Troy University Athletics
Troy University
20-13,11-7Sun Belt
James Madison
22-10,12-6Sun Belt
Men's Basketball Falls in SBC Tournament Quarterfinals
3/4/2023 6:18:00 PM | Basketball (M)
PENSACOLA, Fla. – Troy shot 1-of-5 from the charity stripe in the final 0:11 of the game to suffer a postseason-ending loss to James Madison, 75-72, on Saturday afternoon in the Pensacola Bay Center.
The Trojans' (20-13, 11-7 SBC) historic run ends in the quarterfinals after their second 20-win season that included back-to-back double-digit wins in Trojan Arena and against the Sun Belt Conference.
Christyon Eugene didn't go down without a fight, scoring 15 of his team-high 26 points in the second half on 6-of-9 shooting. Nelson Phillips joined the battle and had a 20-point performance, with nine points in the second, nine rebounds, two steals, and a block.
Sun Belt Conference Sixth Man of the Year, Terrence Edwards, shined to lead the Dukes (22-10, 12-6 SBC) to the semifinals in their first year with the SBC. He ended the night with 27 points on 11-of-13 from the field and 12 rebounds for a double-double performance.
One Last Fight
A jumper by Edwards from deep pushed JMU's lead back to double-figures with 12:47 left in the ballgame.
Zay Williams drew the foul at the other end and converted his first one to bring the JMU lead to single-digits, 54-45, with 12:22 left to give Troy life on the offensive end.
The Trojans knocked down back-to-back shots inside to cut the deficit to five, 54-49, at the 9:14 mark. First, Eugene got the pass from Aamer Muhammad in the fastbreak and charged the other end in four seconds to score. Then, Darius McNeill followed up Eugene with a similar move off the Kieffer Punter rebound, scoring in three seconds on the fastbreak.
Takal Molson drilled a jumper to push the Dukes' lead back to seven before Punter missed a triple. Phillips flew in for the offensive rebound and dished it to McNeill, who found Christian Turner at the wing, and he drained the 3-pointer, 56-52.
Both sides exchanged runs before JMU was up nine, 71-62, when Alonzo Sule hit the jumper outside the paint with 2:49 left. However, the Trojans kept fighting, jumping on a 7-0 run until there was 0:23 left on four points from Phillips, a dunk by Williams and a free throw from Eugene.
For JMU, Edwards had the ball against the full-court press when he found Sule at the other end, and he slammed it down for the four-point lead, 73-69, with 0:18 left.
A miss at the free throw line from Sule ended in the hands of Eugene, who drove down the court, getting the and-one call, 73-71, at the 19:49 mark. The junior missed the free throw, but Williams grabbed the offensive board to draw another shooting foul.
Williams made the first to cut the deficit to one, 73-72, with 0:08 left, but missed the second. Noah Freidel grabbed the rebound, and Troy committed the foul for him to convert both, 75-72.
One last attempt for Troy resulted in Punter having two shots at the charity stripe. After missing the first, Punter intentionally missed the second in hopes of providing a last-second shot. However, Molson was there for the game-clinching defensive rebound to send Troy home, 75-72.
Head Coach Scott Cross
"I'm very proud of the guys for the effort they gave and how hard they fought. They never quit as a team. This is a team I can identify with. The sacrifices they made all year long; they've just been a joy to coach. They were one of the most connected teams that I have been around. One of the most coachable teams I've been around. They are all very talented. Our five seniors meant a lot to this program. I'm just super grateful to have had the chance to coach them. Nelson Phillips has been awesome for us all year long, and he laid it all on the line for us. He changed the game. Spudd has been good all year long for us, and he gave it his all. James Madison is a great, well-coached team. That was a heavy-weight fight, and we just ran out of time. But I'm just thankful for the effort our guys gave."
Quarterfinal Notables
• With his six rebounds, Zay Williams is one rebound shy of tying Jordan Vernado for the most rebounds in Troy Division-I history.
• Troy's ability to shoot free throws cost them the ballgame, dropping from 91.7 percent in the first half to 70.4 overall with a 53.3 percent in the second.
• The Trojans dominated the transition game, outscoring the Dukes 20-9.
• Troy's perimeter defense showed out despite the loss, keeping JMU to just 28.6 percent from deep.
• Williams potentially ended his career as a Trojan with his 70th career double-digit scoring game. He scored 13 points, with seven coming from the charity stripe.
