Trojans suffer from shooting woes, comeback attempt falls short against Texas State
Published 4:59 pm Thursday, January 1, 2015
![Troy University Athletics Aaron Ariri shoots over three Texas State defenders Tuesday night in the Trojans’ 57-46 loss.](https://www.troymessenger.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2015/01/20141230_MBKB_TxSt_JGT1523web-300x199.jpg)
Troy University Athletics
Aaron Ariri shoots over three Texas State defenders Tuesday night in the Trojans’ 57-46 loss.
The Troy men’s basketball team fell behind by 14 points at halftime, rallied to outscore Texas State in the second half, but, ultimately, were done in by cold shooting stints throughout the game as they dropped their conference opener to the Bobcats 57-46 Tuesday night at Trojan Arena.
Troy’s (5-5, 0-1) offensive struggles began early in the contest Tuesday night. After jumping out to a 15-6 lead behind two 3-pointers from Musa Abdul-Aleem and a 13-2 run in the first half, the Trojans went completely cold from the field, going scoreless in the final 11 minutes and 35 seconds.
By halftime, Troy had surrendered the lead to Texas State (7-3, 1-0), 29-15.
Troy shot just over 18 percent from both the field and from behind the 3-point arc in the first half, while Texas State shot 47 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range.
In a game that featured several scoring runs from each team, Troy opened the second half with a hot streak of their own.
The Trojans came out of halftime with a high-pressure zone press, creating turnovers and shooting woes for the Bobcats, and Troy orchestrated a 26-12 run to tie the game at 41.
Texas State then fought right back, going on a 16-5 run of their own to close out the game — including 10-straight points to close out the game — on their way to their first conference win of the season.
Abdul-Aleem led the Trojans with a game-high 20 points. He was the only Troy player who finished in double-digits. John Walton III and Aaron Ariri both collected a team-high five rebounds.
Ethan Montalvo matched Abdul-Aleem, scoring 20 points for Texas State. Wes Davis and Emani Gant added 13 points and 10 points, respectively, for the Bobcats.
Texas State easily outshot Troy in the game, shooting just under 43 percent from the field to the Trojans’ 27 percent.
The Bobcats also nearly doubled Troy’s rebound total, collecting 41 rebounds, while the Trojans totaled just 25.
Troy will return to the court Saturday when they visit UL-Lafayette for their second conference tilt.