Blue Raiders move to 20-2

The Blue Raiders basketball team cleared the last obstacle standing between the team and a Saturday meeting at Vanderbilt as MT dropped Troy at Murphy Center, 71-58.

The Blue Raiders (20-2, 9-0 Sun Belt) broke the 20-win mark for the first time since the 1990-91 season.

LaRon Dendy and Raymond Cintron led MT in scoring with 17 points apiece, while Will Weathers led Troy with 22.

"We found a way to finish the game, another double-figure win in your league, which is always difficult," Coach Kermit Davis said. "Congratulations to our players. Twenty wins in January. That's hard to do."

Cintron led the team early, firing up four three-pointers in the game's early going, torching the perimeter of Troy's zone defense, and finishing the night 6-9 from the field, 5-7 from distance.

"Teams that play zone like that, we have a good threat," Cintron said. "We always have an inside threat, but I just feel confident in myself."

Troy's own inside threat appeared early in the game as the all-conference guard, Weathers, penetrated MT's defense to collect 10 points in the half, easily eclipsing his three-point effort he posted in the Jan. 5 matchup at Troy.

The Trojans led by one, 18-17, with nine minutes to go in the half before MT sorted things out.

Cintron's threat coupled with strong play from the bench saw MT outscore Troy 22-12 to take a 39-30 led at the half.

Troy, coming off a NCAA record 11 consecutive three-pointers against Louisiana-Munroe, struggled all night from distance, finishing 5-18. Troy's failure to make three-point baskets limited the team's soundest ability to get back in the game.

The MT bench contributed significant minutes, particularly in the second half, scoring 21 points.

"Our bench did a great job getting the led out to 16," Davis said.

Shawn Jones scored six points and collected three steals with no turnovers in 12 minutes of action. Jason Jones collected five points and five rebounds in 22 minutes, and Kerry Hammonds had five points, six rebounds and three assists in 20 minutes of action.

MT turned up the offensive intensity in the second half, managing to solve the Troy's zone defense with good ball handling. The Raiders finished the night with 23 assists.

"We've got a really good second-half team," Davis said. "It's overlooked, toughness on the offensive end like extra passes, turning down good shots to get a great shot inside, and that's what we've done in the second half."

MT led by as much as 18 in the second half before Troy mounted its only run, a 7-0 spurt that narrowed the margin to 64-53 with 5:52 remaining, but MT, with Vanderbilt on the horizon, closed out the victory.

MT will travel to Vanderbilt Saturday afternoon for a 1:00 tipoff at Memorial Gym.