Troy University Athletics
Saturday, January 27
Troy, Ala.
4 p.m.
Troy University
13-8,7-2Sun Belt
83
vs
79
South Alabama
10-11,3-6Sun Belt
1
2
F
South Alabama
34
45
79
Troy
40
43
83
Men’s Basketball Takes Down South Alabama in Front of Packed Trojan Arena
1/27/2024 9:14:00 PM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. – In front of the second largest crowd in Trojan Arena history – 5,110 – the Troy men's basketball team defeated in-state rival South Alabama, 83-79, on Saturday afternoon.
Troy (13-8, 7-2 SBC) moves to 12-1 at home this season. It's the most wins in Trojan Arena in a single season and the most home wins since the 1992-93 campaign (13).
The only larger crowd in Trojan Arena's history came in its first-ever game against Mississippi State on Nov. 9, 2012. Troy won that game 56-53 in front of 5,120 people.
Aamer Muhammad and Myles Rigsby led the Trojan charge as South Alabama (10-11, 3-6 SBC) was unable to slow down the dynamic players.
Muhammad led all players with 23 points and eight rebounds. Both of those marks are season highs for the senior guard out of New Mexico. It's just the second time this season that Muhammad has scored in double-figures.
Rigsby set a new career-high with 21 points. It's his second consecutive game with 20 or more points. His previous career-high was 20, which he set against Texas State on Wednesday night and Coastal Carolina to open conference play in December.
The Jaguars got off to a strong start early in the game and had a 14-9 lead at the under-16 media timeout in the first half. The Trojans responded well and put together a 14-3 run to take a 23-17 lead with just over 11 minutes to play before the break.
Troy continued to answer the South Alabama offense and took a 40-34 lead into halftime. Rigsby had 12 of his 21 points in the first 20 minutes.
South Alabama wasn't going down easy in the second half, and the two teams traded buckets for the remainder of the game, but the Trojans never surrendered the lead.
Muhammad had 16 second-half points on 6-8 shooting and knocked down a massive three-pointer with 30 seconds left, which proved to be the dagger. His 16 points in the final 20 minutes are the most in a half this season for Muhammad.
The Jaguars finished the afternoon shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 52.4 percent from three. Tyrell Jones led South Alabama with 19 points.
Troy was 29-64 from the field (45.3 percent) and 8-30 from 3-point range (26.7 percent).
Dominating the Paint
While the Trojans struggled to shoot it from a distance, they had no problem handling their business below the basket.
Troy outrebounded South Alabama 42-33 and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds. Theo Seng was second on the team in boards with six and Jackson Fields had five.
In addition to the impressive rebounding number, Troy outscored South Alabama 40-24 in the paint and 17-7 on second-chance buckets.
Thoughts from Coach
Head coach Scott Cross gave his thoughts following the game:
"I thought it was a good game. We could have been a little tougher on defending the three-point line. We have to be more aggressive and we can't continue to allow double-figure three-pointers. But our guys stepped up. Aamer Muhammad made some huge shots for us. Myles Rigsby made some huge shots… I'm just happy we got a win. It's a rivalry game and it's never going to be easy. I'm thankful to the good lord for this victory."
Up Next
The Trojans head to Statesboro, Ga., for a contest against Georgia Southern on Thursday, Feb. 1, at 6 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Troy Sports Radio Network. Live stats will be available on Troystats.com.
Game 21 Notes
• Myles Rigsby set a new career-high in points with 21. His previous high was 20, which he set on Wednesday night against Texas State and against Coastal Carolina in the conference opener.
• Aamer Muhammad scored a season-high 23 points on Saturday. His previous high was 21, which he set at home against SIUE on Dec. 1.
• Aamer Muhammad grabbed a season-high eight rebounds on Saturday.
• Troy basketball had its second largest crowd ever on Saturday, as 5,110 filled Trojan Arena. The only larger crowd in Trojan Arena's history came in its first-ever game against Mississippi State on Nov. 9, 2012. Troy won that game 56-53 in front of 5,120 people.
• Troy is now 12-1 at home this season, which is the most home wins in a single season in Trojan Arena and the most since the 1992-93 campaign when it went 13-0.
• Troy moves to 5-1 this season when leading at halftime.
• The Trojans shot 70.8 percent from the free-throw line. Troy is undefeated in conference play when shooting 70 percent or better from the charity stripe.
• Scott Cross now sits at 298 career wins. He is 73-72 as the Troy head coach and is 46-20 when coaching the Trojans at Trojan Arena.
• Troy sits alone in second place in the Sun Belt standings following Saturday's slate of games. App State (17-4, 8-1 SBC) is in sole possession of first place. The Mountaineer's only conference loss came against Troy on Jan. 6 at Trojan
Troy (13-8, 7-2 SBC) moves to 12-1 at home this season. It's the most wins in Trojan Arena in a single season and the most home wins since the 1992-93 campaign (13).
