Troy University Athletics
Friday, December 1
Troy, Ala.
7:30 p.m.
Troy University
4-4,0-0Sun Belt
83
vs
60
SIU-Edwardsville
5-4,0-0OVC
1
2
F
SIUE
31
29
60
Troy
41
42
83
Troy Rides Hot Shooting to Dominant Win Over SIUE
12/1/2023 11:10:00 PM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. – It was raining all night in Trojan Arena as the Troy men's basketball team knocked down shot after shot en route to an 83-60 win over SIUE on Friday night.
There was no stopping the Trojan offense, as they shot 50 percent from the field and from 3-point range. Aamer Muhammad had his best performance of the season and was unstoppable from beyond the arc, going 4-5 from three as he scored a season-high 21 points.
Troy (4-4) came out firing on all cylinders and jumped out to a 24-8 lead in the first 10 minutes. Muhammad had 10 of those 24 points, including the first seven of the game.
The Trojans stretched the lead all the way to 20 at one point, but SIUE (5-4) wasn't going to go down without a fight. They went on a 21-11 run to close out the first half to make it a 10-point deficit at the break.
After letting some big second-half leads slip away earlier in the season, the Trojans kept the fire going in the second half and never let the Cougars get within in single digits. Troy put the game out of reach thanks to a 12-0 run with just under 10 minutes left in the final 20 minutes, stretching the lead to a game-high 31 points.
Muhammad finished the night as the game's leading scorer. For SIUE, Damarco Minor led the way with 14 points.
Sticking to the Plan
While Troy came into Sunday's game with a losing record and three losses by two or fewer points, the Trojans continued to stick with what they have been doing all season.
They dominated in the pain yet again, outrebounding SIUE 39-30 and grabbing 17 offensive rebounds. The Trojans also outscored the Cougars 38-34 in the paint. Theo Seng led the way with five rebounds.
Limiting turnovers has been a key to victory for the Trojans, and on Friday night, they had just 13 and generated 16 assists. Christyon Eugene had a team-high six assists to go with his 12 points. He has now scored in double-figures in every game this season.
Suffocating Defense
Much like the offense, the Troy defense came to play for all 40 minutes. SIUE shot just 40.7 percent from the field and 23.5 percent from deep. Troy also swiped the ball away from the Cougars 11 times and forced 15 turnovers – scoring 23 points off them.
SIUE only had three assists on the night.
Thoughts From Coach
Head coach Scott Cross gave his thoughts following the game:
"This looked like the Troy Trojans that I have envisioned. We had a couple four of five minutes spells where we kind of lost our energy and our body language dropped, but outside of that I thought we played a really good all-around game. It's so great to see Aamer back and shooting the ball with confidence. His roommate, Christyon Eugene, was feeding him the rock early on, and he got going. Now that he's going, we're going to be really tough to beat."
Up Next
Troy takes the national stage next Saturday, Dec. 9, as it faces off against Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, on the USA Network. Tip-off is slated for 11:30 a.m. CT, and fans can listen live on the Troy Sports Radio Network.
Game 8 Notes
• Aamer Muhammad broke out of his early-season slump and had a season-high 21 points on Friday night. He was 7-9 from the field and 4-5 from 3-point range.
• Troy won the rebound battle 39-30. The Trojans have outrebounded their opponent in seven of eight games this season.
• Christyon Eugene finished the night with 12 points. He has scored in double-figures in every single game this season and has scored 11 or more points in each of those games.
• Victor Valdes made the first start of his collegiate career on Friday as he replaced Myles Rigsby at the small forward position. Valdes finished the night with two points, two assists and three rebounds.
• Troy held the lead for 38:58 of the game on Friday night. SIUE was never ahead, and the score was tied for the first 1:02 of the game.
• Troy went 10-20 on 3-pointers, the best mark for the Trojans this season. It's the first time they have shot 50 percent from deep since they shot 52 percent against ULM on Jan. 21, 2023.
