Troy Routs Middle Georgia State, 87-53

Saturday, December 14

Troy, Ala.

4:30 p.m.

Troy University

6-4,0-0Sun Belt

Middle Georgia State

1-2

Middle Ga. St.

Troy

12/14/2024 7:44:00 PM | Basketball (M)

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

TROY, Ala. – The Troy men's basketball team returned to the win column on Saturday night, as it dominated Middle Georgia State 87-53 in Trojan Arena.

Troy (6-4) played suffocating defense for all 40 minutes, holding Middle Georgia State to 31.3 percent shooting from the field and 7.1 percent (1-14) from 3-point range. The Trojans also played well on the other end of the court, as they shot 49.2 percent and picked up its largest margin of victory this season at plus-35.

The Trojans got scoring from 13 of the 14 players that appeared in the game – the most this season – and were led by Jackson Fields and his 13 points on 5-7 shooting. Myles Rigsby got back to his scoring ways, as he had 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Jerrell Bellamy also scored in double-digits with 10 on 4-7 shooting.

The first half was all Troy, as it opened on an 11-0 scoring run going into the first media timeout, with six of those points coming from Fields. The break did no favors for the Knights, as the Trojans continued to widen its lead and found themselves up 27-4 with 10:13 left in the first half.

Middle Georgia State put together a 7-0 run – it's longest of the night – to make it 27-11. Troy continued to roll in the final few minutes of the half to take a 48-20 lead into the halftime break. Troy's 48 points in the first 20 minutes are the most its scored in a half this season.

The second half wasn't much kinder to the Knights, as the Trojans continued to dominate on defense. Despite only winning the half by six points, Troy held the Middle Georgia State offense to 31.4 percent shooting to close out the game. On the offensive side of the court, the Trojans weren't as crisp, shooting just 46.9 percent and going 0-12 from 3-point range.

Jackson Porch drained the first three field goals of his collegiate career in the final few minutes of the night, including an impressive turn-around jumper from the free-throw line. Porch finished with six points, two rebounds and a steal. Kameryn Mitchell also played a season-high 7:41 and grabbed four rebounds.

Troy found itself ahead in points off turnovers (29-13), points in the paint (50-32), second-chance points (20-10), fastbreak points (19-12) and bench points (42-29). The Trojans outrebounded the Knights 54-37 and forced them into 21 turnovers, 13 of which came on steals.

Rigsby tied his career-high with five steals, which is a season-high for the sophomore.

Quotable – head coach Scott Cross
"I thought we started off great. Defensively, our guys were really locked in and we got off to a great start. I think we started out 27-4. It's what you want to see. They're a good basketball team; they have seven wins. For us to have that type of lead in the beginning of the game really showed that our guys were in-tune and on the same page. I thought we executed offensively, for the most part, throughout the game."

Up Next
Troy's final non-conference home game is set for Tuesday night in Trojan Arena, as Troy will host LaGrange College. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Troy Sports Media Network. Live stats will be available on Troystats.com.

Notables
• Troy was led by Jackson Fields, who had a game-high 13 points. Also scoring in double-figures for Troy was Myles Rigsby (11) and Jerrell Bellamy (10). Rigsby also had a game-high eight rebounds.
• Troy finished the night shooting 49.2 percent from the field, including 51.6 percent in the first half.
• Troy opened the game on a 27-4 run.
• Thirteen of 14 players who appeared in the game for Troy recorded points. The only player who did not was Kameryn Mitchell, who had four rebounds in a season-high 7:41.
• Troy outscored Middle Georgia State in points off turnovers, points in the paint, second-chance points, fastbreak points and bench points.
• Troy led 39:29, while Middle Georgia State never held the lead. The Trojan's longest run of the game was 14 points, while the Knight's was seven.
• Tayton Conerway was a game-high +34 on Saturday.
• Jackson Porch recorded the first three field goals of his collegiate career on Saturday. He was 3-4 from the field for six points. He also had two rebounds and a steal.
• The Trojans won the rebounding battle 54-37.
• Troy forced Middle Georgia State into 21 turnovers, 13 of which came off steals. Myles Rigbsy had a season-high five steals, which also ties his career high.
• Troy moves to 6-4 on the season and is 3-0 all-time against Middle Georgia State. Saturday's game was an exhibition for the 7-4 Knights.