Troy University Athletics
Troy University
17-8,10-2Sun Belt
Kent State
12-12,5-6MAC
Troy Defeats Kent State in MAC-SBC Challenge
2/10/2024 8:15:00 PM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. –– The Troy men's basketball continues to dominate at home this season, as they defeated Kent State 78-68 in the second game of the MAC-SBC Challenge at Trojan Arena on Saturday afternoon.
With the victory, Troy (17-8, 10-2 SBC) has now won six consecutive games, which is tied for its longest winning streak of the season. The Trojans also won six straight games between Dec. 21 and Jan. 13. The victory moves Troy to 14-1 at home this season, the most home victories in a single season since the 1987-88 season when they also went 14-1.
Kent State (12-12, 5-7 MAC) struggled to slow down the Trojans efficient offense which shot 53.2 percent from the field. Troy was led by freshman forward Myles Rigsby and his career-high 22 points. He was an impressive 7-11 from the field and 8-10 from the free-throw line. He has now scored in double-figures in six straight games and has scored 20 or more points in four of those games.
For the first 15 and a half minutes of the game, it was a back-and-forth affair, with each time trading baskets. The Trojans really came alive towards the end of the first half and rattled off a 14-8 run over the final 4:39 to take an eight-point lead into the locker room.
The halftime break didn't cool off Troy, as it put together a 9-0 run over the first 2:30 of the second half to extend its lead to 16 and pretty much put the game out of reach for the Golden Flashes. Troy's biggest lead of the night came with 7:54 remaining in the game as it led Kent State 62-42.
The Golden Flashes were able to cut the lead down to nine inside the final minute of the game, but it was far too late for a comeback effort.
After only scoring eight points against Marshall, Christyon Eugene recorded 11 points. He has scored in double-figures in 21 games this season and in nine of the last 10 games. Also joining Eugene in double-figures were Aamer Muhammad (10) and Randarius Jones (10).
Saturday was only the third time this season that Jones has scored in double-figures. He was 5-6 from the field and also contributed three rebounds. He logged 17:06 on the court, which is the second most for him this season.
Consistency
The Trojans continued to dominate below the basket on Saturday, as they outscored the Golden Flashes 40-22 in the paint and outrebounded them 32-30. Jackson Fields and Theo Seng each had a team-high six rebounds. Fields added eight points and Seng had six.
It wasn't all perfect for Troy, who turned it over 18 times and shot just 26.7 percent from three-point range. It was also one of the poorer free-throw performances as of late for Troy, who went 24-34 from the charity stripe.
On the other side, the Trojans forced Kent State into 17 turnovers with eight coming by steal. Troy was able to score 19 points off those turnovers, while the Golden Flashes scored just 14 off Trojan turnovers.
Troy also redeemed itself from the first MAC-SBC Challenge game earlier in the season. The Trojan's second game of the year came on the road at Ohio, where they fell 88-70. Eleven of the twelve games in the challenge were played on Saturday with Sun Belt teams going 9-2.
With one game left to play – Bowling Green at Louisiana on Sunday – the Sun Belt leads the challenge 14-9.
Thoughts from Coach
Head coach Scott Cross gave his thoughts following the game:
"We played really good up until the last 10 minutes – which has kind of been a trend for us… Kent State is a basketball powerhouse, and to have them down by 20 is impressive. We don't take these wins for granted and we're very thankful to the good lord for this victory. Our guys are playing really, really good basketball right now."
Cross on being 14-1 at Trojan Arena:
"Our guys shoot the ball with a lot of confidence here. Your home court just gives you an edge. We've got two more. Need our guys to have even more edge. It's not going to be easy. We have Arkansas State next. I expect this place to be packed. We're in first place right now and fighting for a championship. I think the students would want to come out and see a championship-level team."
Up Next
Sun Belt action resumes on Thursday night in Trojan Arena as Troy hosts Arkansas State at 7:30 p.m. It is the second game of a doubleheader that sees women's basketball host Texas State at 5:15. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Troy Sports Radio Network. Live stats will be available at Troystats.com.
Game 25 Notables and Tidbits
• Troy is 14-1 at home this season, which is the most home victories in a single season since the 1987-88 season when it also went 14-1.
• Troy extended its win streak to six games, which is tied for its longest streak of the season. The Trojans also won six games between Dec. 21 and Jan. 13.
• Myles Rigsby scored a career-high 22 points on Saturday. He has now scored in double-figures in six straight games and has scored 20 or more points in four of those games.
• Christyon Eugene added 11 points and has now scored in double-figures in 21 games this season, including in nine of the last 10 games.
• The Trojans move to 15-2 on the season and 9-1 in conference play when leading at halftime.
• Troy shot 53.2 percent from the field on Saturday and is now 6-0 on the season when shooting above 50 percent.
• Troy outrebounded Kent State 32-30 and is now 14-5 (8-1 SBC) when it has more rebounds than its opponent.
• Saturday was the first-ever matchup between Kent State and Troy. Scott Cross now moves to 2-0 all-time against the Golden Flashers, whom he beat while with UT-Arlington.
