Troy University Athletics
Troy University
20-12,13-5Sun Belt
Texas State
17-17,7-11Sun Belt
Men’s Basketball Loses Intense Battle to No. 11 Texas State in SBC Quarterfinals
3/9/2024 9:45:00 PM | Basketball (M)
PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Troy men's basketball team battled all night long but it wasn't enough to overcome Texas State's hot shooting, as the Trojans fell 74-68 in the Sun Belt Tournament Quarterfinals on Saturday in the Pensacola Bay Center.
Troy (20-12, 13-5 SBC) was the No. 3 seed and earned a double-bye in the tournament and ran into a red-hot No. 11 Texas State who entered Saturday having won five straight games, including two in the SBC Tournament.
Texas State finished the night shooting a scorching 55.6 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range to move onto the semifinals where they will play the winner of the Marshall/James Madison game on Sunday night.
Early on it was all Troy, as it took a 19-12 lead after the first 10 minutes and it seemed things were going in the Trojans favor. All that changed at 7:03 mark in the first half. After a Jackson Fields dunk, some extracurricular activity led to Randi Ovalle being ejected from the game and offsetting technicals being handed out to Marcus Rigsby Jr. and Texas State's Joshua O'Garro. Just 20 seconds later, Myles Rigsby checked out of the game with an injury and did not return.
The Bobcats closed the half on a 16-8 run, and knocked down a buzzer-beating three-pointer to take a 33-30 lead into the halftime break.
Troy responded well early in the second half and took a 41-40 lead with 14:30 left in the game. That was the last time Troy led, and Texas State was lights out from the floor the rest of the night.
The Trojans cut the deficit to six – 68-62 – with 55 seconds left, but they couldn't get the stop they needed on the defensive end.
For the second consecutive season, Troy has lost in the quarterfinal game.
The Numbers
Leading the way for Troy was Tayton Conerway with 16 points off the bench on 5-11 shooting. Also scoring in double figures for the Trojans was Aamer Muhammad with 14 and Christyon Eugene with 10. On the night, Troy shot 46.9 percent from the field.
Fields returned to action for the first time in four games and contributed seven points on 3-3 shooting, including a three-pointer.
Each time struggled taking care of the basketball, as Troy turned it over 19 times and Texas State turned it over 20 times. The Trojans continued to take away the basketball, as they had 13 steals after entering Saturday as the sixth-best team in that category.
Troy struggled at the charity stripe as it went 13-22 from the free-throw line, one of its worst marks of the season.
The Bobcats won the paint battle, as they outscored the Trojans 34-22 under the basket.
Jordan Mason put together an impressive performance for Texas State, scoring a game-high 25 points on 9-11 shooting. He also converted on all three of his three-point attempts.
Thoughts from Coach
Head coach Scott gave his thoughts following the game:
"I thought our guys played really really hard today. We were tough, we were physical. Credit to Texas State. They finished plays. They made shots against us. It was one of the most physical games that I have been a part of. We didn't finish as many plays as we needed to do. We had a lot of open opportunities getting to the basket and we didn't finish them. Aamer Muhammad and Christyon Eugene have been phenomenal for us all season long. We've had a phenomenal season winning 20 games. It's a disappointment because everyone's goal at the beginning of the season is to go to the NCAA Tournament and we came up short. I feel like this team is good enough to go the NCAA Tournament, but credit to Texas State."
Notables
• Christyon Eugene – who scored 10 points – scored in double-figures in 27 of 32 games this season.
• Tayton Conerway led all Trojans with 16 points. Aamer Muhammad had 14 points.
• The Trojans have lost in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Tournament for the second consecutive season.
• Troy moves to 8-11 in its all-time series against Texas State.
• Troy finished the regular season with its third consecutive 20 win season and third consecutive season with double-figure conference wins.
