Troy University Athletics
Saturday, January 11
Troy, Ala.
3:33 p.m.
Troy University
10-6,3-2Sun Belt
78
vs
84
Arkansas State
12-5,3-2Sun Belt
1
2
F
Arkansas St.
34
50
84
Troy
43
35
78
Troy Falters Late in Loss to Arkansas State
1/11/2025 7:51:00 PM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. – Tayton Conerway was unstoppable on Saturday afternoon, but Arkansas State caught fire on offense late in the second half to pull away with a 84-78 win over Troy in Trojan Arena.
Conerway had a career-high 32 points for Troy (10-6, 3-2 SBC), but it wasn't enough as the Arkansas State (12-5, 3-2 SBC) offense shot 56.7 percent in the final 20 minutes to overcome a nine-point halftime deficit.
Conerway, whose previous high of 20 was set last Saturday against Marshall, was 8-12 from the field and 12-15 from the free-throw line, while also dishing out seven assists. The senior guard had four rebounds and four steals. He is the first Troy player to record 30 or more points in a game since Jordan Varnado had 33 points at Louisiana on Jan. 26, 2019. Conerway is now up to 12.2 points per game to lead the Trojans and is averaging 19.2 points on 62.7 percent shooting – 50.0 percent from three – during conference play.
Also shining for Troy was big man Theo Seng, who had a career-high 18 points on 6-7 from the field and 3-4 from 3-point range. Seng also had four rebounds and two blocks in his impressive performance. He was one of five Trojans who had a positive plus-minus tally.
Troy opened the game in strong fashion and was able to take a 43-34 lead into the halftime break thanks to a 51.9 percent shooting line, including 7-15 from beyond the arch. The Trojan defense held the Red Wolves to 9-22 (40.9 percent) from the field.
Conerway had 24 of his points in the first half on 6-8 shooting, including 4-5 from deep. The Trojans turned it over just four times during the first half and dished out nine assists.
Coming out of the locker room, Conerway got Troy on the board first in the second half to push its lead to a game-high 11 points. Arkansas State's offense started to catch fire, though, and with 12:20 left in regulation, the Red Wolves cut the Troy lead to one.
The Trojans were able to push their lead back to five with 2:14 left, but the Red Wolves went on a 10-3 run to take an 80-77 lead with 17 seconds left on a Joseph Pinion three-pointer. Arkansas State did not relinquish its lead and picked up its third straight win over Troy.
Taryn Todd led Arkansas State with 21 points, while Pinion had 17. Five Red Wolves scored in double-figures. The last time a Troy opponent had five players score 10 or more points was Oregon on Nov. 17, 2024.
Besides Conerway and Seng – who combined for 50 of Troy's 78 points – , no Trojans scored more than six points.
Troy won the rebounding battle 32-29 but lost the points in the paint contest 34-26.
Arkansas State finished the night shooting 50 percent from the field, while going 23-27 (85.2 percent) from the line. Troy was 24-52 (46.2 percent) from the field, while going 20-28 (71.4 percent) from the line.
Quotable – head coach Scott Cross
"I mean it was an identical game to Texas State. We had the lead for 35:30 which is amazing, and they had the lead for 1:19. Texas State had the lead for 45 seconds. We're playing really good basketball for the majority of the time. I think it's a lesson for our guys. We're not all the way connected the way we need to be. I think that's the next step, the next evolution for us. They were really scoring it on us late in the game. To get stops during that time, you have to be really tough, physical and connected on defense. I think that's what we're missing. We played phenomenal offensively."
Up Next
Troy hits the road for a pair of games next week, as it travels to Monroe for a showdown with ULM on Wednesday, before going to Mobile on Saturday for a date with the Jaguars. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Troy Sports Media Network.
Game 16 Notables
• Tayton Conerway had a game-high and career-high 32 points on 8-12 shooting Saturday. He was 4-7 from 3-point range and 12-15 from the free throw line. He is the first Trojans to score 30 or more points since Jordan Varnado had 33 points at Louisiana on Jan. 26, 2019.
• Theo Seng had a career-high 18 points on 6-7 shooting. He was 3-4 from beyond the arch.
• Conerway and Seng accounted for 50 of Troy's 78 points.
• The Trojans are now 9-3 (2-2 SBC) when leading at halftime, 8-2 (2-2 SBC) when scoring more than 70 points and 7-3 (2-1 SBC) when outrebounding their opponents.
• For the first time since the 2020-21 season, Troy has lost back-to-back home games.
