Men’s Basketball Dominates Second Half to Defeat Montana in Zootown Classic Finale

Saturday, November 19

Missoula, Mont.

8:30 p.m.

Troy University

5-1,0-0Sun Belt

Montana

2-3,0-0Big Sky

Troy

Montana

Men’s Basketball Dominates Second Half to Defeat Montana in Zootown Classic Finale

11/20/2022 1:27:00 AM | Basketball (M)

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

MISSOULA, Mont. – The Troy men's basketball hits 18-of-19 free throws in the second half to propel them back into the win column, 73-62, over Montana at the Dahlberg Arena on Saturday.

In the Zootown Classic finale, the Trojans (5-1) continue their best start since the 2003-04 season while going 2-1 to win the tournament over St. Thomas and Montana due to point differential.

Four different Trojans scored in double figures en route to the victory, with Nelson Phillips leading the charge with 14 points to his name. Duke Miles joined him in the scoring display with 10 points off the bench. Both players became members of the Zootown Classic All-Tournament team.

Aanen Moody did his part for the Grizzlies (2-3), scoring 16 points, with eight coming at the charity stripe. Josh Bannan helped with eight points, eight rebounds and six assists to boost the team's performance.

Intense Out of the Locker Room
Troy found itself down, leaving the locker room for the second half, 32-26. However, Phillips erupted in the opening two minutes with eight straight points in the first two minutes to pull the score to 38-34.

Troy kept the pressure going as Kieffer Punter took over for Phillips, scoring five straight points of his own. Punter fought through the defense for the and-one with 14:20 remaining and followed it with two more free throws to tie the ballgame, 44-44, at the 6:09 mark.

Miles kept the momentum going to give Troy its first lead since the opening five minutes, 47-44. First, Miles took it to the paint, drawing the contact for the three-point opportunity just 11 seconds later.

The Trojans never gave up the lead from there, with the Grizzlies tying the game up once at the 10:38 mark after Moody nailed one from deep, 52-52.

Zay Williams responded with back-to-back second-chance points in the paint, followed by two free throws from Christyon Eugene and Punter. At the 7:10 mark, Troy had the eight-point lead after an 8-0 run.

Despite Dischon Thomas bringing Montana back to within two possession, 60-55, with 6:17 remaining, Troy kept pushing the lead upward.

Troy consistently went to the free-throw line 10 times in the final six minutes to convert nine.

Montana brought it back to within six points with two minutes remaining until Miles nailed the deep two-point dagger to end a brief 5-0 run.

From there, Eugene, Punter and Miles combined to go 5-of-6 from the line to finish off the Grizzlies in the program's first meeting, 73-62.

Finale Thoughts from Scott Cross
"I'm just super proud of our guys. What an amazing second half for us. We played as good of defense as we have all year long. These guys continue to fight through adversity. The way we lost yesterday and to be down in the first half and still to be totally dominant in the second half defensively says a lot about our guys. I'm just really, really proud of them. I told them we are only down six at the half. They just came out in the second half, and Nelson dunked it and then hit a three, and Duke Miles helped take it from there, hitting huge shots down the stretch. To be 5-1 is a great feeling and a great place to be in."

Game Three Numbers
• Punter was elite from the free-throw line, going a perfect 7-of-7 at the charity stripe. When he was on the floor, the senior was game-high plus-19.
• Troy was elite at the free-throw line, getting sent to the line 25 times for 21 makes. In the final six minutes, the Trojans made nine.
• Phillips and Miles both earned Zootown Classic All-Tournament team. Phillips averaged 11 points, and Miles had 14.
• Troy shifted from threes to a team on a mission in the paint with only four made threes but accounting for 44 points in the paint.

Returning to Central Time
After spending five days in Montana, Troy returns home to the central time zone in Trojan Arena for a date with Southern-New Orleans on Tuesday at 6 p.m.