The Trojans held the lead for most of the second half, but Eastern Illinois kept the game close the entire way. The Panthers got a team-high 18 points out of Montrell Goodwin, but limited the guard to 2-of-10 shooting.
Troy's defense was able to keep the Panthers in check and never allowed them to get out ahead. The Trojans led for 35:25 of the game and the largest lead for the Panthers on the night was a five-point lead with 11:19 left in the first half. Eastern Illinois did not lead at any point of the second half.
With 2:47 left in the game, Troy had a five-point lead thanks to two free throws from
Alex Hicks, but Eastern Illinois refused to go away. A free throw and a 3-pointer by Cornell Johnston brought the score to within one with 1:59 left.
A free throw by
Daniel Peace put the Trojans up 67-65 with: 47 left to play, but the Panthers didn't falter as Goodwin hit a jumper with 24 seconds left off a hectic play to tie the game.
From there, the Trojans went back to who carried the team on the night. Peace held the ball at the top of the key before dishing to Varnado, who knocked down the winner with 3.4 seconds on the clock.
B.J. Miller hit one free throw after being fouled. Eastern Illinois' desperation heave on the ensuing play fell short as time expired.
Quotable
"We knew going into the game it was going to be a tough, hard-nosed, physical, grind-out type of game," head coach
Phil Cunningham said. "We got the lead in the first half after playing a zone, but in the second half they got back in the game. They guard you and they don't give you anything easy on the offensive end. They're just really patient in that offensive they run and it kind of wore us down. They got back in the game and we would try to hold them off and they'd come back. It's interesting how it came down to that last play."
Stat of the Game
Troy had two players earn a double-double on the night. Varnado finished with 22 points—four shy of his career-high—and added 10 rebounds and two blocks to finish with a plus/minus of plus 14 on the evening.
Alex Hicks was a defensive centerpiece on the night, as he led the Trojans with 11 rebounds, five of which were offensive, and added 10 points.
Turning Point
It took until the last field goal of the night for Troy to put Eastern Illinois away for good. Despite only trailing for 3:14 of game time—all in the first half—the Panthers never let the Trojans lead by more than 11. Eastern Illinois opened up the second half by scoring five quick points to Troy's one to cut the lead to five.
Noteworthy
• The game marked the first time in
Wesley Person's career that he did not make a 3-pointer, ending the longest active streak in the nation of consecutive 3-pointers. Person finished with 14 points and was 0-for-2 from behind-the-arc.
• Varnado's 22 points and 10 rebounds was the first time a Trojan has had a 20/10 performance since
John Walton III did it versus Georgia Southern last season at home.
• Cornell Johnston was named to the preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference team, but Troy kept the guard in check by holding him to six points and only one assist.
• Troy's 10 steals were the most in a game since having 13 against USF on Nov. 13, 2015. Three players,
Kevin Baker, Hicks and Peace, all tied for the lead with two.
• The Trojans had 32 points on the paint and averaged .959 points per possession.
Up Next
Troy will be on the road for the first time this season with a matchup at UAB on Thursday at 7 p.m. For more information on Troy men's basketball, follow the team on Instagram and Twitter at @TroyMensHoops and visit TroyAthletics.com.
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Smith scores 23 to lead Georgia Southern
STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) Ike Smith scored 23 points on an efficient 9 of 12 shooting from the field and Georgia Southern bounced back from a 2 point season opening loss to North Carolina State to rout NAIA Coastal Georgia 92-43 on Monday night.
Smith added six rebounds and hit 4 of 5 free throws. B.J. Gladden added 15 points and five boards for the Eagles (1-1), who shot 54.7 percent from the field while holding Coastal Georgia to just 23.1 percent.
Georgia Southern trailed briefly in opening minutes, but Devonte Boykins made a layup which gave the Eagles an 8-7 lead with 14:10 left in the first half which they held the rest of the way. A Gladden 3-pointer extended it to double digits (30-18) with 3:52 left and the Eagles led by 20 (38-18 at the break).
Brandon Martin scored 15 points for Coastal Georgia. Haylen Washington added 13.
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Arkansas-Little crushes University of the Ozarks, 100-61
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) Maurius Hill was a perfect 8-for-8 from the floor to score 20 points and Arkansas-Little Rock crushed Division III-University of the Ozarks, 100-61 on Monday night.
In the season opener the Trojans scored 97 points in a win over Central Baptist, their biggest point total since they scored 114 in a four-overtime loss to Arkansas State in March, 2014.
The Trojans started slowly and did not score until Hill converted a layup with 18:13 left to tie the game at 2-2, but his bucket sparked a 17-0 run. By halftime Arkansas-Little Rock led 47-35.
Kemy Osse added 17 points for the Trojans (2-0) and Marcus Johnson Jr. and Andre Jones each added 14.
Arkansas-Little Rock shot 59.6 percent from the field (34 of 57) and knocked down 11 of 25 from distance.
Josh Berard scored 17 points and Jace Richardson added 16 for the Eagles.
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Lindsey leads as Arkansas St. drubs NAIA Central Baptist
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) Rashad Lindsey had 18 points to lead Arkansas State to a 100-57 win over NAIA Central Baptist to give coach Grant McCasland his 200th career victory on Monday night.
Lindsey was 5 of 7 from the floor as Arkansas State (1-1) had all 12 players score in its home opener. Connor Kern made 6 of 9 field goal attempts for 16 points and Donte Thomas added 14 and dished out seven assist for the Red Wolves.
Arkansas State dominated throughout, jumping out to a 56-20 halftime advantage. The Red Wolves scores 52 points in the paint while limiting Central Baptist to 26. They also grabbed 21 second chance points and had 10 more on fast breaks.
