Troy Drops Exhibition at Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. - The Troy men's basketball team opened its season with a road exhibition on Sunday, falling to Georgia 81-65.

The Trojans outscored the Bulldogs in the second half by two (43-41); however, the first half was controlled by Georgia. The home team took control in the paint, scoring 40 of its 81 points close to the basket.

Guard Cobi Campbell suited up for Troy for the first time after missing all of last season due to injury. Campbell led the Trojans in scoring with 21 points, shooting an impressive 4-5 from deep.

Troy took a 7-5 lead into the first media timeout following a Victor Valdes three. The Trojans would not hold the lead for long, however, as Georgia used a 20-6 run to hold a 25-13 lead and ultimately a 40-22 advantage heading into the locker room.

In the second half, Troy started fast, cutting the lead to eight at the under-16 minute media timeout, in large part thanks to the play of Thomas Dowd. Dowd filled the stat sheet in the five-minute span with two offensive rebounds, three total rebounds, a block, and five points.

Georgia had a response for the Troy run, as it did throughout the game. After a Cobi Campbell layup cut the lead to just six, the Bulldogs scored the next five, and 13 of the next 15, to regain a comfortable double-digit lead, which they would keep for the remainder of the game.

Kenon Catchings led the effort for Georgia, notching 15 points and eight rebounds, while Marcus Millender dished out six assists.

Quotable – Head Coach Scott Cross

"Obviously we want to win every basketball game we play. Georgia is a very big, athletic, physical team and their pressure bothered us a little bit. I was proud of our guys, they fought the entire time, and there were spurts where we were really good. There's a lot of areas though that I know we can get better in. Good learning experience and this is why we wanted to play a game like this."

Exhibition Notables

After being held scoreless at halftime, Preseason All-SBC First Team member Thomas Dowd found his rhythm in the second half. Dowd finished with 11 points and eight rebounds and led all players with 32 minutes played.
With 14 points, Victor Valdes was the Trojans' second-leading scorer behind Cobi Campbell. Valdes shot seven for eight from the charity stripe while adding a team-high three steals.
Though unofficial, two Trojans made their freshman debuts. Javen Colbert and Emmanuel Clarton saw limted action, with Clarton picking up a steal in the first half.

Up Next

Troy opens the regular season in eight days on Monday, Nov. 3, heading on the road to take on Kent State as part of the MAC-SBC Challenge. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+ and Troy Sports Radio Network.

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Players Mentioned

Cobi Campbell

Emmanuel Clarton

Javen Colbert

Thomas Dowd

Victor Valdes

Troy University Athletics