Troy University Athletics
Saturday, February 18
Huntington, W.Va.
6 p.m.
Troy University
17-12,9-7Sun Belt
78
at
88
Marshall
23-6,12-4Sun Belt
1
2
F
Troy
30
48
78
Marshall
38
50
88
McNeill, Phillips Unable to Outscore Marshall
2/18/2023 10:07:00 PM | Basketball (M)
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Both sides combined for 166 points through 133 shot attempts and 65 conversions. But it was Marshall on top over Troy, 88-78, off a 27-point performance from Andrew Taylor on Saturday night in the Cam Henderson Center.
The loss ends a four-game win streak for the Trojans (17-12, 9-7 SBC) as they drop back into a two-way tie for fifth with Old Dominion, now two games back from a two-round bye. Meanwhile, the Thundering Herd (23-6, 12-4 SBC) secures a two-round bye, taking sole possession of second in the SBC with a loss by Louisiana.
Darius McNeill couldn't be stopped on the offensive end, finding his way inside for 18 points on a 9-of-11 shooting performance. Nelson Phillips led the team in scoring off the bench with his third straight 20-plus point game at 22 points. He also boosted the Trojans on defense with seven rebounds and three steals.
The Herd had four players end the night in double-figures, with Taylor's 27 points shining above the rest. Taevion Kinsey joined him in the 20-point category with 22 points while grabbing eight boards. Before fouling out at 28 minutes, Micah Handlogten grabbed a team-high 10 boards, adding seven points, four assists and two steals to his totals.
So Close
The second half repeated the script of the first, with the Trojans unable to match Marshall through the first 15:15 of the second. At the 15:15 mark, Obinna Anochili-Killen drove inside before pulling up a jump shot to extend the lead to 13, 79-66.
Together, the Trojans fought back, cutting the deficit to single digits after Williams slammed it home off the assist from McNeill before Phillips drove inside for the lay-in with 3:58 left, 79-70.
Handlogten responded with a fastbreak slam before Aamer Muhammad hit from behind the arc on another assist from McNeill, 81-73. A defensive stand by Troy that resulted in a turnover by Taylor forced the final media timeout.
The play was drawn up to allow Phillips to connect from deep, but after he missed, Williams was there for the offensive rebound, followed by a hook shot in the paint, 81-75. Another stop defensively allowed Phillips to connect inside the paint for his 22nd point, 81-77 – 1:57 on the clock.
A timeout by Marshall allowed them to regroup and bang in a triple, 84-77, with 1:30 left. And once Williams missed his first free throw, Marshall smelled blood in the water, keeping Troy off the scoreboard for the final 0:34 to survive, 88-78.
Closing Strong in the First
Troy struggled through the first 10:49, finding itself down 27-12 after a shot clock violation allowed Marshall's Kinsey to convert the two-point basket outside the paint.
After 1:36 more had passed, Zay Williams ramped up offensively with back-to-back buckets inside to trim the deficit to 10, 29-19.
Kinsey fired back after Goran Miladinovic missed a 3-point basket with the second-chance layup, 31-19, resulting in a media timeout.
Phillips came out strong from the media timeout after Handlogten turned the ball over. Phillips got the assist from Williams as the senior drove inside for the dunk, 31-21.
The dunk sparked a 6-0 run finished by Phillips again with the putback slam with 4:22 left in the half, 31-25. Troy was able to head into halftime down eight, 38-30 after the run kept them close.
Head Coach Scott Cross
"The only way you're going to win a game like this is by being extremely tough and playing great defense. We tried to outscore them, and that's not us. That's not our formula for victory. We got up 70 shots and scored 78 points but gave up 88. In order to be successful, it's no secret that we have to hold them to under 40 percent. We have to win on the board, and we have to win the hustle points. We didn't do those things. Credit to them. They are really good. They picked us apart early on in the press, passing the ball extremely well. We have to be better, so we're going to get back to work. We got a quick turnaround for Monroe on Wednesday."
Huntington Hitters
• Troy won the battle in the paint tonight, going 27-of-45 (60 percent) to outscore Marshall 46-34.
• The Trojan bench gave them life, with 48 points coming from that unit – 61.5 percent of Troy's points.
• Despite the loss, Williams led the team in rebounds for the sixth consecutive game with eight total. The eight brings his career rebounding totals to 781, which is 38 away from the most in Troy Division-I history.
• Troy forced the Thundering Herd into committing 13 turnovers tonight, extending the streak of forcing double-digit turnovers in every game through 2022-23.
