Troy Reaches the Summit with Win Over App State

Thursday, February 17

Boone, NC

5:30 p.m.

Troy University

18-8,9-4Sun Belt

Appalachian State

16-12,10-5Sun Belt

Troy

Appalachian St.

Troy Reaches the Summit with Win Over App State

2/17/2022 9:12:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

Thursday, February 17, 2022
Contact: Robert Stevens, 315-807-8109

BOONE, N.C. - Limiting Appalachian State to just one 3-pointer in the second half, Troy sweeps the Mountaineers, 67-61, at the Holmes Convocation Center.

The Trojans (18-8, 9-4 SBC) sit second in the Sun Belt Conference, just half a game from Texas State. Their ninth conference win marks the most since the 2017-18 season.

Efe Odigie (17) and Duke Deen (16) lit up the scoreboard as the Trojans only double-figure scorers. Odigie topped off his performance with 12 rebounds to finish with a double-double on 6-of-11 shooting.

The Mountaineers (16-12, 10-5 SBC) had a pair of 17-point scorers in Donovan Gregory and Adrian Delph as they fell to third in the conference.

Final Stand
The Trojans caught fire coming out of the locker room, taking an 11-point lead, 52-41, off 12 unanswered points that concluded with a free throw from Christian Turner with 11:52 remaining.

Gregory and Delph fought back, scoring 13 combined points over the next nine minutes to cut the Trojan lead down to just one, 59-58, with 2:43 left in the game.

Odigie took control, converting an and-one opportunity to stretch the lead back out to two possessions, 62-58, at the 1:19 mark.

Troy iced the game with free throws, having three different players (Zay Williams, Deen, Christyon Eugene) make both their shots from the line to complete the second-half rally.

Six-Point Swing
The Trojans trailed for most of the first half, sticking around a five-point deficit throughout.

The Mountaineers looked to take control after RJ Duhart slammed in an easy two to extend the lead to five, 34-29, with 2:20 remaining in the half.

That dunk lit a fire under the Trojans as they responded with back-to-back makes from deep.

Kieffer Punter started the quick six-point swing to bring the deficit down to two, 34-32, on the first make from behind the arc at the 1:59 mark.

The next play saw Michael Almonacy have his pass intercepted by Punter, leading to a fastbreak 3-pointer from Deen to give Troy its first lead in over five minutes, 35-34, with 1:19 left in the first.

After two makes from the charity stripe for Justin Forrest, Troy headed into the locker room down by two, 39-37.

Scott Cross Makes His Statement
"Super proud of our guys. I mean, this is a tough, hard-fought victory for us. Our guys were really locked in mentally. I think that Little Rock game woke our guys up. We played about as good of defense as you could hope for in the second half. All game long, we shot the ball extremely well. We were clicking on all cylinders."

"We were getting the ball inside to Efe, and he made good decisions. If he was one-on-one, he would make a move and score. If he were doubled, he would find the open guy, and they would score. He was fanning the ball out to our shooters. It's a tough place to play. I'm just thankful to the good lord that we are still in the championship conversation and can control our destiny."

Elevated Numbers
• Troy completes the sweep of App State with the win tonight, making it the second-straight season the Trojans have swept the Mountaineers.
• Odigie finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double - 16th of his career.
• The Trojans captured their ninth conference victory with the win over the Mountaineers. They now have the same amount of conference wins as the past two seasons combined.
• Troy had a tremendous second half defending the perimeter, limiting the Mountaineers to just 1-of-10 from behind the arc - shot 4-of-5 in the first half.

From the Mountain to the Sea
Troy continues its final road trip as the team heads to the coast to face Coastal Carolina at the HTC Center on Saturday at 3 p.m.