Troy University Athletics
Friday, February 24
Troy, Ala.
6:30 p.m.
Troy University
vs
Coastal Carolina
Regular-Season Finale Pits Troy Against Coastal Carolina for Senior Day
2/23/2023 11:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. – The Troy men's basketball team wraps up the regular-season Friday afternoon when it hosts Coastal Carolina in Trojan Arena. With tip-off scheduled for 6:30 p.m., the Trojans will honor its five seniors, Darius McNeill, Nelson Phillips, Kieffer Punter, Lydell Geffrard and Zay Williams.
For the first time since 2008-10, the Trojans have back-to-back 10-win seasons at home and in the Sun Belt Conference with an 18-12, 10-7 SBC record. On Friday, Troy battles for the fifth seed in the SBC Tournament, needing a win to secure it as it holds the tiebreaker over Old Dominion. The Chanticleers (11-18, 5-12 SBC) are locked in as the 12th seed after suffering two straight losses.
CCU leads the overall series between the programs, 9-6 and 4-3 in Trojan Arena, after both sides split the series in 2021-22.
Game Information
Location: Troy, Ala. – Trojan Arena
The Matchup: Troy (18-12, 10-7 SBC) vs. Coastal Carolina (11-18, 5-12 SBC)
When: Friday, Feb. 24 – 6:30 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Troy Sports Radio Network
Live Stats: TroyStats.com
Overtime Thriller
Troy battled back from a first-half deficit to lead ULM by eight, 64-56, with 3:45 left. However, the remaining time in regulation saw the Warhawks outscore the Trojans 11-3 to send it to overtime.
Behind a balanced attack from Aamer Muhammad, Zay Williams, Nelson Phillips and Christyon Eugene, the Trojans shot 55.6 percent from the field in extra time to secure the 82-78 victory. Despite the late comeback from ULM, the Trojans' defense turned it around in the second half, allowing the Warhawks to shoot 33.3 percent from the field compared to 48.3 in the first.
Keeping an Eye on the Chanticleers
Losers in nine of their last 10 games, beating Georgia State on Feb. 16, the Chanticleers have plummeted to the bottom of the conference. On the road, CCU is 3-10, with its last road win coming against Old Dominion, 67-66, on Jan. 12.
Without one of their key players in Essam Mostafa, CCU has been holding firm over the last four games, being outscored by an average margin of victory of six. Their most recent loss to Georgia Southern saw the Chanticleers' offense shoot 37.7 percent while being outrebounded 38-28. However, the plus-seven turnover margin kept them in the game.
Despite the losing record, Coastal Carolina still has a plus-scoring margin at plus-0.5 – only sub-.500 team with a positive scoring margin in the SBC. The Chanticleers average 73.4 points on 43.4 percent shooting which ranks fourth and 10th, respectively. On the defensive end, CCU ranks last in scoring defense, allowing 72.9 points.
Since conference play started, the Chanticleers have two players ranked in the top 20 for scoring in Josh Uduje (14.1) and Antonio Daye Jr. (12.5). Daye Jr. also leads the team in assists with 4.7 assists per game – ranked fourth in SBC. CCU also has two 3-point specialists, Kylan Blackmon and Henry Abraham, who shoot 44.7 and 42 percent from deep, respectively. If Mostafa can't play, CCU will miss out on the third-best rebounder in the league with 9.4 rebounds per game.
Senior Day Stats
• Williams has played 134 games in his five-year career at Troy. In that time, the senior averaged 5.9 rebounds, with 7.0 in 2022-23. With two guaranteed games left, Williams needs 26 rebounds (10.6) to surpass Jordon Varnado for first in career rebounds in Troy D-I history.
• Preseason polls place Troy in 10th with 76 total votes. With one game left on the 2022-23 schedule, the Trojans will stay as the fifth seed if they defeat Coastal Carolina. The lowest the Trojans could fall is eighth if they lose, pending other tiebreakers - guaranteed first-round bye.
• The win over ULM gave Troy its 10th conference victory of the 2022-23 season. The 10th win marks the first time since 2008-10 that the Trojans had back-to-back seasons with double-digit regular season conference victories.
• Williams comes off an impressive performance where he grabbed a double-double on 16 points and 12 rebounds. The double-double marks his second one of the 2022-23 season and the 12th of his five-year career - leads the Trojans.
• Troy's protected its home court exceptionally well in 2022-23, winning the team's 10th home game against Louisiana, 80-65, for its first back-to-back 10-win seasons at home since 2008-10. Friday presents an opportunity for Troy to have its most home wins since 99-00 with 11.
• With senior day Friday, Williams sits top 10 in Troy D-I history in blocks (fifth), points (seventh), field goal percentage (seventh), rebounds per game (10th), free throws made / attempts (sixth / fifth) and field goals made / attempts (sixth / seventh) and games played (first).
• The Trojans captured their first one-overtime victory since beating Arkansas State, 90-85 on Jan. 12, 2019, with the win over ULM – Troy is 1-1 in overtime in 2022-23.
• Four players scored in double figures in the victory over ULM, with Christyon Eugene leading the team with 17 points, followed by Williams (16), Muhammad (14) and Phillips (13).
• For the first time in his career, Jackson Fields led the Trojans in a statistical category, swatting a career-high three blocks against ULM.
• Eugene's 17-point performance ended a run of sixth games with Phillips or Williams leading the team in scoring. The last time another player led the team in points was Eugene – scored 17 against South Alabama.
