Troy University Athletics
Troy University
19-10,12-5Sun Belt
Texas State
15-15,8-9Sun Belt
Men’s Basketball Topples Texas State, 74-69
2/26/2025 12:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The defense stepped up late to help propel Troy to a crucial 74-69 win over Texas State on Tuesday night at Strahan Arena. The win guarantees that Troy is no lower than the No. 4 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament and will not play until at least the quarterfinals round.
Troy (19-10, 12-5 SBC) held Texas State (15-15, 8-9 SBC) without a field goal for the final 5:10 of the game. The final nine Bobcats points came at the free throw line. It wasn't just the final five minutes that the defense stepped up, though, as the Trojans held the Bobcats to 30.4 percent (7-23) from the field in the second half after Texas State shot 50 percent to open the game.
Both teams started slow coming out of the gates, as the Trojans trailed 14-13 at the under-12 media timeout. Troy was struggling to get good looks early, and Texas State went on an 8-3 run to take a 22-16 lead. Troy started to settle in as the half progressed but it was back-and-forth all the way until the buzzer. The Bobcats took a 37-36 into the locker room. Entering Tuesday's game, Texas State had not lost a home conference game in which it led at halftime this season.
Tayton Conerway had 11 first-half points to lead a Troy offense that shot 40 percent in the half. On the other side, Tylan Pope had 17 points going into the break to help Texas State shoot 50 in the opening 20 minutes.
Troy trailed for over 11 minutes in the first half but opened the second half strong, and took a 40-39 lead on a Conerway three with 18:19 left in the game. From that point on, Troy did not trail the rest of the night and the score was tied just three times.
Texas State's final field goal of the game came on a Mark Drone layup with 5:10 left in the game to cut Troy's lead to five.
With Troy leading 67-66 with 1:51 left in the game, it would need to be efficient at the free throw line to come away with the win, and that's exactly what it was. Troy made six of its final seven free throws to ice the game. The difference in the second half proved to be free throws and rebounds. The Trojans made 17 of its attempts from the line compared to the Bobcats 16. On the glass, Troy outrebounded Texas State 24-15. Randarius Jones and Thomas Dowd each had seven second-half boards.
Myles Rigsby and Conerway each had a big showing in the second half, as Conerway had 13 points and Rigsby had eight. Rigsby was also 8-8 from the line, including burying the game-icing free throws.
Conerway finished the night with a team-high 24 points on 8-19 shooting, while also recording five steals, five rebounds and three assists. Tuesday marks his sixth 20-point performance of the season and his second straight after having 21 against Coastal Carolina on Saturday. He has scored in double-figures in all but one Sun Belt game this season.
The senior guard is just three steals away from setting the single-season program record. The current record is 88 by Bobby Dixon in the 2005-06 season.
Rigsby finished with 15 points and five rebounds.
Dowd led Troy with 10 rebounds and helped the Trojans win the board battle 41-33. Troy had 18 offensive rebounds, while Texas State had 11.
Both teams didn't shoot the ball well, as the Bobcats finished at 40.8 percent from the field and Troy at 37.9 percent.
Pope had a game-high 25 points for Texas State.
Quotable – head coach Scott Cross
"It's never easy. I think we won that game with our offensive rebounding. Thomas had a few down the stretch, Tayton had a couple, RJ had a couple. I thought that was the difference in the game. We had missed some shots but we were able to secure second and third opportunities. When you do that, you give yourself a great opportunity to win. They are a good rebounding team and we outrebounded them by eight. I'll take that on the road all day long."
Up Next
The Trojans regular season comes to a close on Friday night as they take on Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, Miss. Tip is slated for 7:30 p.m. With a win and loss by JMU, Troy will win its first regular season conference title since the 2008-09 season. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Troy Sports Media Network.
Notables
• Troy moves to 9-12 all-time against Texas State and snapped a three-game losing streak dating back to last season.
• With Tuesday's win, Troy guarantees itself no lower than the No. 4 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament.
• Tayton Conerway had a team-high 24 points. It marks his sixth 20-plus point performance this season and 22 double-digit scoring game. He leads Troy with 13.8 points per game.
• Myles Rigsby scored 15 points in the victory to record back-to-back double-digit scoring games. He now has 18 games in double figures this season.
• Thomas Dowd had 10 rebounds in the win. It was the second time this season and fourth time in his career that he has grabbed 10 or more boards.
• Troy held Texas State to 40.8 percent shooting in the win. The Bobcats did not score a field goal in the final 5:10 of the second half. Its final nine points came from the free-throw line.
• The Trojans won the rebounding battle 41-33, including 18-11 on offensive rebounds.
• Conerway had a team-high five steals and sits just three away from setting a new single-season program record. The current record – 88 – was set by Bobby Dixon in the 2005-06 season.
• Head coach Scott Cross is one win away from 100 in his Troy career. He is 99-86 in his six years at Troy.
