Men’s Basketball Downs New Orleans, 78-61

Saturday, November 9

New Orleans, La.

4 p.m.

Troy University

2-0,0-0Sun Belt

New Orleans

0-2,0-0Southland

Troy

New Orleans

Men’s Basketball Downs New Orleans, 78-61

11/9/2024 8:22:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Troy men's basketball team dominated in its first road contest of the season, as it defeated New Orleans 78-61 on Saturday night in Lakefront Arena.

Troy (2-0) got a career night from starting center Jackson Fields who registered his first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The 15 points are also a personal best for the junior out of Missouri City, Texas.

The Trojans also got double-figure scoring from Thomas Dowd (14), Tatyon Conerway (11) and Myles Rigsby (10). Troy had five players score in double-figures in its season-opening win over Toledo. The Trojans shot 42.9 percent, while draining 30.4 percent of their attempts from 3-point range.

New Orleans (0-2) had no answer for the high intensity defense of Troy, as it shot just 36.9 percent from the field and 20 percent from 3-point range. The Trojans forced the Privateers into 16 turnovers.

The rebounding battle also went to Troy, as it out-rebounded New Orleans 49-36. The Trojans were led by Fields' 10 boards, and also had 19 offensive rebounds. Dowd added six rebounds of his own, while Rigsby, Rigsby Jr., and Conerway had five.

The first half saw Troy go into the first media timeout up 9-6. With 13:05 left in the first 20 minutes of action, Troy was leading 14-10 and went on an 15-4 run to take a commanding 29-14 lead into the under-8 media timeout. The Trojans continued to widen its lead and took a 43-20 advantage into the halftime break.

Dowd led the Trojans in the first half with nine points on 4-10 shooting. Kerrington Kiel (4 points) and Cooper Campbell (3 points) each scored the first buckets of their collegiate careers in the half.

The largest lead of the night came with 14:05 left in the game when Theo Seng got to the rim for a layup to make it a 26-point Troy advantage. New Orleans wasn't going to go down without a fight, as the Privateers went on an 18-1 run to make it a 53-44 Troy lead.

With all the momentum in New Orleans corner, the Trojans responded with a 6-1 run to push the lead back to 15 thanks to buckets by Dowd, Fields and Victor Valdes.

The lead remained in double-figures for the remainder of the night, and Troy moved to 2-0 to open its 2024-25 season.

Quotable – head coach Scott Cross
"We started great in the first half, about as good as a half as you could expect. We took care of the basketball, did a great job on the boards, we were efficient, we were holding them under 40 percent. We checked every box. We came out in the second half, a few things don't go our way, we lost our cool, and things started not going our way. They cut it to nine… Luckily, the guys flipped it. I just told them in the locker room, 'a lot of the times when that happens, you're not able to flip it.' When the momentum goes – especially on the road – it's very hard to do. So, I was proud of them for that."

Up Next
Troy continues its four-game road trip on Wednesday night when it heads to Fayetteville, Ark., to take on No. 16 Arkansas at Bud Walton Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on SECN+ and the Troy Sports Media Network.

Game 2 Notables
• Troy is now 4-3 all-time against New Orleans.
• Troy is 2-0 to open the 2024-25 season, the first time its started 2-0 since 2022-23.
• After having five players score in double-figures on Monday night in Troy's opening win against Toledo, four Trojans scored in double figures on Saturday. Jackson Fields (15), Thomas Dowd (14), Tayton Conerway (11) and Myles Rigsby (10) were all major contributors on the offensive side of the ball.
• Jackson Fields picked up the first double-double of his career on Saturday after scoring a career-high 15 points and snagging 10 rebounds.
• The Trojans held New Orleans to 36.9 percent from the field, the lowest they have held an opponent since Feb. 17, 2024, when Troy held ULM to 32.3 percent from the field.
• Troy picked up its first road win of the season in its first road game. In 2023-24, Troy didn't win on the road until Dec. 30, 2024, at Coastal Carolina.