Trojans Throttle Their Way Back to the Win Column

Saturday, January 21

Troy, Ala.

4 p.m.

Troy University

13-8,5-3Sun Belt

ULM

9-12,5-3Sun Belt

ULM

Troy

Trojans Throttle Their Way Back to the Win Column

1/21/2023 7:27:00 PM | Basketball (M)

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – A barrage of 3-pointers projected Troy back to the win column over ULM, 77-53, to close out the two-game homestand in Trojan Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The Trojans (13-8, 5-3) find themselves moving up to a three-way tie for fourth with the Warhawks (9-12, 5-3) and Georgia Southern as they end a two-game losing streak.

Aamer Muhammad shined with a 20-point performance on five made 3-pointers. Zay Williams produced on multiple levels, ending the night with 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals for a team-high plus-31 on the floor, while Christyon Eugene scored in double figures for the second straight game since his return.

ULM shot 31.5 percent from the field but managed 40.9 percent from deep. The Warhawks produced two double-digit scorers in Thomas Howell and Jamari Blackmon at 14 and 11, respectively.

Kick It into Gear
The Warhawks tied the game, 32-32, 1:12 into the second on a 5-1 run to open the half when Savion Gallion took it inside and pulled up for the 2-point basket.

Troy fired back with 12 straight points with three makes from behind the arc. Williams opened it up with the assist coming from Muhammad and banged in the triple at the 1:40 mark, 35-32.

The 3-point line started and ended the run from Kieffer Punter off the ULM turnover with 15:44 remaining. Victor Bafutto lost the ball to Williams, who tossed it to Muhammad to control the floor. Muhammad found Punter at the top of the key, and the senior fired away, 44-32.

A deep response from Devon Hancock following the media timeout only forced more out of the Trojans. Muhammad matched Hancock's 3-pointer with 15:02 left to push the lead back to 12 and start another 11-2 run for Troy, 47-35.

Darius McNeill ended the Trojan run, weaving his way between two Warhawk defenders for the layup, 55-37, at the 7:45 mark. The remaining 12:15 saw the Trojans push their lead to as much as 31 points for a return to the win column, 77-53.

Redemption Begins
The Trojans looked to be in trouble early on when ULM produced a 15-0 run between the 6:02 and 11:47 mark. Tyreke Locure stole the ball from Eugene and took it the distance for the 11-point lead, 25-14.

Muhammad turned the tide from behind the arc following a media timeout. First, the 6-1 guard took the pass from Williams and banged in the three. Then, after Blackmon missed a triple, Punter gave it to Muhammad again to cut the deficit to five, 25-20, with 7:07 left in the first.

Troy trickled the ULM lead down to three, 25-22, before a prolonged scoring drought occurred. The drought ended after another media timeout when Locure missed his layup, and McNeill secured the board. McNeill found Muhammad from deep, and he tied the ballgame, 25-25, completing the 11-point comeback with 3:11 on the clock.

A temporary stall in the Troy run occurred when Blackmon hit two free throws. But Troy responded with a 4-0 run to close the half with the four-point lead, 31-27, as roles were reversed and Muhammad found Williams from deep.

Head Coach Scott Cross
"It was one of the best all-around games of the year. I talked to our guys before the game; I said, 'hey, we need to put it all together.' At times we've been great offensively. At times, we've been great defensively. The rebounding has been up and down, so we were due for a game where it happened all the way around. And I think we really did it for about the last 30 minutes of the game. The first 10 minutes, we were in a little bit of a funk, but then we started hitting some shots, and our defense stayed really, really consistent. We did a solid job on the defensive boards. We didn't give up too many offensive rebounds. Really, we had one asterisk on this game, and that was the turnovers. The guys were having fun. You want them to play loose and free when you're shooting the ball the way we were. That was the only downside of this game. Every other aspect of the game we played really well."

Blowout Stats
• Muhammad tied his Troy career-high in 3-pointers with five conversions from behind the arc on nine attempts.
• For the first time since beating Old Dominion, the Trojans converted double-digit 3-pointers in a game, ending the night with 13 makes from deep.
• The Trojans pulled off the 24-point victory, which is the most since the Trojans beat ULM by 28 back on Jan. 21, 2012.
• Remy Graham checked into the game for the final 2:35 and produced a putback layup for his first points since Tennessee Tech on Dec. 10.
• Troy shot above 50 percent for the second straight game and the fourth time in 2022-23. The Trojans sit 3-1 and 1-1 in conference play through the four games.
• Saturday's victory marks the fourth win in January for the Trojans, eclipsing their win totals from December at three.

On the Road Again
After this two-game homestand, the Trojans return to the road for back-to-back games. The first is set on Thursday at 7 p.m. when the Trojans travel to the Cajundome to play Louisiana.