Troy University Athletics
Saturday, February 17
Troy, Ala.
4 p.m.
Troy University
18-9,11-3Sun Belt
85
vs
57
ULM
10-15,5-9Sun Belt
1
2
F
ULM
23
34
57
Troy
39
46
85
Men’s Basketball Dismantles ULM, Celebrates Senior Day
2/17/2024 8:54:00 PM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. – Trojan Arena was filled with jubilation on Saturday afternoon as the Troy men's basketball team celebrated seniors Christyon Eugene and Aamer Muhammad en route to a dominating 85-57 win over ULM in its final game at Trojan Arena this season.
With the win, Troy (18-9, 11-3 SBC) finished the 2023-24 season with a 15-2 home record. Fifteen home wins is the most in a single season since the 1967-68 season when the Trojans went 15-1. The Trojans are also tied for second in the nation with 15 home wins.
Troy's 28-point margin of victory is the most over a Sun Belt opponent this season and the most since they defeated ULM 91-63 on Jan. 21, 2012.
Eugene had one last offensive eruption in Trojan Arena, as he finished with a game-high 21 points on 7-11 shooting. Eugene also buried five three-pointers. The guard out of Spring, Texas has scored in double figures in 22 of 27 games this season and has seven games with 20-plus points.
Muhammad was tied for a team-high +23 with Jackson Fields. The guard out of Rio Rancho, N.M., had seven points and a pair of steals in 22 minutes of action.
The Trojans started fast and never looked back, as they quickly jumped out to an 11-2 lead in just over three minutes of action. Eugene had the first six points of the game after burying a pair of threes. Troy was lights out from the field in the first half, shooting 59.3 percent and 46.7 percent from three-point range. Eugene had 10 of his 21 points in the first 20 minutes.
It wasn't just the offense that came to play, as the defense completely shut down the Warhawks in the first half, holding them to just 29.4 percent (10-34) from the field and not allowing a single three-pointer. Fields had three first-half blocks as the primary rim defender.
The second half was much of the same, as Troy continued to shoot the ball well and handle its business on the defensive end of the court. The Trojans shot 45.7 percent from the field in the second half and held ULM to just 35.7 percent.
Overall, Troy had one of its better offensive nights of the season as they shot 51.6 percent from the field. It's the seventh time this season the Trojans have shot 50 percent or better and the fourth time during conference play. Troy has yet to lose when it hits over half of its shots.
ULM finished the night at 32.3 percent and 28.6 percent from 3-point range. Makai Willis had 10 points and was the only player to score in double figures for the Warhawks.
While Eugene led the way with 21 points, it was a true team effort on the offensive end for Troy. Fields and Myles Rigsby also had 10 points each. Rigsby has now scored 10 or more points in eight straight games. In total, 11 Trojans scored a bucket on Saturday.
Playing to its Strengths
After a tough showing on Thursday night, the Trojans got back to what it's done well all season. Troy limited its turnovers to 11 while forcing ULM into 16 – 11 coming off a steal. It outscored ULM 19-4 in points off turnovers.
The Trojans also won the paint battle as it scored 32 of its 85 points in the paint compared to the Warhawk's 22.
Troy's bench added 30 points, as it continues to be the best-scoring bench in the Sun Belt and one of the best in the entire country. Tayton Conerway led all bench scorers with nine points.
The one area where ULM found success was in the rebounding battle, as it outrebounded Troy 45-35.
Thoughts From Coach
Head coach Scott Cross gave his thoughts following the game:
"I'm very thankful to the good lord for this victory. I thought the guys played phenomenal. One of our better games of the year all around. This is one of the best games in terms of collective effort from our team and so many guys played really good basketball. All 10 guys in the rotation did a phenomenal job on both sides of the court. They were really locked in. That's how you send your seniors out…We ended it the right way. This was a 40-minute game for us. I'm happy for the success [Braydon Whitaker] had at the end. It's nice to see him hit that three. Just a nice overall game from our guys."
Cross on Senior Day
"So thankful for these two seniors – Aamer and Spudd. What they have done for this program has been phenomenal. Both of them played great tonight. I'm super proud of those guys and super thankful they believed in our coaching staff and Troy. It's been a blessing to coach them."
Up Next
After falling to Arkansas State on Thursday night, the Trojans will get another shot at the Red Wolves as they head to Jonesboro, Ark., next Thursday, Feb. 22. The game will be televised on ESPNU and the Troy Sports Radio Network. Tip off is set for 8 p.m.
Game 27 Notes
• Troy won its 15th home game of the season on Saturday, which is the most since 1967-68 when the Trojans went 15-1 at home.
• Troy is tied for second in the country with 15 home wins this season.
• Christyon Eugene scored 21 points in his final game at Trojan Arena. He has scored in double-figures in 22 of 27 games this season.
• Myles Rigsby had 10 points to extend his double-figure scoring streak to eight games.
• Troy's 28-point margin of victory is the most over a Sun Belt opponent this season and the most since they defeated ULM 91-63 on Jan. 21, 2012.
• The Trojans move to 7-0 (4-0 SBC) when shooting 50 percent or better from the field. Troy shot 51.6 percent from the field in its win.
• Troy had 11 steals, as it continues to lead the Sun Belt Conference in steals per game. Troy entered Saturday ninth in the country in steals per game.
• Saturday's attendance was 4,321, which is the eighth-highest attended game in Trojan Arena's history.
• Trojan Arena saw an average of 3,052 fans per game this season, which surpasses last season's record of 3,036.
• ULM's 57 points are the second-fewest allowed by the Trojans in conference play this season. Troy held Southern Miss to 56 on Jan. 13.
