Overtime Heartbreak in Trojan Arena

Thursday, January 19

Troy, Ala.

6 p.m.

Troy University

12-8,4-3Sun Belt

James Madison

13-7,4-3Sun Belt

OT 1

James Madison

Troy

1/19/2023 10:10:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2 Photo Gallery 3

By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – The first-ever matchup between Troy and James Madison required extra time as Vado Morse hit the game-winner to defeat the Trojans, 89-87 on Thursday night in Trojan Arena.

With their second loss at home, the Trojans (12-8, 4-3 SBC) fall out of first place in the Sun Belt Conference, while the Dukes (13-7, 4-3 SBC) rise to a three-way tie for second after two straight wins.

Four players scored in double figures for Troy, with Aamer Muhammad on top with 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting – scored eight points in overtime. Christyon Eugene (15), Kieffer Punter (16) and Christian Turner (12) all joined in to combine for 60-of-87 points for the Trojans.

Morse scored 25 points for the Dukes, including the game-winner with less than one second left on the clock. Terrence Edwards came off the bench for 19 points and nine rebounds after drawing a team-high seven fouls.

Game-Winner
The Trojans led by seven with 2:35 after Punter hit one of his free throws, 73-66. However, a miss by Takal Molson led to the putback layup from Edwards to open a 6-0 run to trim the deficit to one with 0:39 remaining, 73-72.

Eugene converted one shot at the charity stripe with 0:10 left to push the lead to two, 74-72. This opened the door for Mezie Offurum to take the potential game-winner from deep, missing it and grabbing the ball for the putback to send the game to overtime as time expired, 74-74.

Troy controlled most of overtime after Muhammad erupted for five straight points to put the team up three with 2:54 left, 81-78.

Standing 6-0, Morse took over with two made free throws and a 3-point bucket to flip the script and give the Dukes the four-point advantage with 1:15 remaining, 87-83.

Muhammad responded with a 3-pointer of his own, followed by Turner drawing the foul to be sent to the line with a chance to win the game. The forward knocked the first one down but missed the second to leave a tied ballgame, 87-87, with 0:05 left.

JMU's head coach Mark Byington called the timeout and drew up the play that set up Morse. Morse took the ball down the court and threw up a prayer outside the paint, and it was answered as it died at the rim and fell in for the victory, 89-87.

Perfect Four Minutes
At the 16:24 mark, the game saw JMU take back the lead after holding it for the opening three minutes, 8-7, off a made layup from Molson.

After a scoreless period, Jackson Fields opened the floodgates for Troy from Darius McNeill's assist. Fields drove into the lane to open a 17-3 run, starting at the 5:03 mark.

On the next possession, with 14:22 left, Nelson Phillips grabbed the defensive rebound and fed Fields again down low for his fourth point, 11-8.

Over the next two minutes, Troy continued to tack on the points, ending its run on 6-of-7 when Phillips scored in the paint at the 7:49 mark. McNeill found the senior guard down low for his fourth point of the run to push Troy's lead to 13, 21-8.

Head Coach Scott Cross
"I don't think we took every possession like it was the most important possession defensively. Zay fouling out definitely hurt our defense because he is such a good defender and makes up for so many mistakes, and KP fouling out as well; he's also a great team defender. They were able to get to the basket at will, and we just put them on the free-throw line too many times. It is gut-wrenching. To have the lead for 38 minutes in a game and come up short is disappointing. You can not take one possession off. All the offensive rebounds they got late in the game absolutely crushed us. Maybe this is our App State football game, very similar to how they lost on the Hail Mary and how we led for 38 minutes and lost on our home court. Have to find a way to split this homestead and get back on the right track."

Home Numbers
• The Trojans got off to a great start that lasted through the first half, with 42 points scored on 52 percent shooting – three points less than the total points scored against Appalachian State last Saturday.
• Muhammad struck from deep for his first points of the ballgame, pushing him into the 1,000-point club – third Trojan to join this season (Williams, McNeill).
• Troy was sent to the line a season-high 32 times, converting 22 for 68.8 percent from the stripe.
• Muhammad consistently contributed through overtime, scoring or assisting on 10-of-13 points.
• The Trojans turned the ball over 21 times, allowing 26 points off turnovers – season-high in turnovers, with the previous high being 18 at Arkansas.

Part Two
The Trojans' time at home continues Saturday at 4 p.m. when the team takes on ULM in Trojan Arena.