Troy Falls to Sam Houston in Overtime, 88-86

Monday, November 20

Troy, Ala.

6 p.m.

Troy University

2-3,0-0Sun Belt

Sam Houston

2-3,0-0CUSA

OT 1

Sam Houston

Troy

Troy Falls to Sam Houston in Overtime, 88-86

11/20/2023 10:21:00 PM | Basketball (M)

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TROY, Ala. — Troy shot 48.3 percent from the field on Monday night, but it wasn't enough to take down Sam Houston, as it fell 88-86 in overtime at Trojan Arena to open the Trojan Classic.

Troy (2-3) had one of its best halves of the season, as it shot 59.3 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes. The Trojans went on a 12-0 early in the game, and things seemed to be going in the right direction, but the offense went cold in the second half, and they turned it over 24 times, allowing Sam Houston (2-3) to climb out of a 16-point deficit.

Aamer Muhammad had nine first-half points, helping Troy take a nine-point lead into the break. The Trojans started the second half strong and pushed their lead all the way to 16 before the Bearkat offense came alive.

Sam Houston went on a 14-0 run, sparked by Lamar Wilkerson and his game-high 25 points, and took the momentum into the overtime period. The Bearkats won the OT period 10-8.

Another OT Loss
For the second time in three games, Troy dropped an overtime contest (Nov. 10 at Oregon State). In both games, the opponent's game-winning points came off free throws in the final seconds.

Despite the tough loss, the Trojans once again had five players score in double figures. Christyon Eugene led the way with 15 points, Muhammad had 13, Thomas Dowd had 11, Myles Rigsby had 11 and Marcus Rigsby Jr. had 10. That is the third time this season that has happened.

Much like the game against Oregon State, the Trojans hurt themselves in the turnover department. Troy gave the ball away 24 times — a new season-high.

The Bearkats scored 27 points off those turnovers, compared to Troy's 23 points off turnovers.

Things to Tidy Up
Troy had its worst performance of the season from the free-throw line, shooting 59.5 percent (22-37).

The Trojans also lost the rebound battle for the first time in 2023, as Sam Houston pulled down 44 boards compared to Troy's 40. The Bearkats also had 21 offensive rebounds.

Thoughts From Coach
Head coach Scott Cross gave his thoughts following the game:

"We turned it over 24 times. They had 17 steals. That means we're throwing the ball to the other team 17 times. You can't win that way. We've done everything in our power in practice to prevent that. We subbed some guys out today to try to emphasize the points, but until they learn the value of taking care of the basketball, it's going to be hard to win games. We were hitting shots today, so we forgot what it took when we weren't hitting shots — playing great defense and rebounding. We forgot about those. Sam Houston did not. They were the tougher team."

Up Next
Troy wraps up the Trojan Classic against Grambling State on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, fans can listen live on the Troy Sports Radio Network and live stats will be available on TroyTrojans.com.

Sam Houston and Grambling State will play on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. CT. Live stats will be available on TroyStats.com.

Game 5 Notes
• With his 15 points on Monday, Christyon Eugene is now just four points away from 600 career D-I points.
• Monday was the second overtime loss of the season, with the first coming at Oregon State in double overtime on Nov. 10. Both games were decided by free throws in the final seconds.
• The last time Troy lost a game in a singular overtime period was when they fell 89-87 to James Madison on Jan. 19, 2023.
• Troy led by 16 points with 17:13 remaining in the second half and was outscored 53-35 from the point on.
• Troy's bench outscored the opponents for the fifth time this season, as they had 29 bench points compared to Sam Houston's 27. With the loss, Scott Cross moves to 20-5 at Troy when his team scores more than 80 points and 129-27 all-time.