Men’s Hoops Returns Home for Thursday Battle with UT Arlington

TROY, Alabama – Following a two-game road swing through Georgia, the Troy men's basketball team returns to Trojan Arena this week for a pair of Sun Belt Conference games beginning with UT Arlington on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

The game will be broadcast live on the Troy Sports Radio Network, with free coverage on TroyTrojans.com. Additionally, live video for the game will be available through Trojans All-Access by visiting TroyTrojans.com/Watch.

Troy (5-10, 0-4 Sun Belt) enters Thursday's contest looking to bounce back from a pair of tough losses at Georgia State and Georgia Southern last week. The Trojans lost the two games by a combined nine points, including an overtime loss at Georgia Southern.

Wesley Person led the Trojans on their swing through Georgia as he averaged 20.0 points and shot 58 percent from the floor in the two games, while John Walton III added 15.0 points and 8.0 rebounds; Walton raised his scoring average to 9.1 points per game for the season to go along with 8.1 rebounds.

Person continued his streak with a 3-pointer to 44 straight games and has now scored in double figures in 38 of his 44 career games played. Freshman B.J. Miller buried 7-of-8 field goal attempts Saturday at Georgia Southern en route to a career-high 17 points, while Jordon Varnado rebounded from a four-point game at Georgia State with 18 points and nine rebounds against the Eagles.

For the year, Person leads the Trojans and ranks fourth in the Sun Belt averaging 17.7 points per game and Varnado is seventh in the league scoring at a 16.5 per game clip. Troy is the lone school in the league to have two players in the top 10 in scoring.

Point guard Daniel Peace is averaging 4.0 assists per game in league play and is third in the league in steals with nearly two per game. Jeremy Hollimon joins Peace in the top 10 in the league in steals as he checks in ninth with 1.5 per game; the Trojans are third in the Sun Belt and 51^st nationally with 7.9 steals per game.

The Trojans will be looking to shake a five-game losing streak when they take on the Mavericks. It's a streak that easily could have gone the other way as all five losses have come by a combined 20 points – nine of Troy's 10 losses this season have come by 10 points or less with seven coming by six points or less.

UT Arlington (12-2, 3-0) has won seven straight games and is currently ranked No. 8 in the latest College Insider's Mid-Major Top 25. UTA has wins over Memphis and Ohio State on its resume this year and has the nation's 15^th-best scoring margin (+15.4).

The Mavs are led on both ends by sophomore Kevin Hervey's 17.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Two others average in double figures for the Mavs, as Erick Neal adds 12.8 points per game, while Jalen Jones scores at a 10.4 per game clip; Neal is second in the league averaging 5.3 assists per game.

UTA rallied from a 13-point first half deficit at App State last Thursday to remain unbeaten in SBC play with a 71-67 victory. The Mavs lead the country with 45.7 rebounds per game and rank fourth nationally with 16.7 offensive rebounds per game. Additionally, they are 12th in the country in steals/game (8.9) and 13th in turnovers forced (17.1).

Following Thursday's game, Troy will host Texas State (7-5, 1-2) on Saturday at 4:15 p.m.

For more information on Troy men's basketball, follow the Trojans on Twitter and Instagram at @TroyMensHoops.

For more information on Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find the Trojans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat by searching for Troy Athletics.

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Players Mentioned

Jeremy Hollimon

BJ Miller

Daniel Peace

Wesley Person

Jordon Varnado

John Walton III