The Red Wolves shot 63.6 percent in the first half, making 36 of 67 (53.7%) for the game.
Andy Ettiene made all five field goal attempts for 10 points to lead Central Baptist.
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South Alabama flattens NAIA-Blue Mountain, 88-35
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) Ken Williams scored 14 points and South Alabama limited NAIA Blue Mountain College to just 11 first-half points en route to an 88-35 drubbing in its home opener Monday night.
The Jaguars limited Blue Mountain to 10 of 50 shooting from the field (20 percent) and did not allow a single player to score more than eight points. The Toppers were 3 of 21 from beyond the arc and were out-rebounded 55-32.
Following a win at UNLV in the season opener, a dozen players figured in the scoring for South Alabama (2-0). The Jaguars won their season opener for the 11th time in 12 years and ran their streak in home openers to 25 straight dating back to 1992.
Nick Stover scored 12 points off the bench and Shaq Calhoun added 11 points and four steals.
South Alabama hosts the Roundball Classic beginning Friday, when the Jags play Florida International.
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Mack powers No. 23 Texas over ULM 80-59
By JIM VERTUNO
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Tevin Mack returned from a one-game suspension with 14 points as No. 23 Texas used a big second half to roll over Louisiana-Monroe 80-59 on Monday night.
The Longhorns were back to full strength with the return of Mack and guard Kerwin Roach Jr., giving Texas (2-0) some of the muscle, speed and depth it lacked in a sloppy season-opening win over Incarnate Word.
Louisiana-Monroe (1-1) cut Texas' lead to 46-40 on a 3-pointer from Jordan Harris before the Longhorns responded with a 16-4 run. Kendal Yancey scored five straight points, made a 3-pointer and threw down a dunk in transition that made it 62-44 with just under 8 minutes left.
Mack and Roach sat out the first game because of an offseason rules violation. Neither player started Monday night, but both were on the court within minutes after the opening tip. Mack made four 3-pointers and Roach had 11 points and two assists.
Texas freshman forward Jarrett Allen followed his debut double-double with eight points and three rebounds.
Marvin Jean-Pierre scored 13 for Louisiana-Monroe, which shot just 30 percent
BIG PICTURE
Louisiana-Monroe: The Warhawks tried to punch above their weight in the Big 12 but missed their chance at an upset. Early 3-point shooting built a short-lived lead, but Texas' size and speed eventually took over.
Texas: A much smoother performance after the Longhorns struggled in their season opener. Getting Roach and Mack back in the lineup gave Texas more options to attack both inside and out. That will be the lineup coach Shaka Smart wants to build on before the start of the Big 12 schedule.
UP NEXT
Louisiana-Monroe: The Warhawks' road trip takes them to the Pac-12 with Thursday's game at Colorado.
Texas: The Longhorns host Eastern Washington on Thursday.
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Newcomers lead Minnesota over Texas-Arlington 84-67
By BRIAN HALL
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Freshman Amir Coffey scored 10 points, all in the second half, and Minnesota came from behind to beat Texas-Arlington 84-67 on Monday night.
Reggie Lynch, in his first year with Minnesota after transferring last season, scored 14 points. Jordan Murphy added 11 points and 12 rebounds and five Gophers in all scored in double figures. Minnesota (2-0) trailed the final eight minutes of the first half against the preseason Sun Belt Conference favorite Mavericks (1-1).
But Coffey and Lynch ignited the Gophers in the second half. Minnesota used a 22-1 run to take control as Texas-Arlington missed its first 12 shots of the half and had a scoring drought of over six minutes.
Jalen Jones scored 17 points and Erick Neal added 12 for Texas-Arlington. The Mavericks pulled out road wins at Ohio State and Memphis last season, and appeared primed to pull another upset against the Gophers.
Texas-Arlington hit 9 of 18 3-pointers in the first half and led by as many as six points.
BIG PICTURE
Texas-Arlington: The Mavericks return all five starters from last season and are testing themselves with a tough nonconference schedule. When the shots were falling, Texas-Arlington showed it can still hang with major conference opponents.
Minnesota: The Gophers got the test coach Richard Pitino was seeking for his new-look squad. Coffey had eight of his points during Minnesota's second-half run and added two steals. The 6-foot-10 Lynch gives the Gophers an option down low.
UP NEXT
Texas-Arlington's three-game road trip continues at Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday and on to another major conference foe in Arkansas on Friday. Florida Gulf Coast will be playing only its second game of the season after opening with an 80-59 loss to Florida.
Minnesota remains home on Wednesday against Mount St.-Mary's. It's a matchup of two schools with very different schedules. Minnesota plays its first six games at home and 12 of the first 14. Mount St. Mary's starts the season with nine straight road games.
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Charleston staves off Coastal Carolina 71-64
CONWAY, S.C. (AP) Jarrell Brantley scored 15 points on 5 of 7 shooting to help lead the College of Charleston to a 71-64 win over Coastal Carolina on Monday night.
Charleston has won back-to-back games to open its season while Coastal Carolina has dropped two straight.
Joe Chealey finished with 14 points and Marquise Pointer added 10 with five rebounds for the Cougars, who hit 21 of 23 free throws and finished with a plus-13 (21-8) scoring advantage at the line.
Elijah Wilson led all scorers with 16 points for Coastal Carolina. Jaylen Shaw added 11 for the Chanticleers.
Charleston led virtually the entire night, but a Wilson jumper cut the Cougars lead to 52-51 midway through the second half. However Charleston immediately responded with an 11-0 run, capped by a Chevez Goodwin dunk, for a 63-51 lead.
The Chanticleers clawed back to within three in the final minute, but Brantley hit a pair at the line to ice it.