Troy University Athletics
Friday, January 29
Troy, Ala.
6 p.m.
Troy University
vs
Appalachian State
Trojans Finally Return Home for Weekend Series with First-Place App State
1/28/2021 3:14:00 PM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. – For the first time in 31 days, the Troy men's basketball program will play at beautiful Trojan Arena this Friday and Saturday against App State.
Tip-off Friday is set for 6 p.m. with the weekend series finale scheduled for a 4 p.m. tip. The Trojans return home for their first Sun Belt Conference home game of the season, and the first home game since Dec. 28 against Carver College.
This weekend's matchups against the Mountaineers will serve as the Trojans Suits and Sneakers weekend. Head coach Scott Cross and his staff will be wearing Adidas UltraBoost sneakers in support of the NABC Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers initiative. Troy and App State split the previous two meetings in Boone back on Jan. 1 and 2.
Following the weekend series with the Mountaineers, the Trojans five-game homestand continues Tuesday night with a mid-week contest against Spring Hill College. Tip-off from Trojan Arena is set for 6 p.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW (Friday):
TROY (6-9 Overall, 1-5 Sun Belt) vs. App State (12-5 Overall, 6-2Sun Belt)
Date: Jan. 29, 2021
Location: Troy, Ala. (Trojan Arena)
Time: 6 p.m.
Live Video: Watch
Stats: Stats
Listen: Listen
HOW TO FOLLOW (Saturday):
TROY (6-9 Overall, 1-5 Sun Belt) vs. App State (12-5 Overall, 6-2Sun Belt)
Date: Jan. 30, 2021
Location: Troy, Ala. (Trojan Arena)
Time: 4 p.m.
Live Video: Watch
Stats: Stats
Listen: Listen
THE WEEK THAT WAS (Troy- 6-9, 1-5 Sun Belt):
Despite holding a pair of 14-point leads, and leading by at least seven at the half in both contest, the Trojans were swept last weekend at Coastal Carolina to close out their six-game Sun Belt road trip. The trip, which began in Boone at the beginning of the month, also took the Trojans to Statesboro for a pair of contests with the Eagles.
On Friday night, the Trojans raced out to an early 13-0 lead but Coastal Carolina quickly answered back with a 15-3 run to cut the Trojans advantage to 33-31 with 3:26 to play. After Coastal tied the contest at 35 with 2:14 left in the opening half, Troy answered with an 8-1 run to close the half up 43-36. After senior Nick Stampley hit a triple to put the Trojans up 10 with 19:46 to play but Coastal Carolina and Davonte' Jones used a 13-5 run to cut he Trojans lead to 51-49. Kieffer Punter hit a three pointer to give the Trojans a 54-49 lead, but a 20-8 run to take a 69-62 lead with 8:11 to play.
Led by Kam Woods and Zay Williams the Trojans were able to score 13 of the next 20 to cut the Coastal lead to just 76-75, but Jones' scored 10 of the next 12 for the Chants to give them a decisive 88-78 advantage that the Trojans couldn't overcome. In the contest Woods scored 21 points while Williams added 16 points and 12 rebounds. Kieffer Punter contributed a career-best 14 points, five rebounds and four assists.
On Saturday, the Trojans raced out to a 16-2 lead early on. After four straight triples from Coastal cut the Troy lead to 17-14, the Trojans used a 17-6 outburst to take a 34-20 lead with 2:41 to play in the period. CCU scored five of the next seven to cut the Troy lead to 11 at the break.
Following the halftime break, the Chanticleers were able to score 13 of the next 20 to cut the Troy lead to just 41-36 at the under-16 media timeout. Coastal extended its run to 24-9 to take a 47-43 lead with 12:54 to play.
Woods hit a pair of free throws to cut the CCU lead to just 47-45, but Coastal scored the next six to take a 53-45 lead with 10:28 to play. Troy scored six of the next eight to cut the Coastal lead to 55-51 but a foul call on Duke Miles coupled with a pair of technical fouls administered to Cross, gave CCU a 60-51 lead with 4:57 to play.
Led by Woods, Troy scored seven of the next nine points over the next 3:17 of game action, cutting the CCU lead to just 61-58. On the ensuing Chants, possession Ebrima Dibba hit a layup to extend the Coastal advantage to 63-58.
One last triple from Woods brought Troy to within two (63-61), but Coastal was ultimately able to hold on for a 70-61 win.
