Zay Williams Scores 1,000th Point; Troy Completes Home Series Sweep

Saturday, January 7

Troy, Ala.

4 p.m.

Troy University

11-6,3-1Sun Belt

Arkansas State

9-8,1-3Sun Belt

Arkansas St.

Troy

Zay Williams Scores 1,000th Point; Troy Completes Home Series Sweep

1/7/2023 7:35:00 PM | Basketball (M)

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – Zay Williams joined elite company as the 10^th player in Division-I program history with 1,000 points in the 66-54 victory over Arkansas State on Saturday evening in Trojan Arena.

With the victory over the Red Wolves (9-8, 1-3 SBC), the Trojans move to first in the Sun Belt Conference at 11-6, 3-1 SBC. The victory also marks Troy's sixth win over ASU in the last eight meetings.

Williams ended the night with a team-high 16 points after erupting for 13 in the second half. Christian Turner finished in double figures for the first time this season with 13 points on 4-of-7 from the field.

Markise Davis came off the bench to lead the Red Wolves in the scoring and rebounding column, ending his night with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Troy Takeover
Arkansas State seized the momentum with 10:47 left in the first after Davis took the pass from Avery Felts and knocked down the mid-range jumper, 16-12.

Following a media timeout, Aamer Muhammad struck from deep with 9:41 remaining in the opening half. The 6-1 junior grabbed the miss from Caleb London and sprinted down the court, pulling up from outside to trim the deficit to one, 16-15.

After wrestling with the Red Wolves for three minutes, Muhammad banged in another make from deep. This time, it allowed Troy to regain the lead and the momentum, 21-19, at the 13:05 mark.

The Trojans took over from there, outscoring the Red Wolves 10-4 over the next 4:50 to provide enough cushion for a four-point lead heading into halftime, 31-27.

Dagger Part Two
The Red Wolves trimmed the Trojan lead down to six with 1:48 remaining after Felts dropped two makes at the charity stripe, 59-53.

Immediately after ASU scored, Nelson Phillips took the ball himself for the second straight game and sprinted down the court to the rim. The Georgia State transfer rose and slammed it home over the Arkansas State defender to seal the victory, 61-53.

The Trojans put the icing on the cake at the charity stripe with Muhammad, Williams and Phillips converting all but one to seal the 12-point victory, 66-54, over the Red Wolves.

Head Coach Scott Cross
"We won this game with our defense. Going into the game, we led the league in field goal percent defense. I would like to think we stay there after holding them to 32.8 percent. That's what we have to hang out hats on. Again, we didn't do a great job on the boards. That has to be better. If you are talking about dominating the boards, we'd be one of the top defenses in the country. But I'm proud of our guys. They made their minds up, and we've completely changed through four games in conference because we couldn't guard anybody before Christmas. Now here we are, and the guys are locked in. Because of that, we are now in a tie for first place in the Sun Belt. I told them before the game that either you move up or you move down. I do believe we got better, and we had a great game tonight.

Home Sweep Notables
• Eugene ended the first half with 11 points on 3-of-6 from the field. The junior's double-figure performance marks his 11^th in the last 12 games – scored five at Southern Miss
• Turner banged in his eighth 3-pointer of the season in the win over Arkansas State. He's netted more 3-pointer in 17 games this season than his first two years combined (4).
• Williams scored his 1,000^th point to place him 10^th in Troy D-I program history, surpassing Bobby Dixon at 961.
• Turner's 13 points marked the first time in the 2022-23 season that he scored in double figures and the third time in his career.
• With his one make at the charity stripe, Williams scored his 200^th career shot from the charity stripe, tying him for eighth with Michael Vogler in D-I program history in free throws made.
• The Trojans held the lead for most of the ballgame, clocking in with the lead for 34:11 compared the ASU's 4:27.
• Darius McNeill dished out four assists in the victory over Arkansas State, marking the second straight game the guard had 3-plus assists.
• For the seventh time this season, the Trojans limited their opponent to under 40 percent shooting from the field after ASU shot 32.8 percent.

Headed to A-Town
After a two-game homestand, the Trojans hit the road again with Georgia State lined up on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at the GSU Sports Arena.