Troy beats Georgia State

By Drew Champlin

Published: November 25, 2008

TROY — This time, Troy held on to the lead.

After blowing double-digit leads in losses to Centenary and UNC-Wilmington earlier this year, the Trojans held off a scrappy Georgia State squad, winning 68-63 over the Panthers at Trojan Arena Tuesday night.

In fact, head coach Don Maestri referenced a game two years ago at Western Kentucky, where a missed free throw led to a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer. WKU won in overtime.

This time, Mike Vogler was at the line with four seconds to go and Troy (2-3) held a 3-point lead.

“I said if Mike missed, we’d foul them before they took the three,” Maestri said. “To this day, I can’t get over that loss. That was a definite win in a great team’s home gym. That loss changed our season.”

He didn’t have to worry. Vogler made the shots and Troy held on for the win.

Troy took an 11-point lead at 64-53 with six minutes left on a 3-pointer from Travis Lee, but didn’t score again for a while.

Meanwhile, GSU (2-4) slowly chipped away but couldn’t go on any big runs.

With 51 seconds left and Troy up 64-62, Vogler missed a three, but on GSU’s possession, Troy’s Antywan Jones forced a turnover when he deflected a ball down low to teammate Mario Telfair. When Telfair got the ball, Vogler called timeout.

Regis Huddleston, who was on the bench for much of the second half, then hit two free throws – Troy’s first two of the game – and put the Trojans up four. GSU’s Joe Dukes hit 1-of-2 free throws with 13 seconds left, but Vogler’s free throws were the final margin.

It was Troy’s second straight win, but the Trojans’ first two losses came without Vogler, the team’s starting point guard, as he nursed an ankle injury. He finished Tuesday’s game with 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

“It’s 100 percent now,” Vogler said. “Last week (a loss to Centenary, a win over Alcorn State), it was about 90-95 percent, but I favored it because it was my first time out.”

This time, Vogler kept the offense in rhythm and Troy never let Georgia State get back into the game.

“Even though he’s back, his shot hasn’t come around yet,” Maestri said. “But you can see a difference in our team when he’s out there. Everyone’s confidence goes up and it’s exciting to our fans because they enjoy watching him play basketball.”

Lee led Troy with 12 points. Richard Delk, who scored 11, was familiar with Tuesday’s style of play. When he was at
Mississippi State for his first two years of college, he played against Ole Miss four times. Ole Miss was coached by GSU head coach Rod Barnes, whose teams thrive on tough, in-your-face defense and milking the shot clock.

“They play hard defense, rebound, and they do it well,” Delk said. “They play rough. When I was at Mississippi State, that’s how they did it. You’ve got to be strong with the ball and take it to the rack.”

Brandon Hazzard scored 10 points for Troy. GSU was led by Leonard Mendez’s 21 points and 14 from Dukes.
Troy led 35-30 at halftime.

Troy makes a return trip to Baton Rogue, La., this weekend for the continuation of the LSU Thanksgiving Tournament, where Troy played Centenary and Alcorn State last weekend. Troy plays Northwestern State Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and LSU Sunday at 6 p.m.

Troy women 59, Jacksonville State 56: Donnette McNair posted her second straight double-double in her second career start as the Trojans (2-1) held off a late rally.

McNair, a sophomore forward, scored 17 with 15 rebounds, both career highs. Kylie Morrissy scored 15 with eight rebounds. Troy built an 18-3 lead in the game’s first 14 minutes before JSU (0-4) made a second-half rally, but never tied the game.
The Trojans play Richmond Friday at 5 p.m. at the Chattanooga (Tenn.) DoubleTree Invitational.