Troy University Athletics
Saturday, December 31
San Marcos, Texas
4 p.m.
Troy University
at
Texas State
Troy Celebrates the Conclusion of 2022 at Texas State
12/30/2022 3:04:00 PM | Basketball (M)
SAN MARCOS, Texas – For the Troy men's basketball team, Saturday afternoon in Bobcat Stadium will be a chance to close out 2022 on top against the defending regular season champions, Texas State.
The Trojans (8-6, 0-1 SBC) battle the Bobcats (7-7, 0-1 SBC) at 4 p.m., with both teams searching for their first conference win. Troy hasn't started 0-2 in conference play since 2016-17.
Both teams grabbed a game in last year's series, with the home team falling in both. The road team has won four consecutive games in the series. In the overall series, Texas State holds the 9-5 advantage.
Game Information
Location: San Marcos, Texas – Bobcat Stadium
The Matchup: Troy (8-6, 0-1 SBC) vs. Texas State (7-7, 0-1 SBC)
When: Saturday, Dec. 31 – 4 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Troy Sports Radio Network
Live Stats: TroyStats.com
Dropped Game One
The opening half against Southern Miss saw both teams combine for the lowest-scoring half for Troy all season (49).
The Golden Eagles then jumped out to a 10-2 run, led by their leading scorers Felipe Haase and Austin Crowley, to extend the lead to double-digits, 36-25, with 16:27 left.
Fast forward to 2:24 remaining, Kieffer Punter breathed life into the Trojans, drilling a 3-pointer to cut the USM lead to seven, 57-50.
Troy continued to turn up the offense in transition, with Christian Turner taking the pass from Punter for the fastbreak bucket to trim the deficit to five, 57-52, at the 19:03 mark.
Despite efforts from Zay Williams and Punter, USM shot 7-of-10 from the charity stripe to hold off the Trojans, 64-60.
All SBC All the Time
Texas State is coming off a regular-season championship by opening the year at 7-7 after losing its conference opener to UL-Monroe, 57-53. The Bobcats allowed ULM to have 31 shots at the charity stripe with 23 makes, resulting in the loss.
Last season, Troy ventured to San Marcos to close out 2021 with a 78-63 victory to open conference play. The Trojans shot 54.7 percent while limiting the Bobcats to 37.5 for the win. Williams helped in the victory, scoring 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
Mason Harrell continues to dominate the Sun Belt with his scoring ability. Through 14 games, the fifth year sits fourth in the conference, scoring 18 points per game. The guard also shoots 45.8 percent from the field, 36.2 percent from deep and 85.1 percent from the free throw line.
Outside of Harrell is Nighael Ceaser, who's played in six games this season with five starts. In those games, the graduate student averages 11 points and 9.7 rebounds.
New Year's Eve Numbers
• Williams enters Saturday, coming off an impressive overall performance that saw him lead the team in scoring for the second straight game with 19 points. He also led in rebounds for the fourth consecutive game (9) and steals (2).
• Nelson Phillips swiped one steal in the loss to Southern Miss. Through 14 games, the transfer is ranked second in the SBC with 2.21 steals per game.
• The Trojans shot 34.5 percent on 20-of-58 from the field. The percentage marks the second time the Trojans shot below 35 percent this season – shot a season-low 32.8 percent against San Diego State.
• Aamer Muhammad returned to the starting lineup with an 11-point performance. His primary impact was through assists, recording his 10th game of the season with 3-plus assists (3).
• By Troy's standards, the steal numbers have dipped in the past five games, with only one game with double-digit steals (Tennessee Tech – 11). In the past five games, the Trojans average six steals per game. Before that span, the Trojans averaged 10.6.
The Trojans (8-6, 0-1 SBC) battle the Bobcats (7-7, 0-1 SBC) at 4 p.m., with both teams searching for their first conference win. Troy hasn't started 0-2 in conference play since 2016-17.
Both teams grabbed a game in last year's series, with the home team falling in both. The road team has won four consecutive games in the series. In the overall series, Texas State holds the 9-5 advantage.
Game Information
Location: San Marcos, Texas – Bobcat Stadium
The Matchup: Troy (8-6, 0-1 SBC) vs. Texas State (7-7, 0-1 SBC)
When: Saturday, Dec. 31 – 4 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Troy Sports Radio Network
Live Stats: TroyStats.com
Dropped Game One
The opening half against Southern Miss saw both teams combine for the lowest-scoring half for Troy all season (49).
The Golden Eagles then jumped out to a 10-2 run, led by their leading scorers Felipe Haase and Austin Crowley, to extend the lead to double-digits, 36-25, with 16:27 left.
Fast forward to 2:24 remaining, Kieffer Punter breathed life into the Trojans, drilling a 3-pointer to cut the USM lead to seven, 57-50.
Troy continued to turn up the offense in transition, with Christian Turner taking the pass from Punter for the fastbreak bucket to trim the deficit to five, 57-52, at the 19:03 mark.
Despite efforts from Zay Williams and Punter, USM shot 7-of-10 from the charity stripe to hold off the Trojans, 64-60.
All SBC All the Time
Texas State is coming off a regular-season championship by opening the year at 7-7 after losing its conference opener to UL-Monroe, 57-53. The Bobcats allowed ULM to have 31 shots at the charity stripe with 23 makes, resulting in the loss.
Last season, Troy ventured to San Marcos to close out 2021 with a 78-63 victory to open conference play. The Trojans shot 54.7 percent while limiting the Bobcats to 37.5 for the win. Williams helped in the victory, scoring 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
Mason Harrell continues to dominate the Sun Belt with his scoring ability. Through 14 games, the fifth year sits fourth in the conference, scoring 18 points per game. The guard also shoots 45.8 percent from the field, 36.2 percent from deep and 85.1 percent from the free throw line.
Outside of Harrell is Nighael Ceaser, who's played in six games this season with five starts. In those games, the graduate student averages 11 points and 9.7 rebounds.
New Year's Eve Numbers
• Williams enters Saturday, coming off an impressive overall performance that saw him lead the team in scoring for the second straight game with 19 points. He also led in rebounds for the fourth consecutive game (9) and steals (2).
• Nelson Phillips swiped one steal in the loss to Southern Miss. Through 14 games, the transfer is ranked second in the SBC with 2.21 steals per game.
• The Trojans shot 34.5 percent on 20-of-58 from the field. The percentage marks the second time the Trojans shot below 35 percent this season – shot a season-low 32.8 percent against San Diego State.
• Aamer Muhammad returned to the starting lineup with an 11-point performance. His primary impact was through assists, recording his 10th game of the season with 3-plus assists (3).
• By Troy's standards, the steal numbers have dipped in the past five games, with only one game with double-digit steals (Tennessee Tech – 11). In the past five games, the Trojans average six steals per game. Before that span, the Trojans averaged 10.6.
Players Mentioned
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