Troy Men Look to Build on Strong Second Half

STATESBORO, Georgia – The Troy men's basketball team heads to Georgia Southern on Saturday looking to build on its strong second half in Thursday's setback at Georgia State. Tipoff between the Trojans and Eagles is scheduled for 4 p.m. (CST) in Hanner Fieldhouse.

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

Troy (5-9, 0-3) scored 49 points in the second half on Thursday to rally from a 26-point halftime deficit at Georgia State. The Trojans comeback fell just short as the Panthers escaped with a 72-68 victory despite not hitting a field goal over the final 6:45 of the game.

Wesley Person led the Trojans with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. Person is fourth in the league averaging 17.6 points per game and leads the Sun Belt with 3.21 3-pointers per game.

Freshman Jordon Varnado failed to reach double-figures for just the second time this season as he finished with only four points against Georgia State. However, he still ranks seventh in the league averaging 16.4 points per game on the year.

The Trojans got some much needed scoring from senior forward John Walton III, who dropped in 16 points to go with seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals on Thursday. Walton has now scored in double figures in two of Troy's three league games.

Daniel Peace did another solid job of running the Troy offense as he tied a season high with six assists in addition to scoring six points and grabbing a pair of steals.

Saturday's game sets up to be an offense exhibition as Troy and Georgia Southern collectively average over 153 points and 16.8 made 3-pointers per game.

The Eagles (4-9, 0-3) enters Saturday contest having lost six of their last seven games following a 64-58 loss to South Alabama on Thursday night.

Freshman guard Tookie Brown leads Georgia Southern with 17.0 points and 3.5 assists per game, while fellow freshman Ike Smith is scoring at a 12.2 per game clip. The Eagles rank 17^th nationally with 14.4 offensive rebounds and have forced opponents into an average of 16.9 turnovers per game, the 15^th-best mark nationally.

Georgia Southern played in the Sun Belt Tournament championship game last season, but Troy handed the Eagles two of their six conference losses on the year. The Trojans won by four in Trojan Arena and handed the Eagles a three-point loss in Statesboro.

The Trojans return home for a pair of games following Saturday's contest. Troy will play host to UT Arlington on Thursday at 7:15 and Texas State 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

Daniel Peace

Wesley Person

Jordon Varnado

John Walton III