Troy Advances To Semifinals with 90-70 Victory Over Georgia Southern

Friday, March 10

New Orleans, La.

7:30 PM

Troy University

20-14

Georgia Southern

18-14

Troy

Georgia Southern

Troy Advances To Semifinals with 90-70 Victory Over Georgia Southern

3/10/2017 10:46:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score

By: Russ Schaffer

Box Score

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana – Troy burst out of the gate against Georgia Southern on Friday and never looked back en route to a dominating 90-70 win to send the Trojans to the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals.

The victory marks the first time the Trojans (20-14) will make an appearance in the semifinals since Troy made the championship game in 2010. That season was also the last time in which the Trojans notched 20 victories on the year.

It was a monstrous game for Wesley Person as the guard had 26 points on 7-8 3-point shooting. The seven 3-pointers were just two shy of the Sun Belt record of nine set by John Knox of Jacksonville in the 1997 tournament.

Person was part of an offensive explosion in the first half that saw the Trojans enter the break up 44-26 thanks to 18 points and five threes from the junior. The last time Georgia Southern (18-14) led was 8-5 on a Tookie Brown layup at the 15:38 mark of the first half.

That layup was followed by a 3-pointer by Person just 17 seconds later that tied things up. The Trojans ended up going on a 36-18 run after the two were tied to go into the break with the 18-point lead.

There would be no let up in the second half as Person and Walker both knocked down 3-pointers just a minute and a half into the final 20 minutes. Overshadowed by the offensive efficiency was Troy's firm defense that held Georgia Southern to 34.5 percent shooting in the first half.

While Person dominated the highlight reel with his near-perfect night from deep, Jordon Varnado added just as much with 26 points himself. The sophomore made his living around the basket and had a wide-open dunk in the second half to go 9-12 from the field.

Quotable
"We knew our guys were playing well and shooting the ball well, but I didn't see this coming," head coach Phil Cunningham said. "Georgia Southern has been one of the best teams in the league all year long. We were really good today. We're in a really good rhythm offensively right now and we played well defensively tonight."

Stat of the Game?
Jeremy Hollimon, Jordon Varnado and Wesley Person combined for 62 points in the first round win against Appalachian State. That theme stayed the same tonight as the trio topped that number with a combined 69 points against Georgia Southern. Varnado and Person had an equal 26 while Hollimon chipped in 17 points on 5-8 shooting off the bench.

Turning Point
After the score was tied with 15:21 left in the first half, Troy had a three-minute stretch that foreshadowed what was to come for the rest of the game. Wesley Person and Jordon Varnado combined for three 3-pointers in a span 1:21 to boost Troy's lead to six. That was followed by another Person 3-pointer and a Peace layup to just one basket by Georgia Southern. A floater by Alex Hicks got the lead to 10 as Troy led by double-digits for all but 4:08 for the rest of the game.

For the Fans
Fulton Alley (600 Fulton St., New Orleans, LA) will serve as headquarters for all Troy games (men's and women's). On Saturday, fans are invited to gather from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and ride the free shuttle to Lakefront Arena for the men's game at 2 p.m. The shuttle will return to send off the women's team at the squad's hotel (Royal Saint Charles) before departing to the arena at 6 p.m.

Noteworthy?
• Troy has now recorded back-to-back 20-point wins in postseason play for the first time in program history.

• Wesley Person, Jordon Varnado and Jeremy Hollimon combined to go 12-14 from 3-point range.

• The Trojans had 19 assists compared to just nine by the Eagles.

• Troy's 63.6 percent from 3-point range (14-22) tied a Sun Belt tournament record set by UAB in 1987.
?
Up Next?
Troy will face Georgia State in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. Troy fans in the area can visit Fulton Alley three hours prior to the game for a tailgate with other Trojan faithful. A shuttle will take attendees to the game one hour before tipoff. For more information on Troy men's basketball, follow the team on social media at @TroyMensHoops or visit TroyTrojans.com.