Troy University Athletics
Thursday, February 9
Troy, Ala.
7:15 p.m.
Troy University
15-11,7-6Sun Belt
61
vs
57
South Alabama
11-14,5-8Sun Belt
1
2
F
South Alabama
34
23
57
Troy
27
34
61
Photo by: Davis Photography
Nelson Phillips Leads Comeback Over South Alabama
2/9/2023 11:26:00 PM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. – Down by nine with 10:11 remaining, Nelson Phillips erupted for 10 points to complete Troy's comeback over South Alabama, 61-57, on Thursday night in Trojan Arena.
Two straight wins for the Trojans (15-11, 7-6 SBC) move them up to a four-way tie for fifth in the standings, one game back from a first-round bye. The Jaguars (11-14, 5-8 SBC) see a three-game win streak get snapped as they fall for the second straight time at Trojan Arena.
Phillips finished with 16 points, four steals and three rebounds to propel Troy to victory. Alongside him was Zay Williams, who was two points shy from a double-double after seizing a season-high 13 rebounds – finished with eight points on 4-of-10 shooting.
Judah Brown (16), Tyrell Jones (13) and Isaiah Moore (14) returned to double figures over Troy, but Kevin Samuel was held to zero, which made the difference – Samuel finished with 13 rebounds.
Phillips Goes Crazy
Brown pushed the USA lead to nine after hitting a three off the assist from Moore, 50-41 – 11:34 remaining. Both sides failed to convert over the next 1:24 until Williams got the pass from Darius McNeill for the two-point bucket, 50-43.
Williams's bucket opened a 6-0 run that saw back-to-back buckets from Phillips in a 0:30 span. First, the senior grabbed the rebound and sprinted down the court for the fastbreak lay-in, 50-45. He immediately intercepted the ball and went inside for the slam, trimming the deficit to three, 50-47, with 7:52 left.
South Alabama head coach Richie Riley called the timeout after Christian Turner and Brown exchanged buckets inside. However, the timeout didn't change much as neither side scored until Phillips, with 4:49 left, got the assist from Aamer Muhammad and drilled the deep shot to tie the ballgame for the first time since the 1:35 mark into the first.
USA regained the lead and held it, 57-56, despite free throws from Kieffer Punter and Phillips. As Jones tried to inbound the ball, Phillips was there to swipe it away. The Warner Robins native dribbled behind his back and drove inside, converting the lay-in to give Troy the lead, 58-57 – 0:45 left.
Free throws separated the teams in the remaining seconds as Troy shot 3-of-6, while South shot 0-of-2 from the field as Punter, Muhammad and Turner iced the game for the four-point victory, 61-57.
Second Half Rally
Troy found itself down through the first 20 minutes, 34-27. USA made it worse to start with two free throws 0:23 into the second by Owen White, 36-27.
After both sides hit a two-point bucket, Troy launched its rally with 17:54 remaining at the charity stripe by Punter, 38-30. Christyon Eugene followed it up by heading inside for the lay-in at the 2:48 mark, 38-32.
On the next possession, Tyrell Jones missed his layup, and the ball ended up back in Eugene's hands. The ball found its way to Punter on the fastbreak, leading to the 3-point bucket at the 3:19 mark of the second, 38-35.
The Trojans weren't done with the rally as Eugene swiped the ball away from Jones and drove down the floor. Eugene went inside with 15:35 remaining to draw the foul and hit both free throws, 38-37.
Head Coach Scott Cross
"Nelson Phillips, man, did he give us a lift. He played absolutely phenomenal on the offensive end of the floor as well as getting steals and creating offense with his defense. Our guys did an outstanding job keeping them out of the paint. We needed one of these games where we had to fight and claw. We showed a ton of resilience and couldn't be more proud of our guys. We don't give up. I gave a lot of credit to Zay and Punter. Those guys have adopted a refuse-to-lose mentality. They won't quit or give in. There were some second-half plays where you could see Zay not give up under the pressure. Turner gets some credit, he was on Samuel almost the entire game and was phenomenal, having a huge play fouling him, and he was able not to score the free throws, which allowed Christian to come down for the one and one.
Doubleheader Numbers
• Muhammad opened to a hot starting, scoring the first eight points for Troy over the opening seven minutes – finished with 11 points.
• Despite the shooting struggles from the charity stripe, Troy won the battle at the line, shooting 58.8 percent to USA's 55.6 – shot 9-of-17.
• The Trojans led for just 1:39 in the victory, gaining their first lead with 3:55 left. Their largest lead was four to end the game.
• Phillips turned it around in the final 11 minutes, changing from six points on 3-of-7 from the field to 4-of-5 for 10 points.
• Turner was one rebound shy from tying his career-high in rebounds at eight. The big man also scored five points and had one block.
Finish Off the Homestand
The Trojans wrap up their four-game homestand on Saturday when they welcome Louisiana to Trojan Arena at 4 p.m.
