Jags Defeat Troy on the road 71-67
South Alabama, led by Georgi Boyanov who earned his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds along with four other Jaguars who scored in double-digits, defeated Troy on the road 71-67. Also spoiling the Trojan Athletic Director’s promise of a steak dinner to the team if they defeated the Jaguars.
The win ended a three-game losing streak for the Jaguars and improved their record to 8-17 overall and 6-8 in Sun Belt Conference play. Meanwhile the Trojans fell to 9-14 overall and 4-10 in the conference.
Boyanov recorded 12 points and six rebounds after halftime. He also had a steal with 13 seconds left to help close the door on the Trojans. Sophomore Taishaun Johnson shared game-high honors with 17 points. Dionte Ferguson added 14 points and seven rebounds and sophomore Ken Williams added 13 points an a career-high six assists.
The Trojans took a three point lead around midway through the second half on an 8-0 run, but the Jaguars answered right back with a 10-1 run of their own. Johnson started it with a layup to start the run, then hit back-to-back 3-pointers with 8:01 left in the game to put the Jaguars up 56-50.
But the Trojan would not go away, they scored the next four points to cut the Jaguar lead down to two points, but again the Jaguars would answer by scoring eight of the next 10 points while holding Troy to one field goal over the next six minute stretch.
The closest the Trojans would get in the last five-and-a-half minutes would be four points.
The Jags clamped down in the second half defensively, after the Trojans converted 60% of their 3-point shots in the first half, the Jags held them to 33.3% in the second half.
“There’s no question we needed this win to get back on track and get refocused,” head coach Matthew Graves said. “Anytime you can win a game on the road in league play, it’s a great thing. I thought our guys continued to battle throughout the game. It was a very well-played game, both teams made some runs and neither team really jumped out to a big lead. We were very fortunate that we made a lot of the right plays at the end of the game and came out with the victory.”
“You have to give credit to our players and to Coach (Darnell) Archey,” Graves continued. “He did an outstanding job with the scouting report and the defensive scheme, calling out their actions. Our players did an excellent job of following through with that. We had three days to prepare for them; when we have three days to prepare for somebody and our guys stay locked in and focused, that’s a recipe for success. Our scouting and preparation were top-notch this week.”
All five of Troy’s starters scored in double-digits with Kelton Ford sharing the game-high mark with 17 points and Wesley Person adding 14.
South Alabama will host Texas-Arlington at home on Saturday with a 4:05pm tipoff.