Troy Rallies From 19 Down To Upend Georgia State 68-66

Sunday, December 31

Troy, Ala.

3:15 p.m.

Troy University

7-8, 1-1SBC

Georgia State

9-6, 0-2SBC

Georgia State

Troy

Troy Rallies From 19 Down To Upend Georgia State 68-66

12/31/2017 7:22:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score

By: Russ Schaffer

Box Score (PDF)

TROY, Ala. – Troy went down by as much as 19 in the second half on Sunday, but the deficit was not large enough as the Trojans rallied all the way back to stun Georgia State 68-66 to earn the first Sun Belt win of the year.

After Jordon Varnado tied it up at 66 on a layup under the basket with 38 seconds to play, Troy (7-8, 1-1) forced D'Marcus Simonds into taking a 3-pointer that was off the mark to get the ball back with 8.4 seconds left.

B.J. Miller did all the work himself as the guard took the inbound pass and raced to the basket. He was fouled with four seconds to play and calmly sank both free throws in the one-and-one opportunity.

It was Miller's dunk with 5:07 left to play that gave Troy a 3-point lead and blew the roof off the New Year's Eve crowd at Trojan Arena. His one-handed slam capped a 22-9 run the Trojans went on to gain the lead for the first time.

It wasn't the start Troy hoped to get off on after shooting just 33.3 percent (9-27) in the first half en route to 24 points. That total was nearly doubled as the Trojans poured in 44 in the second half thanks to 87.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line (14-16) and three key 3-pointers from Juan Davis, Jr.

QUOTABLE
"It's one of the most unlikely wins I've ever been a part of," head coach Phil Cunningham said. "Not only were they playing so good, we were playing so poorly. Early in the second half it was looking pretty dismal, but the guys didn't give up.

"They were positive in the huddle and nobody hung their heads. They fought back and we got a huge win that we needed."

UP NEXT
The first road trip of the season will see Troy heading west to take on UT Arlington on Thursday.

NOTEWORTHY
• Alex Hicks had a dominant afternoon with 14 points and 14 rebounds to mark his fifth double-double of the year.

• Hicks was part of a Troy group that won the rebounding margin 46-26 and

• Jordon Varnado's second game back from injury saw him score 15 points on 6-8 shooting off the bench.

For more information on Troy men's basketball visit TroyTrojans.com or follow the team on social media at @TroyMensHoops.