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| Furman true freshman guard Alex Wilkins |
GREENVILLE,
S.C.—Cooper Campbell scored 21 points to lead three Troy players in double figures, as the Trojans led by as many as 15 points early in the second half, but had to hold off Furman for a 64-61 win before 2,207 fans on-hand Friday night at the newly refurbished Timmons Arena.
The loss sees the Paladins drop to 0-2 overall, while Troy improves to 2-0 with a pair of wins over teams that won 24 and 25 games last season, respectively, in Kent State and Furman.
Campbell finished his night by connecting on 8-for-13 from the field, including 5-of-9 from three-point range, while posting five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Campbell was joined in double figures by both preseason All-Sun Belt selection Thomas Dowd, who posted 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks, while teammate Victor Valdes finished the night with 11 points and five boards.
Like Troy, Furman was highlighted by three players in double figures, with talented freshman Alex Wilkins able to overcome four turnovers in the opening 10 minutes to score a team-leading 16 points and added eight assists, including not turning the ball over for the final 30 minutes to help the Paladins get back into the game and nearly pull off the come-from-behind win.
Wilkins finished 6-of-15 shooting from the field, while included a 1-for-3 effort from three-point range and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. Along with his eight assists, Wilkins also added two rebounds to go with his other totals.
Eddrin Bronson added 14 points and added a pair of steals off the bench for the Paladins, while Cooper Bowser rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points, eight rebounds, one steal and one block. Charles Johnston led the Paladins with 10 rebounds, while Asa Thomas added nine points off the bench.
The Trojans finished the night connecting on 41.1% (23-of-56) from the field and 30% (9-for-30) from three-point land, while Furman finished the game connecting on 39.3% (22-of-56) from the field and 37.5% (9-of-24) from three-point land. Troy connected at a 69.2% (9-of-13) from the free throw line, while Furman was 66.7% (8-of-12) from the charity stripe for the game.
Troy finished the contest with advantages in points from turnovers (22-10), points in the paint (28-26), and fast-break points (16-9). The Paladins finished holding advantages in bench scoring (26-10), total rebounds (36-33), second-chance points (9-7) and total assists (13-10).
How It Happened:
Troy
came out and held Furman scoreless on its first five possessions, and much like
it did against Kent State, when it took a 16-3 lead. Against the Paladins, Troy
assumed a 15-3 lead.
Led by
Alex Wilkins, Furman would put together a 17-5 run to get back to within a
possession at 23-20 on a three-point play the old fashioned way midway through
the half, however, the Trojans closed the half on a 16-3 run to take a 36-23 lead
into the halftime locker room.
The Trojans scored 18 of their 36 points off Furman's 13 first-half turnovers, as well as shooting 50% (14-of-28) from the field in the opening half to build a 13-point lead.
In the second half, Thomas Dowd scored on a strong two-handed stuff and a free throw, while Cooper Campbell knocked down one of his five threes of the night to give the Trojans their biggest lead of the game and spark the Trojans to a strong start to the second half with a 42-27 lead with 16:57 remaining.
A 15-2 run by Furman, which started with an alley-oop slam off a feed from Alex Wilkins and ended with a three pointer from the right elbow off another Wilkins helper, helped the Paladins slice Troy's lead to four, at 44-40, with 11:25 left. A Wilkins jumper in the paint following a rebound off his own miss got Furman even closer on its next possession, at 44-42, with 8:50 remaining.
As is did for much of the night when the Paladins drew close on the scoreboard, the Trojans seemingly always had an answer, and an Austin Cross triple six seconds later gave Troy just enough breathing room, extending its advantage back to five, at 47-42.
Campbell would connect on another three four minutes later to keep Troy's lead at five, despite the Trojans best efforts, they couldn't shake loose of the hard-charging Paladins. A Bronson corner three off a feed from Tom House got Furman to within two with 4:25 left, and following a missed hook shot by Theo Seng in the paint, Wilkins tossed another beautiful lob to Bowser, who slammed it with authority, tying the game, 55-55, with 3:32 left.
Furman had three shots at taking the lead, missing a pair of layups in the paint and pretty good look at a three from Tom House allowed the game to remain tied. It appeared Furman might get a fourth chance to take the lead, however, after Charles Johnston rebounded a missed Cooper Campell three, Campbell stepped in front of Bowser's outlet pass and converted a layup off the steal to put the Trojans back up two, at 57-55, with 1:19 remaining.
Following a Bronson missed 15-footer, Victor Valdes hit a dagger three from the top of the key to give the Trojans 60-55 lead with 31 seconds left.
Furman's Asa Thomas and Charles Johnston connected on a pair of threes in the final 12.1 seconds, but Theo Seng and Thomas Dowd went 4-for-4 from the line to close out the 64-61 road win.
Furman returns to action at Timmons Arena on Monday night, hosting Columbia International in a 7 p.m. contest at Timmons Arena.
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