Troy Falls Short to Louisiana in Semifinal Round

Sunday, March 6

Pensacola, Fla.

5 p.m.

Troy University

20-11,10-6Sun Belt

Louisiana

16-14,8-9Sun Belt

Louisiana

Troy

Troy Falls Short to Louisiana in Semifinal Round

3/6/2022 9:26:00 PM | Basketball (M)

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Troy goes cold from the field, halting its historic season against Louisiana on Sunday evening, 66-57, in the Hercules Tires Sun Belt Conference Championship Semifinal game at the Pensacola Bay Center.

The Trojans (20-11) made their first appearance in the semifinal round since the 2016-17 season, claiming the first 20-win season in Scott Cross's tenure.

Troy scored 32.7 percent from the field and 19 percent behind the arc in the loss while holding the Cajuns (16-14) to 39.4 percent.

Khalyl Waters wouldn't be denied, scoring a game-high 19 points on 4-of-9 shooting and 9-of-11 from the charity stripe.

Theo Akwuba (15) and Greg Williams Jr. (16) finished in double figures for the Cajuns en route to their first championship appearance since 2014.

Cajuns Catch Fire

Troy came out of the locker room down by five, 29-24, before going cold from the field.

The Trojan offense consisted of two makes from Efe Odigie in the first seven minutes of the second, while Louisiana hit a 17-5 run to expand the lead to 17, 46-29, with 13:32 remaining.

Waters was unwilling to have his season come to an end, cutting the deficit to 10, 46-36, after converting seven-straight points with 12:02 to go.

Troy found itself on another cold spell from the field over the next five minutes, allowing the Cajuns to reopen its 17-point lead, 53-36, on a make from inside the paint for Akwuba at the 08:25 mark.

Duke Deen and Duke Miles tried joining in Waters' efforts from the field, combining for 17 points in the final seven minutes, eventually falling, 66-57.

Staying Above Water
Troy struggled out of the gates, going 1-of-10 in the game's first seven minutes. The one-make came from Zay Williams at the 18:42 mark of the half.

Down 10-2, Christyon Eugene knocked one down to get Troy back in rhythm. Miles and Rifen Miguel kept it going, furthering Troy's 6-0 run to put them within one score, 10-8, with 11:40 left in the first.

The Cajuns brought the lead back out to six on a make from Akwuba, 15-9, with 8:41 left.

Desmond Williams responded with five straight points. He started it out from deep, launching in a three before knocking down a jumper to bring Troy's deficit to one, 15-14 at the 13:00 mark of the first.

The remainder of the first saw Troy turn it around, heading into the half, 29-24, going 7-of-16 from the field after its cold start.

Final Thoughts from Cross

"We're extremely disappointed. Our guys battled and played hard. They have nothing to hang their heads about. We held them to 39.6 percent from the field, which is good enough to win a basketball game. Unfortunately, tonight was not our night offensively. Credit to them for playing well defensively."

"Sometimes you just have to see the ball go through a couple of times to get it going, but we couldn't really get in a rhythm. This team had plenty of opportunities to fold, and they didn't. Instead, they continued to fight, and I am super proud to be their basketball coach. These guys have changed Troy basketball."

Semifinal Stats
• Troy shot 32.7 percent from the field and 19 percent from the field, marking the third-lowest the team has shot this season.
• Troy had 35 points off the bench with Waters and Miles leading the way - contributed 61.4 percent of the points.
• Troy finishes its season (TBD) with 20 wins, tying the number of wins Coach Cross had in his first two years combined.
• The Trojans fall in their first SBC semifinals appearance in program history, sitting at 2-0 before today.