Troy University Athletics
Troy University
7-5,0-0Sun Belt
UAB
7-4,0-0American
Dowd Delivers at the Buzzer to Lift Troy Over UAB
12/14/2025 6:34:00 PM | Basketball (M)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – With under a second left on the clock, Thomas Dowd banked in a putback layup at the buzzer to lift Troy to a gutsy road win over UAB on Sunday afternoon, 86-85.
Dowd had missed the front end of a one-and-one moments earlier, a chance for Troy to extend its lead to three with 12 seconds remaining.
The junior responded when it mattered most, outworking his defender to secure position and deliver the game-winning basket for the Trojans (7-5).
Troy returned to a familiar starting lineup for Sunday afternoon's contest – the group of Cooper Campbell, Cobi Campbell, Victor Valdes, Thomas Dowd, and Theo Seng started their ninth game this season.
Both teams started hot from behind the arc with each side converting on three of its first five attempts. UAB led at the first media timeout, 13-9.
An eight-point Troy run - which included five points from Seng - gave the Trojans a one-point advantage.
Troy and UAB then traded baskets over the next five minutes of game time. The first half finished with five ties and eight lead changes.
UAB took a four-point lead after converting on four of five shots and closed the opening 20 minutes with a buzzer-beater from Salim London. London led all scorers with 10 points in the first half.
Troy came out of the locker room on fire, scoring the first eight points of the half. The Trojans opened six of seven from 3-point range, including two each from both Campbell brothers.
Through the first seven minutes of the second half, Troy outscored UAB 27-12. The Trojans led by as much as 12 at the 12:56 mark. Victor Valdes played a key role in the second half surge, scoring 21 of his 26 points in the frame.
UAB responded, however, and five straight points from Ahmad Robinson tied the game at 68. The Blazers then scored the next basket as part of an 18-4 run to take the lead with 6:50 remaining.
Both sides fought back-and-forth before Cobi Campbell buried his fourth triple of the day to give Troy a four-point edge with just over a minute remaining.
The Blazers then scored six-straight to take an 85-84 lead in the closing moments.
With Troy needing a basket and 3.7 seconds on the clock, Cooper Campbell inbounded the ball to Cobi Campbell, who misfired a 3-pointer off the backboard.
Fighting through his defender, Thomas Dowd secured position, corralled the errant shot and banked in the game-winning basket as time expired, igniting the Troy bench and lifting the Trojans to an 86-85 victory.
UAB (7-4) was led by Robinson, who finished with 25 points and eight assists.
Quotable – Head Coach Scott Cross
"All the adversity we've been through and the close games where we've gotten no breaks, I feel like our guys really deserve this. All glory to the good Lord, we couldn't have done it without him. It was a great all-around team win, UAB is a really good basketball team. I thought our guys were really poised today. Super proud of our guys, this is a hard place to come in and get a victory."
Notables
- Troy's 50 percent (14-28) mark from three is its highest since Nov. 25 of last season, when the Trojans shot 55 percent (11-20) in a win over UTSA.
- Troy's eight turnovers tied its lowest number of turnovers in a game this season. Troy also committed just eight turnovers on Nov. 16 at CSUN.
- Troy has now played in five games this season decided by five points or fewer, tied for secod most in the country.
- Cooper Campbell set a career high with nine assists.
- Troy is now 2-12 all-time against UAB.
Up Next
The Trojans will now turn their attention towards Sun Belt play, hosting Marshall on Saturday, Dec. 20, with tip-off at 1 p.m. inside Trojan Arena.
