Troy University Athletics
Thursday, February 16
Jonesboro, Ark.
7:30 p.m.
Troy University
17-11,9-6Sun Belt
67
at
62
Arkansas State
10-18,2-13Sun Belt
1
2
F
Troy
30
37
67
Arkansas St.
27
35
62
Troy Rallies Late in Jonesboro for Fourth Straight Win
2/16/2023 10:42:00 PM | Basketball (M)
JONESBORO, Ark. – Troy rallied from a 10-point deficit midway through the second half to win its fourth straight on Thursday night over Arkansas State, 67-62, in the First National Bank Arena.
Both sides combined for 50 free throw attempts as the Trojans (17-11, 9-6 SBC) moved up to take sole possession of the fifth seed with a loss by Old Dominion – one game from James Madison for fourth. The Red Wolves (10-18, 2-13 SBC) lose their third straight to remain in last place for the SBC.
Nelson Phillips dropped 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting to lead Troy to victory, with 14 coming in the second half. Aamer Muhammad scored 11 of his 16 points in the second on two made threes to lift the Trojans.
Omar El-Sheikh hit 8-of-9 free throws for a team-high 16 points for ASU. Behind him were Markis Davis (15) and Terrance Ford Jr. (13) in double-figures. Overall, the Red Wolves were held to 39.6 percent from the field to fall to Troy for the third consecutive time.
Rally Towel
El-Sheikh capped off a 14-0 run by the Red Wolves at the charity stripe to extend the lead to 10, 44-34, at the 6:29 mark– run lasted four minutes.
Muhammad stopped the bleeding after a media timeout, banging the triple off the assist from Christyon Eugene, 44-37. The next possession saw Punter steal the ball from El-Sheikh, which led to a Nate Tshimanga euro step for two that trimmed the deficit to five, 44-39, with 11:53 remaining.
The following eight minutes saw both sides trade blows, with neither able to take control. Then, the momentum flipped Troy's way when Williams found Phillips behind the arch with 3:11 left, and the guard converted his 17th point, 58-57.
After El-Sheikh responded with a two-point basket, Phillips one-upped him, grabbing the miss from Muhammad and sunk another triple to tie the game, 60-60 – 2:11 on the clock.
A miss from deep for Ford Jr. led to Eugene holding the ball with 1:19 left. Eugene drove inside and found Muhammad at the top of the arc, hitting the shot to claim Troy's first lead since the 2:22 mark of the second, 63-60.
The Red Wolves' shooting troubles continued as they went scoreless in the final 2:41 from the field to allow Troy to complete its rally, 67-62.
Fire Back
Troy was down early against the Red Wolves, 22-18, after Ford Jr. converted his second free throw with 8:06 left in the first.
A miss from deep for ASU's Davis led to a defensive rebound by Zay Williams. Williams got it to Darius McNeill, with 7:01 left, who took the screen and found a wide-open paint for two, 22-20.
McNeill kept the momentum rolling for Troy with 5:37 remaining after Williams got rejected by Izaiyah Nelson. McNeill was there for the offensive rebound and put it back up to tie the ballgame, 22-22.
The Trojans grabbed the lead off a 3-point bucket from Eugene, 25-23, at the 15:53 mark, and held it for the rest of the half to enter the locker room with the 30-27 advantage.
Head Coach Scott Cross
"I knew it was going to be tough. You look at all their scores, and they are right there. It's always close with them. They've got a good team with a ton of weapons, and they competed tonight. They had us down 10 in the second half, and our guys could've folded. But we called a timeout, and I ripped them pretty good. They responded. Phillips was one of those guys that came up big tonight. He fell out of rhythm early on, but when we put him back in, he changed the game. Once he flips that switch, it's game over. We have good shooters, and all we ask is that they shoot smart shots. We gave up some open looks in the first and responded well in the second. When it gets down the stretch, this team continues to respond. This one is a character builder."
Jonesboro Numbers
• Phillips ended the night with 22 points, marking the fifth time in 2022-23 that the senior scored 20-plus points – eighth time in his career.
• Both sides combined for 50 free throws attempts, converting 38 for 76 percent – both sides shot 19-of-25. Through the previous 27 games, the Trojans' games have averaged 37 attempts from the line.
• Troy's bench produced big after two starters ended scoreless (Kieffer Punter, Christian Turner). Phillips led the charge as the Troy bench scored 28 points to ASU's 10.
• ASU was held to 39.6 percent from the field, improving Troy's record when holding the opposition under 40 percent to 11-1, 7-1 SBC.