• Jackson Fields was perfect tonight, shooting 3-of-3 from the field for seven points. He also added two rebounds to his numbers.
Final Road Game
The Trojans have one final road game left on the schedule in the Fant-Ewing Coliseum against UL-Monroe next Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
The loss ends a four-game win streak for the Trojans (17-12, 9-7 SBC) as they drop back into a two-way tie for fifth with Old Dominion, now two games back from a two-round bye. Meanwhile, the Thundering Herd (23-6, 12-4 SBC) secures a two-round bye, taking sole possession of second in the SBC with a loss by Louisiana.
Darius McNeill couldn't be stopped on the offensive end, finding his way inside for 18 points on a 9-of-11 shooting performance. Nelson Phillips led the team in scoring off the bench with his third straight 20-plus point game at 22 points. He also boosted the Trojans on defense with seven rebounds and three steals.
The Herd had four players end the night in double-figures, with Taylor's 27 points shining above the rest. Taevion Kinsey joined him in the 20-point category with 22 points while grabbing eight boards. Before fouling out at 28 minutes, Micah Handlogten grabbed a team-high 10 boards, adding seven points, four assists and two steals to his totals.
So Close
The second half repeated the script of the first, with the Trojans unable to match Marshall through the first 15:15 of the second. At the 15:15 mark, Obinna Anochili-Killen drove inside before pulling up a jump shot to extend the lead to 13, 79-66.
Together, the Trojans fought back, cutting the deficit to single digits after Williams slammed it home off the assist from McNeill before Phillips drove inside for the lay-in with 3:58 left, 79-70.
Handlogten responded with a fastbreak slam before Aamer Muhammad hit from behind the arc on another assist from McNeill, 81-73. A defensive stand by Troy that resulted in a turnover by Taylor forced the final media timeout.
The play was drawn up to allow Phillips to connect from deep, but after he missed, Williams was there for the offensive rebound, followed by a hook shot in the paint, 81-75. Another stop defensively allowed Phillips to connect inside the paint for his 22nd point, 81-77 – 1:57 on the clock.
A timeout by Marshall allowed them to regroup and bang in a triple, 84-77, with 1:30 left. And once Williams missed his first free throw, Marshall smelled blood in the water, keeping Troy off the scoreboard for the final 0:34 to survive, 88-78.
Closing Strong in the First
Troy struggled through the first 10:49, finding itself down 27-12 after a shot clock violation allowed Marshall's Kinsey to convert the two-point basket outside the paint.
After 1:36 more had passed, Zay Williams ramped up offensively with back-to-back buckets inside to trim the deficit to 10, 29-19.
Kinsey fired back after Goran Miladinovic missed a 3-point basket with the second-chance layup, 31-19, resulting in a media timeout.
Phillips came out strong from the media timeout after Handlogten turned the ball over. Phillips got the assist from Williams as the senior drove inside for the dunk, 31-21.
The dunk sparked a 6-0 run finished by Phillips again with the putback slam with 4:22 left in the half, 31-25. Troy was able to head into halftime down eight, 38-30 after the run kept them close.
Head Coach Scott Cross
"The only way you're going to win a game like this is by being extremely tough and playing great defense. We tried to outscore them, and that's not us. That's not our formula for victory. We got up 70 shots and scored 78 points but gave up 88. In order to be successful, it's no secret that we have to hold them to under 40 percent. We have to win on the board, and we have to win the hustle points. We didn't do those things. Credit to them. They are really good. They picked us apart early on in the press, passing the ball extremely well. We have to be better, so we're going to get back to work. We got a quick turnaround for Monroe on Wednesday."
Huntington Hitters
• Troy won the battle in the paint tonight, going 27-of-45 (60 percent) to outscore Marshall 46-34.
• The Trojan bench gave them life, with 48 points coming from that unit – 61.5 percent of Troy's points.
• Despite the loss, Williams led the team in rebounds for the sixth consecutive game with eight total. The eight brings his career rebounding totals to 781, which is 38 away from the most in Troy Division-I history.
• Troy forced the Thundering Herd into committing 13 turnovers tonight, extending the streak of forcing double-digit turnovers in every game through 2022-23.
• Jackson Fields was perfect tonight, shooting 3-of-3 from the field for seven points. He also added two rebounds to his numbers.
Final Road Game
The Trojans have one final road game left on the schedule in the Fant-Ewing Coliseum against UL-Monroe next Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Team Stats
TROY
Marsh
FG%
.471
.508
3FG%
.240
.375
FT%
.462
.833
RB
32
40
TO
9
13
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
18
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
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