TSU drops to 0-2 in TAAC

Published 12:00 am Thursday, December 7, 2000

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Despite having four players reach double figures in scoring, Troy State had no answer for Jacksonville’s Shawn Platts, who scored a game-high 25 points and led JU to a 79-71 victory Tuesday night at Swisher Gymnasium.

Platts, who tied his career high in scoring, was 5-of-9 from the field including 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Brandon Williams scored seven of his 20 points during a 16-2 run that put the Dolphins (6-0, 2-0 Trans America Athletic Conference) ahead for good early in the second half.

Robert Rushing led Troy State (1-4, 0-2 TAAC) with 16 points and a career high seven assists. Lemayn Wilson and Matt Hollman had 14 points each.

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The Trojans opened the game with an 8-1 run and led by as many as 11 in the first half. The Trojans were 19-for-34 (56 percent) from the floor and handed out nine assists with seven steals.

Troy State held a 46-37 halftime lead, but fell behind 62-54 with 7:12 remaining.

Minutes later, Rushing, Wilson and Jacova Jenkins all hit 3-pointers to pull the Trojans to within 68-67. But on the next possession, JU’s Kris Hunter converted a three-point play to give the Dolphins a four-point lead and ice the game.

Hunter had 10 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, as the Dolphins held Troy State to 31 percent shooting in the second half.

Although the Trojans converted all five of their free throw attempts, the Dolphins made good on 23-of-28 tries from the charity stripe. TSU’s bench outscored JU’s 18-9, due in large part to Rob Lewin’s 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

This is Jacksonville’s best start since the 1979-80 season, when it opened with 10 straight wins.

Troy State will step out of conference play on Saturday when they face Nicholls State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Thibodaux, La.