• Last time these teams faced off, CCU won 73-63. The leading scorer that returned for Friday's matchup is Eugene, with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting.
• Troy ended a six-game losing streak the last time the programs met at Trojans Arena with a 69-59 victory.
For the first time since 2008-10, the Trojans have back-to-back 10-win seasons at home and in the Sun Belt Conference with an 18-12, 10-7 SBC record. On Friday, Troy battles for the fifth seed in the SBC Tournament, needing a win to secure it as it holds the tiebreaker over Old Dominion. The Chanticleers (11-18, 5-12 SBC) are locked in as the 12th seed after suffering two straight losses.
CCU leads the overall series between the programs, 9-6 and 4-3 in Trojan Arena, after both sides split the series in 2021-22.
Game Information
Location: Troy, Ala. – Trojan Arena
The Matchup: Troy (18-12, 10-7 SBC) vs. Coastal Carolina (11-18, 5-12 SBC)
When: Friday, Feb. 24 – 6:30 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Troy Sports Radio Network
Live Stats: TroyStats.com
Overtime Thriller
Troy battled back from a first-half deficit to lead ULM by eight, 64-56, with 3:45 left. However, the remaining time in regulation saw the Warhawks outscore the Trojans 11-3 to send it to overtime.
Behind a balanced attack from Aamer Muhammad, Zay Williams, Nelson Phillips and Christyon Eugene, the Trojans shot 55.6 percent from the field in extra time to secure the 82-78 victory. Despite the late comeback from ULM, the Trojans' defense turned it around in the second half, allowing the Warhawks to shoot 33.3 percent from the field compared to 48.3 in the first.
Keeping an Eye on the Chanticleers
Losers in nine of their last 10 games, beating Georgia State on Feb. 16, the Chanticleers have plummeted to the bottom of the conference. On the road, CCU is 3-10, with its last road win coming against Old Dominion, 67-66, on Jan. 12.
Without one of their key players in Essam Mostafa, CCU has been holding firm over the last four games, being outscored by an average margin of victory of six. Their most recent loss to Georgia Southern saw the Chanticleers' offense shoot 37.7 percent while being outrebounded 38-28. However, the plus-seven turnover margin kept them in the game.
Despite the losing record, Coastal Carolina still has a plus-scoring margin at plus-0.5 – only sub-.500 team with a positive scoring margin in the SBC. The Chanticleers average 73.4 points on 43.4 percent shooting which ranks fourth and 10th, respectively. On the defensive end, CCU ranks last in scoring defense, allowing 72.9 points.
Since conference play started, the Chanticleers have two players ranked in the top 20 for scoring in Josh Uduje (14.1) and Antonio Daye Jr. (12.5). Daye Jr. also leads the team in assists with 4.7 assists per game – ranked fourth in SBC. CCU also has two 3-point specialists, Kylan Blackmon and Henry Abraham, who shoot 44.7 and 42 percent from deep, respectively. If Mostafa can't play, CCU will miss out on the third-best rebounder in the league with 9.4 rebounds per game.
Senior Day Stats
• Williams has played 134 games in his five-year career at Troy. In that time, the senior averaged 5.9 rebounds, with 7.0 in 2022-23. With two guaranteed games left, Williams needs 26 rebounds (10.6) to surpass Jordon Varnado for first in career rebounds in Troy D-I history.
• Preseason polls place Troy in 10th with 76 total votes. With one game left on the 2022-23 schedule, the Trojans will stay as the fifth seed if they defeat Coastal Carolina. The lowest the Trojans could fall is eighth if they lose, pending other tiebreakers - guaranteed first-round bye.
• The win over ULM gave Troy its 10th conference victory of the 2022-23 season. The 10th win marks the first time since 2008-10 that the Trojans had back-to-back seasons with double-digit regular season conference victories.
• Williams comes off an impressive performance where he grabbed a double-double on 16 points and 12 rebounds. The double-double marks his second one of the 2022-23 season and the 12th of his five-year career - leads the Trojans.
• Troy's protected its home court exceptionally well in 2022-23, winning the team's 10th home game against Louisiana, 80-65, for its first back-to-back 10-win seasons at home since 2008-10. Friday presents an opportunity for Troy to have its most home wins since 99-00 with 11.
• With senior day Friday, Williams sits top 10 in Troy D-I history in blocks (fifth), points (seventh), field goal percentage (seventh), rebounds per game (10th), free throws made / attempts (sixth / fifth) and field goals made / attempts (sixth / seventh) and games played (first).
• The Trojans captured their first one-overtime victory since beating Arkansas State, 90-85 on Jan. 12, 2019, with the win over ULM – Troy is 1-1 in overtime in 2022-23.
• Four players scored in double figures in the victory over ULM, with Christyon Eugene leading the team with 17 points, followed by Williams (16), Muhammad (14) and Phillips (13).
• For the first time in his career, Jackson Fields led the Trojans in a statistical category, swatting a career-high three blocks against ULM.
• Eugene's 17-point performance ended a run of sixth games with Phillips or Williams leading the team in scoring. The last time another player led the team in points was Eugene – scored 17 against South Alabama.
• Last time these teams faced off, CCU won 73-63. The leading scorer that returned for Friday's matchup is Eugene, with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting.
• Troy ended a six-game losing streak the last time the programs met at Trojans Arena with a 69-59 victory.
Players Mentioned
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