Men’s Basketball Dominates West Georgia, 84-65

Tuesday, November 19

Carrollton, Ga.

6 p.m.

Troy University

3-2,0-0Sun Belt

West Georgia

0-5,0-0ASUN

Troy

West Ga.

Men’s Basketball Dominates West Georgia, 84-65

11/19/2024 10:30:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

CARROLLTON, Ga. – The Troy men's basketball team closed out its four-game road trip in dominant fashion on Tuesday night, as it cruised to an 84-65 win over West Georgia in The Coliseum.

Troy (3-2) dropped both of its games last week against strong opponents but found its shooting stroke against the Wolves to pick up a much-needed victory before heading into the Trojan Turkey Tipoff next week. The Trojans shot 51 percent from the field, while knocking down a season-high 10 3-pointers on a 40 percent shooting clip.

Victor Valdes helped spark the offense with his best game of the season, as he and Jackson Fields each had 15 points to lead Troy. Valdes buried all five of his attempts and was perfect on his three attempts from beyond the arc. It's the second-most points the Mexican sophomore has scored in his career. He had 16 on the road against Arkansas State last year.

Fields continued his strong start to the season on Tuesday, as he tied his career-high in scoring. Most of his damage came from the charity stripe, where he made a career-best 11 free throws on 12 attempts. He also led the Trojans with seven rebounds.

The first 10 minutes were close, and with 9:38 left in the half, West Georgia was leading 18-17. The Trojans, who were still cold from the field like at Arkansas and Oregon, finally hit their rhythm and exploded on a 12-0 run over the course of 2:30 to take a 29-18 lead. Troy continued to add to its lead and took a 47-28 advantage into the halftime break.

Fields and Marcus Rigsby Jr., each had eight points to lead Troy in the first 20 minutes. The Trojans shot 56.7 percent from the field and buried eight of its 10 3-pointers in the half. The Trojans distributed and took care of the ball early, as it had 13 assists and four turnovers going into the locker room.

West Georgia played better in the second half, but it was far from enough to climb out of the large halftime deficit. The two teams tied at 37 in the half, and Troy had its largest-margin of victory – 19 points – of the season.

In addition to Fields and Valdes scoring 15 points apiece, Myles Rigsby had 11 points, while Rigsby Jr., had 10. Rigsby has scored in double figures in all five games this season and buried his first three of the season tonight after opening the year 0-10 from distance.

The Trojans finished the night with just 11 turnovers, which are the fewest of their season. Troy had 16 assists and are undefeated this year (2-0) when it has more assists than turnovers. The starting backcourt of Rigsby Jr., and Tayton Conerway combined for eight assists, as each played had four.

On the glass, Troy had its worst game of the year as it grabbed a season-low 26 rebounds. West Georgia outrebounded Troy 29-26.

West Georgia finished the night shooting 45.9 percent from the field. Shelton Williams-Dryden had a team-best 14 points on 7-9 shooting while also snagging seven rebounds.

Quotable – head coach Scott Cross
"It was a brutal road trip. We were in four different hotels in four different cities. We traveled clear across the country twice. We didn't get to practice yesterday. We knew it was going to be tough. West Georgia's been on the road playing Power Five teams. We knew this was their first home game and that it was going to be a challenge. It was our best offensive performance, especially in the first half. A lot of credit goes to our guys,"

Up Next
The Trojans return to Trojan Arena on Monday night to open up the Trojan Turkey Tipoff against UTSA, with tipoff slated for 7 p.m. The MTE will continue on Wednesday as Merrimack and UTSA will face off in a neutral site game. Merrimack and Troy will play on Friday at 1 p.m. to wrap up the event. All games will be broadcast on ESPN+, with both Troy games on the Troy Sports Media Network.

Game Five Notables
• Victor Valdes had a season-high 15 points on perfect shooting (5-5) on Tuesday night. He also buried all three of his 3-point attempts. It's the second-most points in a single game in his career.
• Jackson Fields tied his season and career-high with 15 points on Tuesday. He made 11 of his 12 free-throw attempts – both career highs. He also had a team-high seven rebounds.
• Myles Rigsby scored 11 points and has now scored 10-plus points in all five games this season. He also made his first three-pointer of the year after opening 0-10 from distance.
• Tayton Conerway and Marcus Rigsby Jr., combined for eight assists after both players had four. Conerway has four or more assists in every game this season to lead the Trojans.
• Troy's 19-point margin of victory is its largest of the season. The Trojans beat New Orleans by 17 and Toledo by 10.
• The Trojans 11 turnovers are it's fewest in a game this season. Troy also had 16 assists and is 2-0 on the year when recording more assists than turnovers.
• Troy had its fewest rebounds of the season on Tuesday (26). West Georgia won the rebounding battle 29-26.
• Jackson Porch drained a pair of free throws late in the second half for the first collegiate points of his career.
• Troy was 24-27 from the free-throw line (88.9 percent), which is its best mark from the line this season and its most made free throws in a game this season.
• The Trojans move to 13-8 all time against the Wolves.