THE WEEK THAT WAS (APP STATE- 12-5, 6-2 Sun Belt):
The App State Mountaineers enter the weekend sitting atop the Sun Belt East standings with a record of 6-2. The Mountaineers enter the weekend have played six of eight at the Holmes Convocation Center. Last weekend, App State finished out a weekend sweep of Georgia State defeating the Panthers 80-71 on Friday and 74-61 on Saturday. In Friday's win, App State shot an impressive 26-of-50 from the field and hit 10 triples. Senior Justin Forrest led the way for App scoring a game-high 23 points. The guard was joined in double-figured by Adrian Delph (17 points), Michael Almonacy (13 points) and Donovan Gregory (12 points). After shooting just four free throws in the first period, the Mountaineers hit 15-of-22 attempts in the second half to hold on for the victory.
On Saturday, James Lewis Jr. contributed 22 points, 14 rebounds and three steals to power the Mountaineers past Georgia State. Lewis was joined in double-figures by Donovan (13 points), Forrest (13) and Almonacy (13). Despite hitting just one triple in the second half, the Mountaineers did hold on for a 74-61 victory.
STORYLINES:
HOME COOKIN'
The Troy Trojans return to Trojan Arena Friday night when Appalachian State visits Trojan Arena. The matchup will be Troy's first home game since Dec. 28 against Carver College. The Trojans are a perfect 3-0 this season at home. Following the weekend series with the Mountaineers, the Trojans five-game homestand continues on Tuesday night against the Spring Hill College Badgers (6 p.m.), before the Georgia Southern Eagles visit for a two-game series next Friday (6 p.m.) and Saturday (4 p.m.).
KEVO'S BACK?
Sophomore Jakevan Leftridge is set to return to the lineup this weekend after missing the Trojans last 14 games. Leftridge suffered a knee injury in practice back in December and last played Nov. 28 against UNCW. The sophomore was limited to just 13 games a season ago due to an ankle injury and a possible redshirt. The Trojans are 6-9 when Leftridge plays and just 9-22 when he doesn't.
INTO THE WOODS
Freshman Kam Woods has been sensational so far this season. The Bessemer, Ala. product currently leads the 2020-21 Trojans roster in points (12.4), 3-pointers made (24) and total points scored (186). The freshman currently leads the Sun Belt in points among freshman and has scored at least 20 points in back-to-back games and three of his last four. Wood has four total 20 point games.
WELCOME BACK
Short-handed for a large portion of last weekend series, three Trojans returned to action Friday night. After missing Saturday's contest and the large portion of Friday's game, senior Nick Stampley returned to the lineup, scoring eight points to go along with six rebounds and four assists. After missing last weekend as well, freshmen Duke Miles and Miles Mendes also returned to action.
CHANGES TO THE SCHEDULE
Troy has made three changes to its 2020-21 schedule, Troy Athletics, Scott Cross and the Sun Belt Conference announced this week. Troy's Jan. 8 home game against Georgia State has been moved to Feb. 16, and the originally scheduled Jan. 9 game has been CANCELED. In order to get 25 games back on the schedule, the Trojans have added a game on Tuesday against Spring Hill College at Trojan Arena. Tip-off from Trojan Arena is set for 6 p.m.
ZAY DAY!
Junior Zay Williams recorded another strong performance Friday night scoring 16 points to go with 12 rebounds. The double-double was his third this season, and his fourth career. Williams followed up his strong performance Friday night with another strong performance on Saturday, scoring 8 points and tying his career best rebound output (13). The forward is averaging 12.0 points and 8.3 rebound overall. The 8.3 rebounds are the seventh most in the Sun Belt this season, and his 5.9 defensive rebounds per game are the fourth most in the SBC.
ROARING WATERS
Senior Khalyl Waters continues to impress this season. The combo guard is averaging 8.5 points a game and is shooting an impressive 48-of-53 (90.6%) percent from the line. His 90.6 percent mark is currently ranked ninth in the entire NCAA (min. 40 attempts). Waters has recorded at least 20 points twice this season. Waters scored a career-best 21 against Samford on Dec. 16. Waters scored 12 points, grabbed nine boards and had a career-best four steals last night.
DEFENSE HAS LED TO WINS
The Trojans were 7-1 last season when they held teams to 65 points or fewer. Troy's lone loss when holding a team below that mark was at Texas A&M (56-52, loss). The Trojans were also 8-1 last season when holding an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting. Wednesday's win over Samford is the first time that Troy won when a team shot better than 40 percent from the field and scored more than 65 (1-3). So far this season Troy is 5-0 when holding a team below 65 points and 5-0 when holding teams to 40 percent shooting or less.
