Troy hosts Denver in basketball Saturday

While Troy’s fast-paced offense has paved the way for the team’s early-season success, it will be largely up to the defense if the Trojans are to remain undefeated in Sun Belt Conference play.

Troy (2-0 Sun Belt, 7-6 overall) entertains Denver (3-0, 10-4) tonight at 7:30 at Trojan Arena.

Denver runs the motion-oriented Princeton offense, and is led by All-Sun Belt performer Nate Rohnert, a senior 6-foot-5 guard who averages 16 points per game for the Pioneers.

“He’s really a great all-around basketball player,” Troy coach Don Maestri said. “He shoots a great percentage from 3-point range and he has a great drive.

“When they need a basket, they are going to Nate. He has a knack of getting fouled and hitting free throws.”

Rohnert has already shot 117 free throws this season, and has connected on 88 of them.

Maestri believes Troy’s zone defense is the best weapon against the offense Denver employs — numerous passes with constant motion and back-door cuts. Denver is shooting 52.3 percent from the field as a team.

Denver coach Joe Scott played at Princeton and was an assistant there for eight seasons.

“Joe is a Princeton man all the way and he knows that offense inside and out,” Maestri said. “If you have good players in that offense, it’s almost impossible to stop it man-to-man,”

Denver is coming off a 64-55 win at Arkansas State on Thursday, and also owns league wins over Louisiana-Monroe (87-65) and Florida International (59-53).

Troy got a 83-82 road win over Louisiana-Monroe and beat New Orleans 78-76 at Trojan Arena on Dec. 17 for its two league victories.
Senior guard Brandon Hazzard, who scored 30 on Thursday, leads the Trojans and Sun Belt in scoring at 18.5 per game, while wing Richard Delk (12.8) and point guard Michael Vogler (11.8), along with center Yamene Coleman (10.4) also average double figures in scoring.

“We’ve gotten the whole offense involved in the offense the last five or six games,” Maestri said. “The ball has been shared.”

Troy’s balanced scoring attack and unselfish play is well illustrated by the fact that Delk, one of the team’s top scoring threats, didn’t even attempt a shot in Thursday’s win.

“The other kids were just getting the shots and I don’t think he even realized,” Maestri said of Delk not taking a shot. “Just that fact that we won, he was as excited as anyone.

“Once you taste winning like we did last year, you know you’re not going to get it any other way than through unselfish play.”

Besides getting solid guard play, Maestri said the inside punch of Coleman, a 6-9 transfer from Alabama, and back-up 6-9 center Bernard Toombs, has given his team strong play in the post.

Troy is expected to have an advantage on the backboards. The Trojans average 38 rebounds per game, while Denver averages 24.

“Coleman has blended in well and he’s getting better and better,” Maestri said. “Toombs has made himself a presence on the floor for us. He’s been one of our best rebounders.”

The Troy women’s basketball team will also play Denver today starting at 5:15 p.m. Troy enters the game with a 1-1 Sun Belt mark and is 7-3 overall. Denver is 3-0 in conference play, 8-5 overall.