Troy Men's Basketball Falls to Abilene Christian in Opening Round of CBI

Sunday, March 20

Daytona Beach, Fla

6:30 p.m.

Troy University

20-11

Abilene Christian

23-10

Abilene Christian

Troy

Troy Men's Basketball Falls to Abilene Christian in Opening Round of CBI

3/20/2022 10:30:00 PM | Basketball (M)

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The historic 2021-22 season for Troy Men's Basketball comes to a close on Sunday, falling to Abilene Christian in an 82-70 loss at the Roman Collegiate Basketball Invitational (CBI) at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center.

The Trojans (20-12, 10-6 SBC) wrap up the first 20-win season in head coach Scott Cross's tenure with its first postseason appearance in five years.

Khalyl Waters ended his career as a Trojan with a team-high 18 points. Desmond Williams (14) and Christyon Eugene (13) boosted the Trojans, scoring in double-figures.

Cameron Steele exploded off the bench for the Wildcats (24-10, 11-7 WAC), scoring 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while Coryon Mason led the team with 19 points. Overall, ACU took over defensively with 13 steals to Troy's eight.

Wildcats Won't Miss
Waters brought the deficit down to seven, 34-27, after being sent to the line and drilling two shots with 3:00 remaining in the first.

After Mahki Morris nailed one from deep at the 2:47 mark, extending the lead to double-digits, 37-27, ACU sparked a 14-0 run to end the first half.

Mason closed the run with a huge jump shot as the clock was ticking down to just six seconds after Steele had a massive block on the other end, 48-27.

In the 14-0 run, the Wildcats shot 4-of-5 while Troy shot 0-of-4 and had two turnovers to close the half, 48-27.

Till the Buzzer
Waters and Williams weren't going out without a fight, opening the second half with back-to-back makes from behind the arc to trim the deficit to just 16, 48-32, just 1:31 into the half.

The Trojans stayed fighting throughout the second half but couldn't cut to within 15 points until the 1:46 mark.

The pair of seniors in Waters and Stampley led the way in the final two minutes, scoring seven-straight points before Williams made a quick layup to put Troy down by 12, 80-68, with 36 seconds remaining.

In the end, the Trojans couldn't complete the comeback, concluding their season, 82-70.

Closing Thoughts From Scott Cross
"Basketball is a game of matchups, and they were able to impose their will in their quickness and their ability to drive and shoot. The only disappointing part is rebounding, but other than that, our guys fought, and they competed. It's easy to fold to the tent and quit when you are down 22, but they kept playing, so I'm proud of them for that."

"There is a lot to look forward to in the future of this program. Of course, we're going to miss Stampley and Khalyl. They helped make the jump all the way to 20 this year, but I feel really good about the future."

Semifinal Stats
• Troy Men's Basketball still searches for its first postseason victory since joining Division I - 0-5 to this point.
• Despite the loss, the Trojans shot the ball exceptionally well, shooting 46 percent from the field, 94.1 percent from the charity stripe and 34.8 percent from deep.
• Stampley and Waters finish their careers as Trojans in the starting lineup, combining for 92 career starts.
• Waters scored 18 points, marking his second straight game as the leading scorer from the field - only two this season.