• With nine rebounds, Williams sits 46 rebounds from being the all-time Division-I rebounder in Troy program history – totaled 773.
Midway Point
Troy travels northeast to the Cam Henderson Center to face Marshall in game two of its three-game road trip – tip-off slated for 6 p.m.
Both sides combined for 50 free throw attempts as the Trojans (17-11, 9-6 SBC) moved up to take sole possession of the fifth seed with a loss by Old Dominion – one game from James Madison for fourth. The Red Wolves (10-18, 2-13 SBC) lose their third straight to remain in last place for the SBC.
Nelson Phillips dropped 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting to lead Troy to victory, with 14 coming in the second half. Aamer Muhammad scored 11 of his 16 points in the second on two made threes to lift the Trojans.
Omar El-Sheikh hit 8-of-9 free throws for a team-high 16 points for ASU. Behind him were Markis Davis (15) and Terrance Ford Jr. (13) in double-figures. Overall, the Red Wolves were held to 39.6 percent from the field to fall to Troy for the third consecutive time.
Rally Towel
El-Sheikh capped off a 14-0 run by the Red Wolves at the charity stripe to extend the lead to 10, 44-34, at the 6:29 mark– run lasted four minutes.
Muhammad stopped the bleeding after a media timeout, banging the triple off the assist from Christyon Eugene, 44-37. The next possession saw Punter steal the ball from El-Sheikh, which led to a Nate Tshimanga euro step for two that trimmed the deficit to five, 44-39, with 11:53 remaining.
The following eight minutes saw both sides trade blows, with neither able to take control. Then, the momentum flipped Troy's way when Williams found Phillips behind the arch with 3:11 left, and the guard converted his 17th point, 58-57.
After El-Sheikh responded with a two-point basket, Phillips one-upped him, grabbing the miss from Muhammad and sunk another triple to tie the game, 60-60 – 2:11 on the clock.
A miss from deep for Ford Jr. led to Eugene holding the ball with 1:19 left. Eugene drove inside and found Muhammad at the top of the arc, hitting the shot to claim Troy's first lead since the 2:22 mark of the second, 63-60.
The Red Wolves' shooting troubles continued as they went scoreless in the final 2:41 from the field to allow Troy to complete its rally, 67-62.
Fire Back
Troy was down early against the Red Wolves, 22-18, after Ford Jr. converted his second free throw with 8:06 left in the first.
A miss from deep for ASU's Davis led to a defensive rebound by Zay Williams. Williams got it to Darius McNeill, with 7:01 left, who took the screen and found a wide-open paint for two, 22-20.
McNeill kept the momentum rolling for Troy with 5:37 remaining after Williams got rejected by Izaiyah Nelson. McNeill was there for the offensive rebound and put it back up to tie the ballgame, 22-22.
The Trojans grabbed the lead off a 3-point bucket from Eugene, 25-23, at the 15:53 mark, and held it for the rest of the half to enter the locker room with the 30-27 advantage.
Head Coach Scott Cross
"I knew it was going to be tough. You look at all their scores, and they are right there. It's always close with them. They've got a good team with a ton of weapons, and they competed tonight. They had us down 10 in the second half, and our guys could've folded. But we called a timeout, and I ripped them pretty good. They responded. Phillips was one of those guys that came up big tonight. He fell out of rhythm early on, but when we put him back in, he changed the game. Once he flips that switch, it's game over. We have good shooters, and all we ask is that they shoot smart shots. We gave up some open looks in the first and responded well in the second. When it gets down the stretch, this team continues to respond. This one is a character builder."
Jonesboro Numbers
• Phillips ended the night with 22 points, marking the fifth time in 2022-23 that the senior scored 20-plus points – eighth time in his career.
• Both sides combined for 50 free throws attempts, converting 38 for 76 percent – both sides shot 19-of-25. Through the previous 27 games, the Trojans' games have averaged 37 attempts from the line.
• Troy's bench produced big after two starters ended scoreless (Kieffer Punter, Christian Turner). Phillips led the charge as the Troy bench scored 28 points to ASU's 10.
• ASU was held to 39.6 percent from the field, improving Troy's record when holding the opposition under 40 percent to 11-1, 7-1 SBC.
• With nine rebounds, Williams sits 46 rebounds from being the all-time Division-I rebounder in Troy program history – totaled 773.
Midway Point
Troy travels northeast to the Cam Henderson Center to face Marshall in game two of its three-game road trip – tip-off slated for 6 p.m.
Team Stats
TROY
ASU
FG%
.447
.396
3FG%
.300
.278
FT%
.760
.760
RB
34
29
TO
15
13
STL
9
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
G
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