• Troy's 50 percent shooting night is the second-best of the year, and the second time it has shot 50 percent or better (54.8 percent vs. Reinhardt).
There was no stopping the Trojan offense, as they shot 50 percent from the field and from 3-point range. Aamer Muhammad had his best performance of the season and was unstoppable from beyond the arc, going 4-5 from three as he scored a season-high 21 points.
Troy (4-4) came out firing on all cylinders and jumped out to a 24-8 lead in the first 10 minutes. Muhammad had 10 of those 24 points, including the first seven of the game.
The Trojans stretched the lead all the way to 20 at one point, but SIUE (5-4) wasn't going to go down without a fight. They went on a 21-11 run to close out the first half to make it a 10-point deficit at the break.
After letting some big second-half leads slip away earlier in the season, the Trojans kept the fire going in the second half and never let the Cougars get within in single digits. Troy put the game out of reach thanks to a 12-0 run with just under 10 minutes left in the final 20 minutes, stretching the lead to a game-high 31 points.
Muhammad finished the night as the game's leading scorer. For SIUE, Damarco Minor led the way with 14 points.
Sticking to the Plan
While Troy came into Sunday's game with a losing record and three losses by two or fewer points, the Trojans continued to stick with what they have been doing all season.
They dominated in the pain yet again, outrebounding SIUE 39-30 and grabbing 17 offensive rebounds. The Trojans also outscored the Cougars 38-34 in the paint. Theo Seng led the way with five rebounds.
Limiting turnovers has been a key to victory for the Trojans, and on Friday night, they had just 13 and generated 16 assists. Christyon Eugene had a team-high six assists to go with his 12 points. He has now scored in double-figures in every game this season.
Suffocating Defense
Much like the offense, the Troy defense came to play for all 40 minutes. SIUE shot just 40.7 percent from the field and 23.5 percent from deep. Troy also swiped the ball away from the Cougars 11 times and forced 15 turnovers – scoring 23 points off them.
SIUE only had three assists on the night.
Thoughts From Coach
Head coach Scott Cross gave his thoughts following the game:
"This looked like the Troy Trojans that I have envisioned. We had a couple four of five minutes spells where we kind of lost our energy and our body language dropped, but outside of that I thought we played a really good all-around game. It's so great to see Aamer back and shooting the ball with confidence. His roommate, Christyon Eugene, was feeding him the rock early on, and he got going. Now that he's going, we're going to be really tough to beat."
Up Next
Troy takes the national stage next Saturday, Dec. 9, as it faces off against Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, on the USA Network. Tip-off is slated for 11:30 a.m. CT, and fans can listen live on the Troy Sports Radio Network.
Game 8 Notes
• Aamer Muhammad broke out of his early-season slump and had a season-high 21 points on Friday night. He was 7-9 from the field and 4-5 from 3-point range.
• Troy won the rebound battle 39-30. The Trojans have outrebounded their opponent in seven of eight games this season.
• Christyon Eugene finished the night with 12 points. He has scored in double-figures in every single game this season and has scored 11 or more points in each of those games.
• Victor Valdes made the first start of his collegiate career on Friday as he replaced Myles Rigsby at the small forward position. Valdes finished the night with two points, two assists and three rebounds.
• Troy held the lead for 38:58 of the game on Friday night. SIUE was never ahead, and the score was tied for the first 1:02 of the game.
• Troy went 10-20 on 3-pointers, the best mark for the Trojans this season. It's the first time they have shot 50 percent from deep since they shot 52 percent against ULM on Jan. 21, 2023.
• Troy's 50 percent shooting night is the second-best of the year, and the second time it has shot 50 percent or better (54.8 percent vs. Reinhardt).
Team Stats
SIUE
TROY
FG%
.407
.500
3FG%
.235
.500
FT%
.571
.714
RB
30
39
TO
15
13
STL
10
11
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
G
/ Basketball (M)G
/ Basketball (M)
F
/ Basketball (M)
F
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