Troy Takes Down EKU in Thriller, 88-81

Thursday, December 21

Troy, Ala.

6 p.m.

Troy University

6-6,0-0Sun Belt

Eastern Kentucky

4-7,0-0ASUN

Eastern Ky.

Troy

12/21/2023 10:41:00 PM | Basketball (M)

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TROY, Ala. – In its final home game of 2023, the Troy men's basketball team battled for all 40 minutes and came up with clutch scoring to defeat Eastern Kentucky 88-81 in Trojan Arena on Thursday night.

For the first time in Scott Cross's tenure as head coach at Troy (6-6), the Trojans picked up a victory when allowing the opponent to score 80 or more points. Going into the game, they were 0-19.

The Trojans also protected the ball extremely well against EKU (4-7), committing only five turnovers. The last time Troy had a number that low was against Southeast Missouri State on Nov. 20, 2012.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair, and the Trojans offense wasn't stringing together shots for the first 15 minutes of the game. That all changed in the final 4:43 of the first half, as Troy outscored the Colonels 14-4 to take a 48-41 lead into the halftime break.

Christyon Eugene had 13 first-half points en route to a season-high 24-point performance to lead all scorers.

The Trojans came out firing in the first 10 minutes of the second half and were able to extend its lead all the way to 12. EKU made it interesting and cut the Trojan lead to two with 2:14 remaining in the game. Less than a minute later, Thomas Dowd buried a three to extend the lead to five, and the Trojans never looked back.

Troy had four players score in double figures. Eugene led the way with 24, Myles Rigsby had a career-high 18 – including 13-14 from the free throw line –, Tayton Conerway had 15 and Dowd had 11.

Doing the Little Things
It wasn't the cleanest game from the Trojans, but they hit their mark in a plethora of categories. Troy won the battle in the paint, outscoring EKU 28-24. The Trojans also had 14 assists to its five turnovers. In the previous battle against EKU in November, the Trojans had 13 assists and 12 turnovers.

The Trojans also led in fastbreak points 11-5, points off turnovers 16-8 and steals 10-3.

For only the third time this season, Troy lost the rebound battle, as EKU grabbed 40 boards compared to Troy's 30.

Thoughts from Coach
Head Coach Scott Cross gave his thoughts on his team's performance following the game:

"I am super proud of our guys. This is definitely a huge win for us, especially since we lost a tough one up at their place earlier in the year. They are a hard team to prepare for because they are so aggressive defensively, they are pressing the whole time, and they have some guys who can really shoot the basketball. Man, I am proud of our guys. I felt like we really tried to defend. I thought Spudd was phenomenal. In my opinion, I thought this was one of his best all-around games."

Up Next
Troy opens its conference schedule on Saturday, Dec. 30, at Coastal Carolina. Troy will play one more non-conference game against a yet-to-be-determined MAC opponent as part of the MAC-SBC Challenge on Saturday, Feb. 10.

Game 12 Notes
• Troy's five turnovers are the fewest since they had five against Southeast Missouri State on Nov. 20, 2012. Prior to Thursday, the fewest Troy had under Scott Cross was six against UAB on Nov. 7, 2019.
• Thursday marked the first time Troy won a game under Scott Cross in which it allowed its opponent to score 80 or more points. They are now 1-19 when allowing 80-plus points.
• Christyon Eugene had a season-high 24 points – his third game this season with 20-plus points.
• Christyon Eugene registered his 700^th career D-I point on Thursday night.
• Troy's 28 made free throws and 42 attempted free throws are both season-highs.
• Troy shot 45.5 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from the three-point line.