Seemingly everything went wrong after the Troy Trojans lost a close game to Arkansas State to begin the first half of Sun Belt Conference play.
Now the Trojans hope a close victory over those same Red Wolves will propel their season in the right direction in the final half.
Troy, which edged Arkansas State 71-70 last Saturday, aims to gather more momentum today when it faces a young and talented Georgia Southern squad at 7:30 p.m. at Trojan Arena. Troy head coach Phil Cunningham believes Saturday?s close win can help his squad ? young itself with two freshmen, a sophomore and a first-year junior college transfer in the starting lineup.
?Against Arkansas State to start the conference slate, we let the game get away from us in the last 90 seconds (of an 84-81 loss on Dec. 27). That (maybe) sent us on a downward spiral,? Cunningham said. ?Our approach was ?Let (Saturday?s win) be the jumpstart for the final half.??
After the Trojans (7-16 overall, 2-10 Sun Belt) lost the first game to Arkansas State (11-12, 7-5), they closed the first half of Sun Belt play with just one win in the next eight games.
Particularly frustrating for the team was the fact the Arkansas State defeat was the second in a string of five consecutive losses by six points or fewer. After Saturday?s victory, Troy is just 2-8 in games decided by those margins.
Cunningham said his team still has work to do in order to win close contests consistently.
?When winning close games, the little intricacies that are important become habits,? he said. ?You look at three areas. First is free throw shooting, and we?ve had three losses at the free throw line, and it could have been a fourth Saturday.
?Second is turnovers, particularly in the second half, and we?ve had a few games we struggled with that. Third is to get stops down the stretch, and we haven?t been able to get stops as consistently as we need to.?
Closing out Saturday?s game with a victory could give the Trojans the confidence to finish strongly, though. That air of belief will be needed against the Eagles (10-12, 6-6), who have won six of their last nine despite heavily playing two freshmen themselves.
Tookie Brown, a former Mississippi State signee and a four-star prospect, leads the Eagles with 18.2 points per game. Fellow freshman Ike Smith adds 12.4 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game.
The Eagles were a senior-laden bunch in 2014-15 that finished second in Sun Belt play in their first year in the league. Cunningham said the Eagle staff was able to recruit well because of that great campaign.
?I?m really impressed with their athleticism. They?re coming in with a lot of confidence,? he said. ?They do a lot of unique things, especially defensively.?
That is one reason the Eagles lead the conference in steals with 8.2 per game. Both Brown and Mike Hughes collect more than two steals per game.
Cunningham said the Trojans will have to make some stops defensively since the Eagles average 76.2 points per game. What will impact Troy?s game plan, though, is the availability of some players.
Troy?s second-leading scorer, freshman Jordon Varnado, injured his ankle late against Arkansas State, and the injury appears to be worse than first thought, Cunningham said. Varnado, who averages 14.3 points per game and is by far the Trojans? leading shot blocker, will likely miss the game.
The Trojans appear like they will get the services of reserve forward Aaron Ariri, though. Ariri has missed the last two games with an injury.
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Now the Trojans hope a close victory over those same Red Wolves will propel their season in the right direction in the final half.
Troy, which edged Arkansas State 71-70 last Saturday, aims to gather more momentum today when it faces a young and talented Georgia Southern squad at 7:30 p.m. at Trojan Arena. Troy head coach Phil Cunningham believes Saturday?s close win can help his squad ? young itself with two freshmen, a sophomore and a first-year junior college transfer in the starting lineup.
?Against Arkansas State to start the conference slate, we let the game get away from us in the last 90 seconds (of an 84-81 loss on Dec. 27). That (maybe) sent us on a downward spiral,? Cunningham said. ?Our approach was ?Let (Saturday?s win) be the jumpstart for the final half.??
After the Trojans (7-16 overall, 2-10 Sun Belt) lost the first game to Arkansas State (11-12, 7-5), they closed the first half of Sun Belt play with just one win in the next eight games.
Particularly frustrating for the team was the fact the Arkansas State defeat was the second in a string of five consecutive losses by six points or fewer. After Saturday?s victory, Troy is just 2-8 in games decided by those margins.
Cunningham said his team still has work to do in order to win close contests consistently.
?When winning close games, the little intricacies that are important become habits,? he said. ?You look at three areas. First is free throw shooting, and we?ve had three losses at the free throw line, and it could have been a fourth Saturday.
?Second is turnovers, particularly in the second half, and we?ve had a few games we struggled with that. Third is to get stops down the stretch, and we haven?t been able to get stops as consistently as we need to.?
Closing out Saturday?s game with a victory could give the Trojans the confidence to finish strongly, though. That air of belief will be needed against the Eagles (10-12, 6-6), who have won six of their last nine despite heavily playing two freshmen themselves.
Tookie Brown, a former Mississippi State signee and a four-star prospect, leads the Eagles with 18.2 points per game. Fellow freshman Ike Smith adds 12.4 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game.
The Eagles were a senior-laden bunch in 2014-15 that finished second in Sun Belt play in their first year in the league. Cunningham said the Eagle staff was able to recruit well because of that great campaign.
?I?m really impressed with their athleticism. They?re coming in with a lot of confidence,? he said. ?They do a lot of unique things, especially defensively.?
That is one reason the Eagles lead the conference in steals with 8.2 per game. Both Brown and Mike Hughes collect more than two steals per game.
Cunningham said the Trojans will have to make some stops defensively since the Eagles average 76.2 points per game. What will impact Troy?s game plan, though, is the availability of some players.
Troy?s second-leading scorer, freshman Jordon Varnado, injured his ankle late against Arkansas State, and the injury appears to be worse than first thought, Cunningham said. Varnado, who averages 14.3 points per game and is by far the Trojans? leading shot blocker, will likely miss the game.
The Trojans appear like they will get the services of reserve forward Aaron Ariri, though. Ariri has missed the last two games with an injury.
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