REP THE 'T'
Head coach Scott Cross preaches the mantra that the toughest team always wins. So far this season Troy has taken 41 total charges in 15 games. The Trojans took three charges last night and have taken at least two charges in every game except the UNCW game where they failed to take one and last night. Troy took 80 charges in 31 ga
Tip-off Friday is set for 6 p.m. with the weekend series finale scheduled for a 4 p.m. tip. The Trojans return home for their first Sun Belt Conference home game of the season, and the first home game since Dec. 28 against Carver College.
This weekend's matchups against the Mountaineers will serve as the Trojans Suits and Sneakers weekend. Head coach Scott Cross and his staff will be wearing Adidas UltraBoost sneakers in support of the NABC Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers initiative. Troy and App State split the previous two meetings in Boone back on Jan. 1 and 2.
Following the weekend series with the Mountaineers, the Trojans five-game homestand continues Tuesday night with a mid-week contest against Spring Hill College. Tip-off from Trojan Arena is set for 6 p.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW (Friday):
TROY (6-9 Overall, 1-5 Sun Belt) vs. App State (12-5 Overall, 6-2Sun Belt)
Date: Jan. 29, 2021
Location: Troy, Ala. (Trojan Arena)
Time: 6 p.m.
Live Video: Watch
Stats: Stats
Listen: Listen
HOW TO FOLLOW (Saturday):
TROY (6-9 Overall, 1-5 Sun Belt) vs. App State (12-5 Overall, 6-2Sun Belt)
Date: Jan. 30, 2021
Location: Troy, Ala. (Trojan Arena)
Time: 4 p.m.
Live Video: Watch
Stats: Stats
Listen: Listen
THE WEEK THAT WAS (Troy- 6-9, 1-5 Sun Belt):
Despite holding a pair of 14-point leads, and leading by at least seven at the half in both contest, the Trojans were swept last weekend at Coastal Carolina to close out their six-game Sun Belt road trip. The trip, which began in Boone at the beginning of the month, also took the Trojans to Statesboro for a pair of contests with the Eagles.
On Friday night, the Trojans raced out to an early 13-0 lead but Coastal Carolina quickly answered back with a 15-3 run to cut the Trojans advantage to 33-31 with 3:26 to play. After Coastal tied the contest at 35 with 2:14 left in the opening half, Troy answered with an 8-1 run to close the half up 43-36. After senior Nick Stampley hit a triple to put the Trojans up 10 with 19:46 to play but Coastal Carolina and Davonte' Jones used a 13-5 run to cut he Trojans lead to 51-49. Kieffer Punter hit a three pointer to give the Trojans a 54-49 lead, but a 20-8 run to take a 69-62 lead with 8:11 to play.
Led by Kam Woods and Zay Williams the Trojans were able to score 13 of the next 20 to cut the Coastal lead to just 76-75, but Jones' scored 10 of the next 12 for the Chants to give them a decisive 88-78 advantage that the Trojans couldn't overcome. In the contest Woods scored 21 points while Williams added 16 points and 12 rebounds. Kieffer Punter contributed a career-best 14 points, five rebounds and four assists.
On Saturday, the Trojans raced out to a 16-2 lead early on. After four straight triples from Coastal cut the Troy lead to 17-14, the Trojans used a 17-6 outburst to take a 34-20 lead with 2:41 to play in the period. CCU scored five of the next seven to cut the Troy lead to 11 at the break.
Following the halftime break, the Chanticleers were able to score 13 of the next 20 to cut the Troy lead to just 41-36 at the under-16 media timeout. Coastal extended its run to 24-9 to take a 47-43 lead with 12:54 to play.
Woods hit a pair of free throws to cut the CCU lead to just 47-45, but Coastal scored the next six to take a 53-45 lead with 10:28 to play. Troy scored six of the next eight to cut the Coastal lead to 55-51 but a foul call on Duke Miles coupled with a pair of technical fouls administered to Cross, gave CCU a 60-51 lead with 4:57 to play.
Led by Woods, Troy scored seven of the next nine points over the next 3:17 of game action, cutting the CCU lead to just 61-58. On the ensuing Chants, possession Ebrima Dibba hit a layup to extend the Coastal advantage to 63-58.
One last triple from Woods brought Troy to within two (63-61), but Coastal was ultimately able to hold on for a 70-61 win.
