Troy Gives No. 11 Arkansas a Scare

Monday, November 28

Fayetteville, Ark.

7 p.m.

Troy University

6-2,0-0Sun Belt

Arkansas

6-1,0-0SEC

Troy

Arkansas

11/28/2022 10:20:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Troy men's basketball team put the nation on notice after going toe-to-toe with No. 11-ranked Arkansas on Monday night before falling short in the final five minutes to suffer the 74-61 loss in the Bud Walton Arena.

Despite their first road loss, the Trojans (6-2) still hold their best start since the 2002-03 season.

Nelson Phillips was deadly from deep, hitting six of his seven makes from behind the arc for 22 points. Zay Williams (11) joined Phillips in double figures as he moved to seventh in Troy program history for blocks in a career with his one rejection in the game.

Ricky Council IV erupted in the final six minutes, scoring 13 of his 27 points to push the Razorbacks (6-1) to the win. Makhi Mitchell and Anthony Black both scored 14 points from the starting lineup on a combined 11-of-16 from the field.

Fell Short
Troy battled back from down seven with 11:39 remaining to hold the slight 58-55 lead after Williams nailed the two-point shot outside the paint off his defensive rebound at the 13:07 mark.

Council IV followed William's make with an offensive explosion for the Razorbacks. The guard scored seven straight points for the four-point lead, 62-58, with 4:34 remaining.

The run continued for the Razorbacks as the No. 11-ranked team in the nation went on a 19-3 run to end the ball game, where Troy shot 1-of-8.

Phillips gave the Trojans some life with his fifth 3-pointer of the game to bring the Arkansas lead down to 11, but it wasn't enough as the Razorback survived, 74-61.

3-Point Assassins
Troy didn't skip a beat from behind the arc to open the ballgame, with 55 percent of the team's first-half points coming from deep.

Phillips started things off by giving Troy the lead out of the gates, 3-0, with a 3-point, make off the fastbreak opportunity just 0:50 into the game.

Both teams went back and forth, but the Trojans couldn't miss from deep as Phillips and Christyon Eugene responded to the Razorbacks with makes from behind the arc to hold the five-point advantage, 21-16, 11:31 into the first.

The Trojans continued to hold the momentum and the lead as Eugene nailed his second shot from the charity stripe with 0:02 remaining to head into the locker room with the 33-31 lead.

Hear From Scott Cross
"They made tough shots at the end. Ricky Council really carried them at the end, and some of the shots he hit were big-time. We knew we had to limit him, and we did that for the majority of the game until the end. He gave them life in the end. I'm so proud to be Troy's coach. These guys are so tough. They're so resilient. We are so short-handed right now. We finished the game with basically six guys, and they battled until the end. That's all you can ask for as a coach. I'm so intense with these guys because we are so tough, but I know we can be just a little bit tougher. We are so close to being great, and we just got to let it all out. Once we flip that switch, we will play with anyone in the country."

Tough Stats
• Phillips's scoring ability came solely from deep in the first half as the senior shot 4-of-9 from behind the arc for 12 points – finished with his third 20-point performance.
• Williams recorded his 87^th career block over Arkansas to move up to seventh in Troy program history for blocks in a career for both D-I and all-time.
• Eugene finished with 13 points off the bench on 5-of-10 shooting, marking his fifth game this season in double figures.
• Jackson Fields was the only Trojan to finish in plus territory when he was on the court, ending at plus-6 in his 12 minutes.

December Opener
Troy continues its road trip from Arkansas to Illinois when the team faces SIU-Edwardsville on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the First Community Arena.