Troy Falls to Georgia Southern

Thursday, January 17

Troy, Ala.

6 p.m.

Troy University

9-8, 2-3SBC

Georgia Southern

11-7, 3-2SBC

Georgia Southern

Troy

1/17/2019 9:04:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

Troy, Ala – Troy could not find a rhythm in the second half and dropped a tough 90-82 decision to Georgia Southern in Sun Belt Conference men's basketball action in Trojan Arena on Thursday night.

The Trojans (9-8, 2-3 SBC) shot 48.4 percent (31-of-64) from the field in the game but the Eagles (11-7, 3-2 SBC) shot a blistering 70.4 percent (19-of-27) from the field and 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from behind the arc in the second half to hold off Troy.

Senior Jordon Varnado posted his fifth double double in 32 points, ties his career high, and 10 rebounds. Varnado added two assists, a block and a steal to his stat line.

Sophomore Darian Adams joined Varnado in double figures with 12 points alongside four rebounds, three assists and a steal. Seniors Alex Hicks and BJ Miller and freshman KJ Simon all tallied nine points in the game.

Troy went into halftime holding a tight 44-43 lead after an offensive battle between Georgia Southern's Tookie Brown and Varnado, as they both posted 13 first half points.

Coming out of the break, Troy was able to increase its lead to three with a bucket from Miller then after a quick comeback from the Eagles, the Trojans went up by three again (50-47) with 17:34 remaining.

The Trojans battled with Georgia Southern over the next 2:33 before the Eagles were able to capture a 54-51 lead which they would not let up. Brown led Georgia Southern with 19 points while six other Eagles scored in double figures.

QUOTING COACH CUNNINGHAM
"We got down early in the first half then stormed back and I was really proud of that. We had a couple of freshmen in KJ Simon and Zay Williams who really energized us, and we were able to take the lead right before half."

"We came out in the second half and never got into any kind of flow on either side of the ball and Georgia Southern got in a great rhythm offensively. Then they went into a 1-3-1 and we really struggled beating it."

QUICK HITS
- Simon's nine points tied his career high while his three steals marked his personal best
- Varnado has scored 26 or more points in his last five out of six games dating back to the UAB game where he set his career high in the 74-73 win
- Troy outrebounded the Eagles 34 to 29 including 15 offensive boards to Georgia Southern's six

UP NEXT
The Trojans will host top-seeded Georgia State on Saturday at 2 p.m. with the game broadcast live on ESPN+.