Troy Earns Key 83-76 Win Over Georgia Southern

Monday, January 30

Troy, Ala.

7 P.M.

Troy University

12-11, 4-5

Georgia Southern

14-8, 7-2

Georgia Southern

Troy

Troy Earns Key 83-76 Win Over Georgia Southern

1/30/2017 10:11:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score

By: Russ Schaffer

Box Score

TROY, Alabama – Georgia Southern made it more interesting than Troy would have liked, but in the end the Trojans held on for a 83-76 win on Monday night in Trojan Arena.

It looked like the Trojans (12-11, 4-5) may have been able to win going away leading by 22 with 12:12 to play. That would not be the case as Georgia Southern (14-8, 7-2) attempted to pull off the double-digit comeback on the road.

Wesley Person, who led Troy with 19 points fueled by four 3-pointers, drained a three while being fouled just before the buzzer went off to end the first half. He sank the free throw to give Troy the 38-32 advantage at the break.

Person then started the second half with another 3-pointer just 15 seconds in. That shot would spark a 23-9 run coming out of the break. The Eagles connected on just two field goals from the start of the half to the 12:22 mark.

From there, the script flipped. Georgia Southern, led by 20 points from Ike Smith, slowly began chipping away at the lead. The Eagles responded with a 31-11 run to cut the deficit to two with 4:03 remaining.

Alex Hicks, who fell just short of his first double-double after scoring nine and grabbing 10 rebounds, sank a free throw to get it back up to three. On the following possession, Georgia Southern grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed 3-pointer then got it to within one on a Mike Hughes layup.

Ultimately, that would be as close as it would get. After playing hero so many times before, Jeremy Hollimon did it again. He responded with a layup of his own to get it back up to three. The senior then hit two free throws after a turnover by Georgia Southern for a 77-72 lead with 2:08 remaining.

The next minute was a scoreless one as Georgia Southern had a turnover along the baseline. Person missed a 3-pointer, but rebounding iced the game as Hollimon grabbed the wary shot. Hollimon then missed, but that was followed by another offensive rebound by DeVon Walker, who was fouled and sank both free throws.

Time ran out on the Eagles as the Trojans knocked down four free throws in the final minute to come away with the home victory.

Quotable
"That was a hard fought win," head coach Phil Cunningham said. "We took that big lead then they got back into it. I wasn't surprised what happened tonight. I didn't want it to happen. I didn't think we played perfect against the way they came back, but that team is so capable of scoring. Just to hold on to get a win was critical."

Stat of the Game
In a game that had a combined 31 second-chance points, rebounding was key. After being outrebounded 33-29 against Georgia State, Troy won the battle on the glass tonight 42-32. That also gave the Trojans the 26-24 advantage in points in the paint. Alex Hicks had a career-high 10 rebounds, DeVon Walker added nine and Kevin Baker was just off his career-best with six.

Turning Point
After Mike Hughes layup cut Troy's lead to just one with 3:20 to go, it was anybody's guess which team would come out on top when the clock ran out. Georgia Southern's momentum looked like it would continue after Jeremy Hollimon's jumper on the following possession went out of bounds with what looked to be no time on the shot clock. After review, the officials gave the Trojans one second, which proved to be all that would be needed. Kevin Baker searched for an outlet before finding Hollimon, who streaked down the lane untouched. Hollimon took the pass and put in a layup off the glass to prevent Georgia Southern from having the chance to take the lead.

Noteworthy
• The win marked Troy's second win this season over a team ranked in the top-100 in RPI. Georgia Southern came into the game ranked No. 96 in RPI. Troy also beat UT Arlington at home when the Mavericks were ranked No. 43.

• Wesley Person has 23 3-pointers in his last four home games after logging 11 in the two games over the weekend.

• Jeremy Hollimon's streak of double-digit scoring games came to an end at 16 consecutive games. The senior fell just shy with eight points on 2-9 shooting.

Up Next
The Trojans will finish off the home-and-home series against South Alabama on Saturday in Trojan Arena. For more information on Troy men's basketball, follow the team on social media at @TroyMensHoops or visit TroyTrojans.com.