With the win, Troy (18-9, 11-3 SBC) finished the 2023-24 season with a 15-2 home record. Fifteen home wins is the most in a single season since the 1967-68 season when the Trojans went 15-1. The Trojans are also tied for second in the nation with 15 home wins.
Troy's 28-point margin of victory is the most over a Sun Belt opponent this season and the most since they defeated ULM 91-63 on Jan. 21, 2012.
Eugene had one last offensive eruption in Trojan Arena, as he finished with a game-high 21 points on 7-11 shooting. Eugene also buried five three-pointers. The guard out of Spring, Texas has scored in double figures in 22 of 27 games this season and has seven games with 20-plus points.
Muhammad was tied for a team-high +23 with Jackson Fields. The guard out of Rio Rancho, N.M., had seven points and a pair of steals in 22 minutes of action.
The Trojans started fast and never looked back, as they quickly jumped out to an 11-2 lead in just over three minutes of action. Eugene had the first six points of the game after burying a pair of threes. Troy was lights out from the field in the first half, shooting 59.3 percent and 46.7 percent from three-point range. Eugene had 10 of his 21 points in the first 20 minutes.
It wasn't just the offense that came to play, as the defense completely shut down the Warhawks in the first half, holding them to just 29.4 percent (10-34) from the field and not allowing a single three-pointer. Fields had three first-half blocks as the primary rim defender.
The second half was much of the same, as Troy continued to shoot the ball well and handle its business on the defensive end of the court. The Trojans shot 45.7 percent from the field in the second half and held ULM to just 35.7 percent.
Overall, Troy had one of its better offensive nights of the season as they shot 51.6 percent from the field. It's the seventh time this season the Trojans have shot 50 percent or better and the fourth time during conference play. Troy has yet to lose when it hits over half of its shots.
ULM finished the night at 32.3 percent and 28.6 percent from 3-point range. Makai Willis had 10 points and was the only player to score in double figures for the Warhawks.
While Eugene led the way with 21 points, it was a true team effort on the offensive end for Troy. Fields and Myles Rigsby also had 10 points each. Rigsby has now scored 10 or more points in eight straight games. In total, 11 Trojans scored a bucket on Saturday.
Playing to its Strengths
After a tough showing on Thursday night, the Trojans got back to what it's done well all season. Troy limited its turnovers to 11 while forcing ULM into 16 – 11 coming off a steal. It outscored ULM 19-4 in points off turnovers.
The Trojans also won the paint battle as it scored 32 of its 85 points in the paint compared to the Warhawk's 22.
Troy's bench added 30 points, as it continues to be the best-scoring bench in the Sun Belt and one of the best in the entire country. Tayton Conerway led all bench scorers with nine points.
The one area where ULM found success was in the rebounding battle, as it outrebounded Troy 45-35.
Thoughts From Coach
Head coach Scott Cross gave his thoughts following the game:
"I'm very thankful to the good lord for this victory. I thought the guys played phenomenal. One of our better games of the year all around. This is one of the best games in terms of collective effort from our team and so many guys played really good basketball. All 10 guys in the rotation did a phenomenal job on both sides of the court. They were really locked in. That's how you send your seniors out…We ended it the right way. This was a 40-minute game for us. I'm happy for the success [Braydon Whitaker] had at the end. It's nice to see him hit that three. Just a nice overall game from our guys."
Cross on Senior Day
"So thankful for these two seniors – Aamer and Spudd. What they have done for this program has been phenomenal. Both of them played great tonight. I'm super proud of those guys and super thankful they believed in our coaching staff and Troy. It's been a blessing to coach them."
Up Next
After falling to Arkansas State on Thursday night, the Trojans will get another shot at the Red Wolves as they head to Jonesboro, Ark., next Thursday, Feb. 22. The game will be televised on ESPNU and the Troy Sports Radio Network. Tip off is set for 8 p.m.
Game 27 Notes
• Troy won its 15th home game of the season on Saturday, which is the most since 1967-68 when the Trojans went 15-1 at home.
• Troy is tied for second in the country with 15 home wins this season.
• Christyon Eugene scored 21 points in his final game at Trojan Arena. He has scored in double-figures in 22 of 27 games this season.
• Myles Rigsby had 10 points to extend his double-figure scoring streak to eight games.
• Troy's 28-point margin of victory is the most over a Sun Belt opponent this season and the most since they defeated ULM 91-63 on Jan. 21, 2012.
• The Trojans move to 7-0 (4-0 SBC) when shooting 50 percent or better from the field. Troy shot 51.6 percent from the field in its win.
• Troy had 11 steals, as it continues to lead the Sun Belt Conference in steals per game. Troy entered Saturday ninth in the country in steals per game.
• Saturday's attendance was 4,321, which is the eighth-highest attended game in Trojan Arena's history.
• Trojan Arena saw an average of 3,052 fans per game this season, which surpasses last season's record of 3,036.
• ULM's 57 points are the second-fewest allowed by the Trojans in conference play this season. Troy held Southern Miss to 56 on Jan. 13.
Team Stats
ULM
TROY
FG%
.323
.516
3FG%
.286
.406
FT%
.556
.571
RB
45
35
TO
16
11
STL
4
11
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
5
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Basketball (M)G
/ Basketball (M)F
/ Basketball (M)
G
/ Basketball (M)F
/ Basketball (M)
G
/ Basketball (M)Troy vs. Oakwood (Full Highlights)
Wednesday, December 10
Player Postgame Press Conference (Lana Koricanac, Emani Jenkins) - Oakwood
Wednesday, December 10
Chanda Rigby Postgame Press Conference - Oakwood
Wednesday, December 10
Troy vs. LaGrange (Full Highlights)
Saturday, December 06