THE WEEK THAT WAS (APP STATE- 12-5, 6-2 Sun Belt):
The App State Mountaineers enter the weekend sitting atop the Sun Belt East standings with a record of 6-2. The Mountaineers enter the weekend have played six of eight at the Holmes Convocation Center. Last weekend, App State finished out a weekend sweep of Georgia State defeating the Panthers 80-71 on Friday and 74-61 on Saturday. In Friday's win, App State shot an impressive 26-of-50 from the field and hit 10 triples. Senior Justin Forrest led the way for App scoring a game-high 23 points. The guard was joined in double-figured by Adrian Delph (17 points), Michael Almonacy (13 points) and Donovan Gregory (12 points). After shooting just four free throws in the first period, the Mountaineers hit 15-of-22 attempts in the second half to hold on for the victory.
On Saturday, James Lewis Jr. contributed 22 points, 14 rebounds and three steals to power the Mountaineers past Georgia State. Lewis was joined in double-figures by Donovan (13 points), Forrest (13) and Almonacy (13). Despite hitting just one triple in the second half, the Mountaineers did hold on for a 74-61 victory.
STORYLINES:
HOME COOKIN'
The Troy Trojans return to Trojan Arena Friday night when Appalachian State visits Trojan Arena. The matchup will be Troy's first home game since Dec. 28 against Carver College. The Trojans are a perfect 3-0 this season at home. Following the weekend series with the Mountaineers, the Trojans five-game homestand continues on Tuesday night against the Spring Hill College Badgers (6 p.m.), before the Georgia Southern Eagles visit for a two-game series next Friday (6 p.m.) and Saturday (4 p.m.).
KEVO'S BACK?
Sophomore Jakevan Leftridge is set to return to the lineup this weekend after missing the Trojans last 14 games. Leftridge suffered a knee injury in practice back in December and last played Nov. 28 against UNCW. The sophomore was limited to just 13 games a season ago due to an ankle injury and a possible redshirt. The Trojans are 6-9 when Leftridge plays and just 9-22 when he doesn't.
INTO THE WOODS
Freshman Kam Woods has been sensational so far this season. The Bessemer, Ala. product currently leads the 2020-21 Trojans roster in points (12.4), 3-pointers made (24) and total points scored (186). The freshman currently leads the Sun Belt in points among freshman and has scored at least 20 points in back-to-back games and three of his last four. Wood has four total 20 point games.
WELCOME BACK
Short-handed for a large portion of last weekend series, three Trojans returned to action Friday night. After missing Saturday's contest and the large portion of Friday's game, senior Nick Stampley returned to the lineup, scoring eight points to go along with six rebounds and four assists. After missing last weekend as well, freshmen Duke Miles and Miles Mendes also returned to action.
CHANGES TO THE SCHEDULE
Troy has made three changes to its 2020-21 schedule, Troy Athletics, Scott Cross and the Sun Belt Conference announced this week. Troy's Jan. 8 home game against Georgia State has been moved to Feb. 16, and the originally scheduled Jan. 9 game has been CANCELED. In order to get 25 games back on the schedule, the Trojans have added a game on Tuesday against Spring Hill College at Trojan Arena. Tip-off from Trojan Arena is set for 6 p.m.
ZAY DAY!
Junior Zay Williams recorded another strong performance Friday night scoring 16 points to go with 12 rebounds. The double-double was his third this season, and his fourth career. Williams followed up his strong performance Friday night with another strong performance on Saturday, scoring 8 points and tying his career best rebound output (13). The forward is averaging 12.0 points and 8.3 rebound overall. The 8.3 rebounds are the seventh most in the Sun Belt this season, and his 5.9 defensive rebounds per game are the fourth most in the SBC.
ROARING WATERS
Senior Khalyl Waters continues to impress this season. The combo guard is averaging 8.5 points a game and is shooting an impressive 48-of-53 (90.6%) percent from the line. His 90.6 percent mark is currently ranked ninth in the entire NCAA (min. 40 attempts). Waters has recorded at least 20 points twice this season. Waters scored a career-best 21 against Samford on Dec. 16. Waters scored 12 points, grabbed nine boards and had a career-best four steals last night.
DEFENSE HAS LED TO WINS
The Trojans were 7-1 last season when they held teams to 65 points or fewer. Troy's lone loss when holding a team below that mark was at Texas A&M (56-52, loss). The Trojans were also 8-1 last season when holding an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting. Wednesday's win over Samford is the first time that Troy won when a team shot better than 40 percent from the field and scored more than 65 (1-3). So far this season Troy is 5-0 when holding a team below 65 points and 5-0 when holding teams to 40 percent shooting or less.
REP THE 'T'
Head coach Scott Cross preaches the mantra that the toughest team always wins. So far this season Troy has taken 41 total charges in 15 games. The Trojans took three charges last night and have taken at least two charges in every game except the UNCW game where they failed to take one and last night. Troy took 80 charges in 31 ga
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