Trojans destroy Northwestern State Demons
Published 2:32 am Sunday, November 30, 2008
BATON ROUGE, La. – Michael Vogler did not score on Saturday afternoon, but he made his mark in a different way passing his way into the record books with 17 assists to lead Troy to a 100-63 defeat of Northwestern State.
Vogler set a Troy team-record with 17 assists, breaking the mark of 16 set by Charles McDonald in 1991 and tied by Bobby Dixon versus Western Kentucky in 2006.
“Mike was feeling the game and he was letting it come to him. He was able to be very creative and create for his teammates. He was a great quarterback tonight with his passing. He did an excellent job of running the team,” head coach Don Maestri said.
The Trojans evened their record to 3-3 on the year as they continued their strong second half play for a second consecutive game. They shot 63% from the field including 54% from behind the arc after halftime en route to the victory.
Troy hit 15 three-pointers and out-rebounded the Demons 47-to-32, while recording a season-high 27 assists. The Trojans outscored Northwestern State 48-35 in the second half.
“The whole game we just shot well. We got into a rhythm and we stayed in that rhythm the entire game. We also had great intensity and kept it throughout both halves. We played a very good game,” Maestri said.
The game was the third straight win for Troy and also marked the first time the Trojans had scored in triple digits since they totaled 132 against Paul Quinn College at Trojan Arena on November 14, 2007.
“It was a nice feeling for our guys to win three in a row. It was important for our team to do that,” Maestri said.
Troy (3-3) started fast, bolting to a 22-7 lead in the first five minutes of the game. The run included two three-pointers from Brandon Hazzard. The junior finished with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range.
The Trojans scored 24 points off 14 NSU turnovers and also got 46 points off its bench, including a team-high 21 from Travis Lee. Twenty-one points was also a career-high for the junior from Tallahassee, Fla.
With 11:44 remaining in the second half, Troy held its largest lead of the game at 78-41, a difference of 37 points. The Trojans got there with an 11-1 run from 16:06 to just less than 12 minutes to go.
Richard Delk posted 17 points and six rebound as part of seven Trojans that scored in double-figures, a season-high. Also part of that group in addition to Delk, Lee and Hazzard was Huddleston (16 points) and Antywan Jones (10 points).
Leading the charge on the boards was Tom Jervis (12 points and seven rebounds) and Chris Leggett (10 points and six rebounds).
Troy does not get much time to celebrate its three-game streak of victories, as it turns around to face tournament host and SEC power LSU on Sunday night at 6 pm.