Troy Topples Georgia State 77-57 to Open Sun Belt Play

Saturday, December 21

Troy, Ala.

TBA

Troy University

Georgia State

Troy Topples Georgia State 77-57 to Open Sun Belt Play

12/21/2024 5:32:00 PM | Basketball (M)

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TROY, Ala. – Troy dominated in nearly every category on Saturday afternoon, as it took down Georgia State, 77-57, inside of Trojan Arena to open Sun Belt play and close out its 2024 schedule.

Troy (8-4, 1-0 SBC) never trailed and got a season-high 22 points from star forward Myles Rigsby en route to a crucial conference-opening win over Georgia State (4-8, 0-1 SBC) before going on an 11-day hiatus for the holidays.

Rigsby's 22 points – which came on 6-10 shooting – tied his career-high which he set against Kent State in the MAC-SBC Challenge last February. It's the second time this season that Rigsby has scored 20 or more points after scoring 20 against Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 1.

Saturday marked the 100th all-time win in Trojan Arena. Troy is 100-77 inside Trojan Arena since it opened in 2012. The win was also the largest margin of victory against a Sun Belt team since the Trojans beat ULM by 27 on Feb. 17, 2024.

The Trojans quickly jumped ahead 12-3 through the first five minutes of the game and took an 18-10 lead into the under-12 media timeout. The Panthers fought back and went on a 5-0 run to cut their deficit to three. Troy responded with a 10-0 run of its own to go up 28-15. The final six minutes were fairly even, as Troy outscored Georgia State 11-10 to take a 39-25 lead into the halftime break.

The Trojans played impressive defense in the first 20 minutes, holding the Panthers to a 37.5 percent shooting clip, including 4-12 from three. On the offensive side of the ball, Troy shot 44.1 percent and got nine points from Rigsby and Tayton Conerway.

Troy also protected the ball well early, committing just four first-half turnovers. Georgia State had zero points off turnovers in the first 20 minutes, while Troy had 12.

The strong play carried over into the second half, as Troy opened on a 12-2 run to take a commanding 21-point lead. Georgia State responded with a little run of their own to cut the Trojan lead to 15 with 10:46 remaining in the game. That was the closest the Panthers would get for the remainder of the afternoon.

Following the under-eight media timeout, Troy went on a 7-0 run in the span of 40 seconds to extend its advantage to 25, its biggest lead of the night.

Randarius Jones recorded a dunk with 21 seconds left to put the icing on Troy's 20-point victory.

In addition to Rigsby's impressive performance on offense, Conerway also had 13 points and a team-best five assists. Marcus Rigsby Jr. scored 10 points on 4-8 shooting.

Troy won the paint battle 36-24, thanks to impressive finishing by its guards and forwards. Big men Theo Seng (8 points) and Jackson Fields (7 points) were a combined 5-10 from the field. Troy outrebounded Georgia State 43-29 and held the Panthers to just nine offensive rebounds. The Trojans also led in points off turnovers (21-2), second chance points (18-8) and fastbreak points (14-6).

In the turnover battle, Troy gave the ball away just 11 times, which is tied for the fewest giveaways this season. The Trojans had just 11 turnovers against West Georgia. Georgia State turned it over 14 times, nine of which came on Troy steals. Conerway had three of those.

Quotable – head coach Scott Cross
"Our guys definitely had grit, determination and battle from the start. We played great defense. It was a very, very convincing win. It started with Myles Rigsby, he got hot early on and it gave us a big lift. Because our guys had such toughness and grit defensively, we were able to win the way we wanted to. I think it sent a statement, that that's how we want to play all year long."

Up Next
Troy will return to action on Thursday, Jan. 2 in Boone, N.C., to take on App State. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 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 moves to 30-24 all-time against Georgia State.
• Myles Rigsby tied his career-high with 22 points on 6-10 shooting. He previously scored 22 points against Kent State in the MAC-SBC Challenge last February in Trojan Arena. It's the second time this season that Rigsby has scored 20 or more points in a game after recording 20 against Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 1.
• Saturday was the 100th win for Troy men's basketball inside Trojan Arena. Its record in the new venue that opened in 2012 is 100-77. Under Scott Cross, Troy is 55-22 at home.
• Troy's 20-point is its largest margin of victory against a Sun Belt team since Feb. 17, 2024, when it beat ULM by 37 at home.
• Thomas Dowd had a team-high six rebounds, as he continues to lead the team in that department.
• Tayton Conerway had a team-high five assists and three steals. Going into Saturday, Conerway led the Sun Belt and was seventh in the country in total steals with 31.
• Three Trojans scored in double-figures: Myles Rigsby (22), Tayton Conerway (13) and Marcus Rigsby Jr. (10).
• Troy finished the night 43.3 (26-60) from the field, while holding Georgia State to 40.7 percent (22-54).