Men’s Basketball Wraps up Trojan Classic with 80-67 Win Over Grambling State

Friday, November 24

Troy, Ala.

4 p.m.

Troy University

3-3,0-0Sun Belt

Grambling State

2-5,0-0SWAC

Grambling

Troy

Men’s Basketball Wraps up Trojan Classic with 80-67 Win Over Grambling State

11/24/2023 8:08:00 PM | Basketball (M)

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TROY, Ala. — The inaugural Trojan Classic wrapped up on Friday night, as Troy took care of the ball and rode a strong second-half defense to defeat Grambling State 80-67 in Trojan Arena.

After dropping its game on Monday to Sam Houston, Troy (3-3) came out of the Thanksgiving holiday hungry to right the ship.

Despite jumping out to an early lead, the Trojans offense had some hiccups in the first few minutes of the game, including a five-plus minute scoring drought that led to a 12-0 run for Grambling State.

Thanks to Christyon Eugene's 15 first-half points, Troy settled in and finished the half shooting 48.1 percent and took a 36-34 lead into the break.

The Trojans came out much better in the second half and were able to stretch their lead all the way to 13 with 10:21 left in the game. Troy outscored Grambling State 44-33 in the final 20 minutes, and its defense held the Tigers to 37 percent shooting in the final period to secure the win.

Eugene led all scorers with 23, just three short of his career high. Jackson Fields had his most impressive showing of the season, dropping a season and career-high 13 points on 4-9 shooting. Fields went 5-8 from the line — which marks a career-high in free throws made and attempted for the sophomore big man.

Doing the Little Things Right
In all three of Troy's losses this season it has turned the ball over 17 or more times — including 23 against Oregon State and 24 against Sam Houston on Monday. Tonight, the Trojans turned it over only 12 times, and that certainly helped fuel their victory. They also won the rebound battle 37-29 and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds compared to Grambling State's 8. Thomas Dowd pulled down a team-high six boards.

Troy didn't shoot the ball particularly well — 45.5 percent from the field — but shared the ball well, generating 13 assists.

The Trojans also had their second-fewest fouls called on them in a game with 19 (fewewst was 10 vs Reinhardt).

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

"That was the key tonight, the bottom line: we took care of the basketball. We're a good enough basketball team that if we limit it to 12 turnovers, we will win a lot of games. That's the magic number. We did a great job on the boards. We beat a team that won the SWAC last year, and that won 24 games. Definitely a step in the right direction."

Up Next
Troy hits the road for a Monday night showdown at Eastern Kentucky in Richmond, Ky., on Nov. 27 at 6 p.m. CT at the Baptist Health Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available on Troystats.com.

Game 6 Notes
• Jackson Fields scored a career-high 13 points on 4-9 shooting. He also set a career-high in free throws made (5) and free throws attempted (8).
• Christyon Eugene had a team-high and season-high 23 points tonight. It's the most points scored by a Trojan this season. The previous high was 22 by Thomas Dowd at Oregon State.
• Christyon Eugene extended his double-digit scoring streak to six this season and has scored in double figures in the last seven games dating back to last year.
• Troy won the rebound battle 37-29 and the offensive rebound battle 13-8.
• The Trojans have scored 70 or more points in all six games this season. They have scored 80 or more points in five of the six games.
• Troy had a season-high 27 free throws made on a season-high 39 attempts. Tayton Conerway finished with eight points, snapping his double-digit scoring streak of five games. Conerway was a team-high +17 on Friday night.