Second Half Surge Propels Troy To 83-70 Win At Georgia State

Thursday, March 1

Atlanta, Ga.

6:15 P.M.

Troy University

15-15, 9-8SBC

Georgia State

20-10, 11-6SBC

TROY

Georgia State

Second Half Surge Propels Troy To 83-70 Win At Georgia State

3/1/2018 9:02:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score

By: Russ Schaffer

Box Score (PDF)

ATLANTA, Ga. – Troy trailed by four at the break against Georgia State on Thursday, but the Trojans exploded out of the gate in the second half en route to a crucial 83-70 victory.

Just over two minutes into the final frame, Javan Johnson hit a contested 3-pointer while being fouled. He hit the free throw, which was the start of a 14-3 run the Trojans (15-15, 9-8) went on in the first eight minutes to silent the home crowd.

Georgia State (20-10, 11-6) seemingly had no answer to the dynamic offensive threat the Trojans employed as Jordon Varnado bullied his way to 26 points and eight rebounds while Kevin Baker added 17 off the bench fueled by five 3-pointers.

A three by Malik Benlevi cut Troy's lead to seven with 9:21 left to play, but the Trojans responded just a minute later with two free throws by Alex Hicks to get it back up to 10 as the Trojans kept a double-digit lead for the rest of regulation.

The free-throw line proved to be the differential on the night as the Trojans pounded the paint to consistently draw fouls. Wesley Person hit six of eight free throws as Troy shot 80.8 percent (21-26) while Georgia State was just 8-11 (72.7 percent).

QUOTABLE
"It was good players making plays tonight," head coach Phil Cunningham said. "There aren't a whole lot of tricks you can do against zone; you have to spread out and make plays.

"B.J. Miller really controlled the tempo. He had poise and didn't get into foul trouble. We went at them inside and Jordon (Varnado) and Alex (Hicks) really played well. Kevin Baker had some big threes, too. They played ball tonight."

UP NEXT
The regular season finale will be Saturday at Georgia Southern before Troy heads out to the Sun Belt Tournament from March 7-11.

NOTEWORTHY
• The win marked the fourth win out of the past five against Georgia State including Troy's win over the Panthers in last year's Sun Belt Tournament semifinals.

• Alex Hicks recorded his third-straight double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

• It was just the second conference loss Georgia State has had at home this season.

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