• Troy went 0-2 during its two-game homestand despite leading for 66:31 and trailing for just 5:13.
• Troy moves to 17-14 all-time against Arkansas State.
Conerway had a career-high 32 points for Troy (10-6, 3-2 SBC), but it wasn't enough as the Arkansas State (12-5, 3-2 SBC) offense shot 56.7 percent in the final 20 minutes to overcome a nine-point halftime deficit.
Conerway, whose previous high of 20 was set last Saturday against Marshall, was 8-12 from the field and 12-15 from the free-throw line, while also dishing out seven assists. The senior guard had four rebounds and four steals. He is the first Troy player to record 30 or more points in a game since Jordan Varnado had 33 points at Louisiana on Jan. 26, 2019. Conerway is now up to 12.2 points per game to lead the Trojans and is averaging 19.2 points on 62.7 percent shooting – 50.0 percent from three – during conference play.
Also shining for Troy was big man Theo Seng, who had a career-high 18 points on 6-7 from the field and 3-4 from 3-point range. Seng also had four rebounds and two blocks in his impressive performance. He was one of five Trojans who had a positive plus-minus tally.
Troy opened the game in strong fashion and was able to take a 43-34 lead into the halftime break thanks to a 51.9 percent shooting line, including 7-15 from beyond the arch. The Trojan defense held the Red Wolves to 9-22 (40.9 percent) from the field.
Conerway had 24 of his points in the first half on 6-8 shooting, including 4-5 from deep. The Trojans turned it over just four times during the first half and dished out nine assists.
Coming out of the locker room, Conerway got Troy on the board first in the second half to push its lead to a game-high 11 points. Arkansas State's offense started to catch fire, though, and with 12:20 left in regulation, the Red Wolves cut the Troy lead to one.
The Trojans were able to push their lead back to five with 2:14 left, but the Red Wolves went on a 10-3 run to take an 80-77 lead with 17 seconds left on a Joseph Pinion three-pointer. Arkansas State did not relinquish its lead and picked up its third straight win over Troy.
Taryn Todd led Arkansas State with 21 points, while Pinion had 17. Five Red Wolves scored in double-figures. The last time a Troy opponent had five players score 10 or more points was Oregon on Nov. 17, 2024.
Besides Conerway and Seng – who combined for 50 of Troy's 78 points – , no Trojans scored more than six points.
Troy won the rebounding battle 32-29 but lost the points in the paint contest 34-26.
Arkansas State finished the night shooting 50 percent from the field, while going 23-27 (85.2 percent) from the line. Troy was 24-52 (46.2 percent) from the field, while going 20-28 (71.4 percent) from the line.
Quotable – head coach Scott Cross
"I mean it was an identical game to Texas State. We had the lead for 35:30 which is amazing, and they had the lead for 1:19. Texas State had the lead for 45 seconds. We're playing really good basketball for the majority of the time. I think it's a lesson for our guys. We're not all the way connected the way we need to be. I think that's the next step, the next evolution for us. They were really scoring it on us late in the game. To get stops during that time, you have to be really tough, physical and connected on defense. I think that's what we're missing. We played phenomenal offensively."
Up Next
Troy hits the road for a pair of games next week, as it travels to Monroe for a showdown with ULM on Wednesday, before going to Mobile on Saturday for a date with the Jaguars. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Troy Sports Media Network.
Game 16 Notables
• Tayton Conerway had a game-high and career-high 32 points on 8-12 shooting Saturday. He was 4-7 from 3-point range and 12-15 from the free throw line. He is the first Trojans to score 30 or more points since Jordan Varnado had 33 points at Louisiana on Jan. 26, 2019.
• Theo Seng had a career-high 18 points on 6-7 shooting. He was 3-4 from beyond the arch.
• Conerway and Seng accounted for 50 of Troy's 78 points.
• The Trojans are now 9-3 (2-2 SBC) when leading at halftime, 8-2 (2-2 SBC) when scoring more than 70 points and 7-3 (2-1 SBC) when outrebounding their opponents.
• For the first time since the 2020-21 season, Troy has lost back-to-back home games.
• Troy went 0-2 during its two-game homestand despite leading for 66:31 and trailing for just 5:13.
• Troy moves to 17-14 all-time against Arkansas State.
Team Stats
ASU
TROY
FG%
.500
.462
3FG%
.391
.400
FT%
.852
.714
RB
29
32
TO
8
11
STL
10
6
Game Leaders
Pts
32
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
12
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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