The only larger crowd in Trojan Arena's history came in its first-ever game against Mississippi State on Nov. 9, 2012. Troy won that game 56-53 in front of 5,120 people.
Aamer Muhammad and Myles Rigsby led the Trojan charge as South Alabama (10-11, 3-6 SBC) was unable to slow down the dynamic players.
Muhammad led all players with 23 points and eight rebounds. Both of those marks are season highs for the senior guard out of New Mexico. It's just the second time this season that Muhammad has scored in double-figures.
Rigsby set a new career-high with 21 points. It's his second consecutive game with 20 or more points. His previous career-high was 20, which he set against Texas State on Wednesday night and Coastal Carolina to open conference play in December.
The Jaguars got off to a strong start early in the game and had a 14-9 lead at the under-16 media timeout in the first half. The Trojans responded well and put together a 14-3 run to take a 23-17 lead with just over 11 minutes to play before the break.
Troy continued to answer the South Alabama offense and took a 40-34 lead into halftime. Rigsby had 12 of his 21 points in the first 20 minutes.
South Alabama wasn't going down easy in the second half, and the two teams traded buckets for the remainder of the game, but the Trojans never surrendered the lead.
Muhammad had 16 second-half points on 6-8 shooting and knocked down a massive three-pointer with 30 seconds left, which proved to be the dagger. His 16 points in the final 20 minutes are the most in a half this season for Muhammad.
The Jaguars finished the afternoon shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 52.4 percent from three. Tyrell Jones led South Alabama with 19 points.
Troy was 29-64 from the field (45.3 percent) and 8-30 from 3-point range (26.7 percent).
Dominating the Paint
While the Trojans struggled to shoot it from a distance, they had no problem handling their business below the basket.
Troy outrebounded South Alabama 42-33 and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds. Theo Seng was second on the team in boards with six and Jackson Fields had five.
In addition to the impressive rebounding number, Troy outscored South Alabama 40-24 in the paint and 17-7 on second-chance buckets.
Thoughts from Coach
Head coach Scott Cross gave his thoughts following the game:
"I thought it was a good game. We could have been a little tougher on defending the three-point line. We have to be more aggressive and we can't continue to allow double-figure three-pointers. But our guys stepped up. Aamer Muhammad made some huge shots for us. Myles Rigsby made some huge shots… I'm just happy we got a win. It's a rivalry game and it's never going to be easy. I'm thankful to the good lord for this victory."
Up Next
The Trojans head to Statesboro, Ga., for a contest against Georgia Southern on Thursday, Feb. 1, at 6 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Troy Sports Radio Network. Live stats will be available on Troystats.com.
Game 21 Notes
• Myles Rigsby set a new career-high in points with 21. His previous high was 20, which he set on Wednesday night against Texas State and against Coastal Carolina in the conference opener.
• Aamer Muhammad scored a season-high 23 points on Saturday. His previous high was 21, which he set at home against SIUE on Dec. 1.
• Aamer Muhammad grabbed a season-high eight rebounds on Saturday.
• Troy basketball had its second largest crowd ever on Saturday, as 5,110 filled Trojan Arena. The only larger crowd in Trojan Arena's history came in its first-ever game against Mississippi State on Nov. 9, 2012. Troy won that game 56-53 in front of 5,120 people.
• Troy is now 12-1 at home this season, which is the most home wins in a single season in Trojan Arena and the most since the 1992-93 campaign when it went 13-0.
• Troy moves to 5-1 this season when leading at halftime.
• The Trojans shot 70.8 percent from the free-throw line. Troy is undefeated in conference play when shooting 70 percent or better from the charity stripe.
• Scott Cross now sits at 298 career wins. He is 73-72 as the Troy head coach and is 46-20 when coaching the Trojans at Trojan Arena.
• Troy sits alone in second place in the Sun Belt standings following Saturday's slate of games. App State (17-4, 8-1 SBC) is in sole possession of first place. The Mountaineer's only conference loss came against Troy on Jan. 6 at Trojan
Team Stats
USA
TROY
FG%
.435
.453
3FG%
.524
.267
FT%
.778
.708
RB
33
42
TO
10
11
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Basketball (M)G
/ Basketball (M)F
/ Basketball (M)Troy vs. Oakwood (Full Highlights)
Wednesday, December 10
Player Postgame Press Conference (Lana Koricanac, Emani Jenkins) - Oakwood
Wednesday, December 10
Chanda Rigby Postgame Press Conference - Oakwood
Wednesday, December 10
Troy vs. LaGrange (Full Highlights)
Saturday, December 06