The Panthers suffer another close loss, as they lose 67-63 at home against Troy University, putting their record at 8-10 on the season with a 2-5 conference record.
The Panthers entered the game on a two-game win streak with wins against conference opponents Louisiana University and the University of Louisiana Monroe.
It was a rough shooting night for the Panthers, as they shot 21-63(33.3%) from the field, 6-22(27.3%) from three, and 15-27(55.6%) from the free-throw line.
Guard Justin Roberts led the way for the Panthers, scoring 17 points and connecting on four three-pointers.
Forward Eliel Nsoseme continued his high-level play on the glass, as he brought down 13 rebounds and contributed seven points.
The game came down to the wire in the final moments, as the Panthers were looking to take the lead.
Troy had an opportunity to stretch their 60-61 lead within the final minute of the game but missed.
The Panthers had a great chance to take back the momentum following this but failed to execute after guard Corey Allen had his shot blocked with 55 seconds left on the clock.
After that block, the Trojans did just enough to hold onto the lead, never looking back to secure the victory.
The team really struggled on the offensive side of the ball tonight which is disappointing as they forced the Trojans to commit 22 turnovers on the night and shoot 6-23(26.09 %) from the field in the second half.
“When you’re defending at that level you generally share the ball and you flow differently on offense and that dynamic doesn’t generally develop”, said Lanier. “When you’re defending like that you treat the ball with more care, you move it, you have better shot selection, but we had a lot of self-inflicted wounds in this game.”
Overall, this has been a rollercoaster of a year for the Panthers, which was a team full of promise coming into the season with number one ranking in the Sun Belt’s preseason coaches poll.
The Panther’s next game will be this Saturday at home against another tough conference opponent in the South Alabama Jaguars.
With the Sunbelt Conference Tournament only weeks away, the Panthers have to finish strong and go into the postseason looking to wreak havoc in a last-ditch effort to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
