Troy University Athletics
Troy University
11-6,5-0Sun Belt
Southern Miss
9-8,3-2Sun Belt
Troy Dominates Southern Miss, Wins Sixth Consecutive Game
1/13/2024 9:18:00 PM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. — The Troy men's basketball team picked up its sixth consecutive win — and fifth to open conference play — as it took down Southern Miss 82-56 in Trojan Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Troy (11-6, 5-0 SBC) continues its historic start to open Sun Belt play and is in sole possession of first place in the conference. Troy's 5-0 conference start is the best since the 2003-04 season when the Trojans opened 6-0 (ASUN). The win continues Troy's best Sun Belt start since they joined the conference.
The Trojans are also in the midst of their longest winning streak since the 2016-17 season when they also won six in a row.
Troy's 26-point win on Saturday is the largest margin of victory against a conference opponent since they defeated ULM 91-63 on Jan. 21, 2012.
The Trojans got off to a strong start in front of 4,121 fans at Trojan Arena — the eighth-highest attended game since the arena opened in 2012. Troy jumped out to an early 7-2 lead before Southern Miss (9-8, 3-2 SBC) put together an 11-5 run to take a 13-12 lead into the second media timeout.
The Trojans looked out of sorts on both ends but got an offensive spark from Marcus Rigsby Jr., who had rattled off five-straight points to start a 9-0 Troy run to put the Trojans back out in front.
The remainder of the first half was all Troy, as they closed out the final 12 minutes on a 23-8 run to bring a 35-21 lead into halftime.
Christyon Eugene and Tayton Conerway each had seven points at the break, and Eugene had a team-high seven rebounds.
The Troy defense held Southern Miss to 24.2 percent (8-33) from the field in the first half and 2-11 from 3-point range.
The Trojan's dominance carried over into the second half, as they opened the final 20 minutes on a 7-0 run.
Sophomore center Jackson Fields came alive offensively in the second half and finished the night tying his career-high in points with 13 — which was also the team-high. Fields grabbed seven rebounds — also tying his career high. Eugene, Fields and Thomas Dowd all finished with seven rebounds.
Fields wasn't the only big man who stepped up, as Theo Seng had his best shooting night of the season. He knocked down a career-high three three-pointers and finished with 11 points.
Conerway had 12 points and Eugene had 10.
Domination
The Trojans dominated in nearly every facet of the game.
Troy shot 41.9 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from beyond the arc. It was another efficient performance from the free-throw line as well, as Troy went 21-28.
Southern Miss struggled to keep Troy off the glass, as the Trojans out-rebounded the Golden Eagles 45-34 and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds.
The team's impressive depth was also on full display as Troy had 37 bench points compared to Southern Miss' 10.
The Trojans' defense continued to create havoc on the court, as Southern Miss committed 18 turnovers — seven coming off Troy steals. Conerway led the team in steals with two.
Thoughts from Coach Cross
Head coach Scott Cross gave his thoughts following the game:
"I'm so thankful to the good lord for this victory and the way our guys played. They continue to get tougher and defend better. They were phenomenal rebounding the ball. They did a good job taking care of the basketball. Everything as a coach that you look at, they checked all the boxes tonight. I think that's why the margin was why it was. In addition, our fans were amazing and this was obviously the best crowd of the year, and they energized our guys."
Up Next
Troy now gears up for its first road game of 2024, as it goes to Mobile, Ala., to take on South Alabama on Thursday night at the Mitchell Center. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and on the Troy Sports Radio Network.
Game 17 Notes
• Troy moves to 10-1 at home this season. Under Scott Cross, Troy is 44-20 at Trojan Arena.
• Troy's 26-point win on Saturday is the largest margin of victory against a conference opponent since they defeated ULM 91-63 on Jan. 21, 2012.
• Jackson Fields led Troy with 13 points, which ties his career-high.
• Troy's 5-0 conference start is the best since the 2003-04 season when the Trojans opened 6-0 (ASUN). The win continues Troy's best Sun Belt start since they joined the conference.
• Six games is Troy's longest winning streak since the 2016-17 season when it also won six games in a row.
• The attendance was 4,121, which is the eighth-highest attended game since Trojan Arena opened in 2012.
• Christyon Eugene tied his career-high in rebounds with seven.
• Theo Seng set a new career-high in three-pointers made with three.
• Scott Cross is now 71-70 as the Troy head coach.
• Troy moves to 2-15 all-time against Southern Miss.
