Bulldogs outduel the Trojans, 52-33

The Trojans got a stiff dose of the long ball from the Mission Bulldogs of St. Ignatius on Saturday as Troy fell 52-33 in basketball action at home.

The Trojans got behind in the first quarter 13-9, and the Bulldogs expanded on that lead to take a 22-16 advantage at halftime.

However, the Bulldogs blew the game open in the third quarter with a 23-point stanza that buried the Trojans and saw Head Coach Corey Andersen get ejected after receiving two technical fouls.

“We were flat, and I said some things I shouldn’t have. We didn’t lose because of the refs,” Andersen said. “We just played flat.”

Andersen correctly assessed his team on this night, but much of the imbalance in this game resulted from the hot hand of 6-foot-1 Mission junior Stuart Grant, who led all scorers with 19 points. Grant sank four 3-pointers, for which the Trojans could not answer.

Troy’s lone senior Austin Grable shot two three-pointers for his six points, but it was tough for Troy to keep up with Grant.

“Grant’s a gym rat,” said Mission Coach Steve Pelletier of his leading scorer. “We kind up turned it up in that third quarter. Our kids played well.” 

Troy’s Gage Tallmadge led the Trojans with eight points.

Mission   13   8  23  8 —  52

Troy    9     7    8   9 —  33

Mission: P. Alexander 0 1-2 1, Evans 3 1-3 7, Grant (4-3s) 2 3-6 19; Hegwood 0 1-2 1, Eichert 1 0-0 2, N. Alexander (2-3s) 4 4-6 18. Totals: 6-3s, 12-2s, FT 10-24, 52 pts.

Troy: Haggerty 1 0-0 2; Hickman 3 0-1 6, Tallmadge 2 4-7 8, Opland 3 1-2 7, Grable (2-3s) 0 0-0 6, Metz 2 0-0 4. Totals: 2-3s, 11-2s, FT 5-10. 33 pts.