Men’s Hoops Opens League Play Wednesday on Dollar Night in Trojan Arena

TROY, Alabama – With the non-conference schedule in the rearview mirror, the Troy men's basketball team turns its attention to Sun Belt Conference play beginning with a visit from Arkansas State to Trojan Arena on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

As part of a doubleheader with the Troy women, all tickets, hot dogs and soft drinks will be just one dollar on Wednesday night. The game will be broadcast live on the Troy Sports Radio Network, while live stats and live video can be found on TroyTrojans.com.

Troy (5-6) is coming off a heartbreaking 83-80 loss at Ole Miss before the holiday break. The Trojans rallied from down 13 points in the second half to force overtime with the Rebels behind Jeremy Hollimon's 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting.

The Trojans have split their four homes games this season, but freshman Jordon Varnado has shined on the home floor averaging 20.0 points and 9.3 rebounds in his four home contests.

Sophomore Wesley Person continues to lead Troy in scoring at 17.9 points per game, while Varnado is close behind scoring at a 17.6 clip; the duo has accounted for 46 percent of Troy's points this season. Person has made a 3-pointer in all 40 of his career games – the second-longest active streak in the country – and Varnado ranks third among all freshmen in the country in scoring and field goal percentage.

Hollimon's 22-point outburst against the Rebels continued a recent trend for the Trojan junior as he has now scored in double figures five times in the past six games. He has raised his scoring average by 3.3 points over the last eight contests.

Arkansas State (4-7) wrapped up its non-conference schedule with victories in two of its last three games (Arkansas-Monticello and Central Arkansas). The Red Wolves went 2-7 against Division I opponents and are 0-6 away from Jonesboro.

Led by junior Anthony Livingston's 15.1 points per game, the Red Wolves have scored 68 points or more in their first 11 games for the first time since the 1974-75 season. Junior guard Devin Carter is right behind with 14.9 points per game, while Livingston leads the way with 8.6 rebounds per contest.

The teams split the two meetings last year with each winning on the other's home court, and Troy leads the all-time series by an 8-7 margin.

Following Wednesday's Sun Belt opener, the Trojans host Little Rock on Saturday at 4:15 p.m. in Trojan Arena; Little Rock is currently 10-1 on the season and is ranked fourth in the College Insider's Mid-Major Top 25.

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Players Mentioned

Jeremy Hollimon

Wesley Person

Jordon Varnado