Two straight wins for the Trojans (15-11, 7-6 SBC) move them up to a four-way tie for fifth in the standings, one game back from a first-round bye. The Jaguars (11-14, 5-8 SBC) see a three-game win streak get snapped as they fall for the second straight time at Trojan Arena.
Phillips finished with 16 points, four steals and three rebounds to propel Troy to victory. Alongside him was Zay Williams, who was two points shy from a double-double after seizing a season-high 13 rebounds – finished with eight points on 4-of-10 shooting.
Judah Brown (16), Tyrell Jones (13) and Isaiah Moore (14) returned to double figures over Troy, but Kevin Samuel was held to zero, which made the difference – Samuel finished with 13 rebounds.
Phillips Goes Crazy
Brown pushed the USA lead to nine after hitting a three off the assist from Moore, 50-41 – 11:34 remaining. Both sides failed to convert over the next 1:24 until Williams got the pass from Darius McNeill for the two-point bucket, 50-43.
Williams's bucket opened a 6-0 run that saw back-to-back buckets from Phillips in a 0:30 span. First, the senior grabbed the rebound and sprinted down the court for the fastbreak lay-in, 50-45. He immediately intercepted the ball and went inside for the slam, trimming the deficit to three, 50-47, with 7:52 left.
South Alabama head coach Richie Riley called the timeout after Christian Turner and Brown exchanged buckets inside. However, the timeout didn't change much as neither side scored until Phillips, with 4:49 left, got the assist from Aamer Muhammad and drilled the deep shot to tie the ballgame for the first time since the 1:35 mark into the first.
USA regained the lead and held it, 57-56, despite free throws from Kieffer Punter and Phillips. As Jones tried to inbound the ball, Phillips was there to swipe it away. The Warner Robins native dribbled behind his back and drove inside, converting the lay-in to give Troy the lead, 58-57 – 0:45 left.
Free throws separated the teams in the remaining seconds as Troy shot 3-of-6, while South shot 0-of-2 from the field as Punter, Muhammad and Turner iced the game for the four-point victory, 61-57.
Second Half Rally
Troy found itself down through the first 20 minutes, 34-27. USA made it worse to start with two free throws 0:23 into the second by Owen White, 36-27.
After both sides hit a two-point bucket, Troy launched its rally with 17:54 remaining at the charity stripe by Punter, 38-30. Christyon Eugene followed it up by heading inside for the lay-in at the 2:48 mark, 38-32.
On the next possession, Tyrell Jones missed his layup, and the ball ended up back in Eugene's hands. The ball found its way to Punter on the fastbreak, leading to the 3-point bucket at the 3:19 mark of the second, 38-35.
The Trojans weren't done with the rally as Eugene swiped the ball away from Jones and drove down the floor. Eugene went inside with 15:35 remaining to draw the foul and hit both free throws, 38-37.
Head Coach Scott Cross
"Nelson Phillips, man, did he give us a lift. He played absolutely phenomenal on the offensive end of the floor as well as getting steals and creating offense with his defense. Our guys did an outstanding job keeping them out of the paint. We needed one of these games where we had to fight and claw. We showed a ton of resilience and couldn't be more proud of our guys. We don't give up. I gave a lot of credit to Zay and Punter. Those guys have adopted a refuse-to-lose mentality. They won't quit or give in. There were some second-half plays where you could see Zay not give up under the pressure. Turner gets some credit, he was on Samuel almost the entire game and was phenomenal, having a huge play fouling him, and he was able not to score the free throws, which allowed Christian to come down for the one and one.
Doubleheader Numbers
• Muhammad opened to a hot starting, scoring the first eight points for Troy over the opening seven minutes – finished with 11 points.
• Despite the shooting struggles from the charity stripe, Troy won the battle at the line, shooting 58.8 percent to USA's 55.6 – shot 9-of-17.
• The Trojans led for just 1:39 in the victory, gaining their first lead with 3:55 left. Their largest lead was four to end the game.
• Phillips turned it around in the final 11 minutes, changing from six points on 3-of-7 from the field to 4-of-5 for 10 points.
• Turner was one rebound shy from tying his career-high in rebounds at eight. The big man also scored five points and had one block.
Finish Off the Homestand
The Trojans wrap up their four-game homestand on Saturday when they welcome Louisiana to Trojan Arena at 4 p.m.
Team Stats
USA
TROY
FG%
.349
.418
3FG%
.267
.250
FT%
.556
.588
RB
38
43
TO
14
18
STL
11
10
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Basketball (M)
G
/ Basketball (M)G
/ Basketball (M)G
/ Basketball (M)G
/ Basketball (M)
F
/ Basketball (M)F
/ Basketball (M)Gerad Parker Postgame Press Conference - Old Dominion
Friday, November 14
Chanda Rigby Postgame Press Conference - Chattanooga
Thursday, November 13
Player Postgame Press Conference (Zay Dyer, Ashley Baez) - Chattanooga
Thursday, November 13
Troy vs. Chattanooga (Full Highlights)
Thursday, November 13