Hicks, Troy Cruise to 95-60 Season Opening Victory

Tuesday, November 6

Troy, Ala.

7 p.m.

Troy University

1-0

Fort Valley State

0-1

Ft. Valley State

Troy

Hicks, Troy Cruise to 95-60 Season Opening Victory

11/6/2018 9:58:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score Photo Gallery Box Score (PDF)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

Troy, Ala. – Senior Alex Hicks scored a game-high 19 points, leading Troy to a dominant 95-60 victory over Fort Valley State in non-conference men's basketball action at Trojan Arena on Tuesday night.

The Trojans (1-0) shot 51.6 percent (32-of-62) from the field en route to winning their sixth consecutive home season-opener and their third consecutive under head coach Phil Cunningham's tenure.

Hicks shot 8-of-11 from the field including going a perfect 2-of-2 from behind the arc alongside five rebounds and one steal. Sophomore Javan Johnson followed behind Hicks, tying his career-high in 18 points, going 5-of-6 from the three-point line including a perfect 3-of-3 in the second half from behind the arc.

Freshman Zay Williams joined the two in double-digit scoring, turning in an 11-point performance off the bench, with seven points coming at the charity stripe, adding four rebounds and a game-high three blocks.

Troy started the game off slow as it missed its first four field goals but found a rhythm when senior Jordon Varnado stole the ball and cruised in for the easy layup to give Troy a 6-5 lead with 15:54 remaining in the first. The Trojans held the Panthers to just 29.4 percent from the field (5-of-17) in the first, cruising to a 41-21 lead into the break.

In the second half Troy caught fire from behind the arc, knocking down 8-of-16 threes with sophomore Malik Burnett and Johnson combining for five. Burnett helped the second half push by scoring all of his eight points in the half on a perfect 3-of-3 from the field. In just 4:05 into the second half, Troy increased its lead to 29 (52-23) after shooting 4-of-5 from the field and never looked back, holding on to its momentum to earn the 95-60 victory.

Quoting Coach Cunningham
"I saw somethings tonight that really pleases us as a coaching staff," Cunningham said. "There are somethings we need to work on for sure early in the year. Anytime you can get a win, we will take it. Saw some good individual performances and really pleased in the second half with our young guys and new guys. They came in and really reenergized us and pushed us out to a big lead to finish them off."

Quick Hits
- Troy bench scored 42 points on the night, led by freshmen duo Zay Williams and KJ Simon who combined for 20 points
- The Trojans posted 54 points in the second half. The last time Troy scored over 50 points in a half was on Nov. 16, 2017 against Brewton-Parker (60, second half)
- Troy tallied 22 assists on 32 field goals made, marking the first time the Trojans secured 20-plus assists in a game since the team dropped 20 dimes against Delaware State on Nov. 27, 2017.
- The 35-point victory ties the highest margin of victory posted by Troy in Trojan Arena (106-71 vs. Brewton-Parker, Nov. 16, 2017)

Up Next
Troy will travel to St. Louis, Mo., to take on the St. Louis Billikens in the Barclays Center Classic on Saturday, Nov. 10. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.