Trojan Men Return Home to Face UALR

TROY, Alabama – The Troy men's basketball team returns home for a pivotal Sun Belt game as it hosts UALR on Saturday afternoon at Trojan Arena. Tip off between the Trojans is slated to begin a 4:30 p.m., following the conclusion of the women's game.

Among teams eligible for the postseason, Troy (10-15, 5-11) is tied for eighth place in the Sun Belt standings, one game behind UALR (11-15, 6-10) who sits in seventh place. Both teams will have four games remaining after Saturday's contest.

The game can be heard on the Troy Sports Radio Networks with Barry McKnight and Jerry Miller. Live stats will also be available through TroyStats.com. Live video and audio will be available on TroyTrojans.com/watch. Fans can follow @TroyMensHoops on Twitter for live, in-game updates.

Troy is coming off a gutsy 65-62 win at Georgia Southern on Thursday night. Musa Abdul-Aleem's play down the stretch helped the Trojans secure the win. He scored six-straight points for Troy and gave it the final lead with a second-chance bucket with 32 seconds remaining.

The Trojans never led by more than four, but their relentless play throughout proved to be enough as it completed the season sweep of the Eagles.

Abdul-Aleem paced the Trojans with a game-high 25 points, 19 of which came in the second half. He shot 9-of-16 from the floor while reeling in a game-high 12 boards, earning him his second career double-double.

Kevin Thomas, who is second in the conference in field goal percentage, had a near perfect night as he shot 4-of-4 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe, on his way to 11 points, while scooping up nine boards, five on the offensive end of the court. Chris Bilbo also scored in double-figures with 10 points in the win, dishing out a team-high four assists.

UALR is coming off a convincing, 70-57, win over in-state rival, Arkansas State at home. The Trojans never trailed as they were led by Maurius Hill, who tallied a game-high 17 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the floor.

On the year, UALR is led by James White and Josh Hagins who both chip in 11.9 points per game. Hagins leads the team in rebounds per game, grabbing 6.6 per game.

In the Trojans last matchup, second half woes proved to be too much to overcome as Troy fell to UALR at the Jack Stephens Center, 74-65. UALR opened the second half with a 20-2 run, shooting 7-of-8 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from downtown.

Bilbo led Troy with 15 points, and John Walton III earned his first career double-double with 11 points and a game-high 12 boards.

Troy next hits the road for San Marcos, Texas, as it faces Texas State on Thursday at Strahan Coliseum.

For more information on Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. As always, fans can also find the Troy men's basketball team on Twitter at @TroyMensHoops, Instagram at @TroyHoops Facebook, and YouTube by searching Troy Athletics.

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Players Mentioned

Musa Abdul-Aleem

Chris Bilbo

Kevin Thomas

John Walton III

Troy University Athletics