Troy Takes Down Old Dominion, Advances to Semifinals

Saturday, March 8

Pensacola, Fla.

8 p.m.

Troy University

21-10,13-5Sun Belt

Old Dominion

15-20,8-10Sun Belt

Old Dominion

Troy

Troy Takes Down Old Dominion, Advances to Semifinals

3/9/2025 12:28:00 AM | Basketball (M)

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PENSACOLA, Fla. – After a dominant first half, the Troy men's basketball team took down No. 10 Old Dominion 75-59 on Saturday night to advance to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament, where it will take on No. 2 James Madison on Sunday.

Troy (21-10), who hadn't played in eight days, took some time to find its rhythm but settled in as the first half progressed and found itself in complete control going into the halftime break. The Trojans had their best defensive half of the season in the first 20 minutes, holding Old Dominion to 13.3 percent (4-30) from the field.

Sun Belt Player of the Year Tayton Conerway exploded for 17 points on 7-11 shooting in the opening half to help Troy take a 36-18 lead into the break. The Trojans ended the half on a 17-3 run.

The second half was all smooth sailing for Troy, whose lead never fell below 10. At one point, the Trojans led by 23. Myles Rigsby had a big second half, scoring 12 points on 4-5 shooting.

Conerway finished the night as the team's leading scorer with 18 points, while also adding five rebounds and five steals. Rigsby finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Also scoring in double-digits was Thomas Dowd and Marcus Rigsby Jr., with 10 each.

It was truly an impressive performance for the Trojans defense, who held the Monarchs to a 30.8 percent shooting clip from the field. R.J. Blakney led Old Dominion with 20 points. Sean Durugordan had 14 points and 16 rebounds.

Troy finished the night shooting 44.1 percent, including 50 percent in the final 20 minutes. The Trojans also turned it over just seven times and are now 6-1 this season when recording single-digit turnovers.

Quotable – head coach Scott Cross
"Our guys played extremely hard. We had a bit of an unorthodox gameplan. Old Dominion had been playing so well over the last five games, so we played a two-man zone. Our guys did an incredible job on a short turnaround. They executed it to perfection in the first half. Their coach made some great adjustments in the second half. They were aggressive. They pressed, jumped and got us out of rhythm a bit. But our guys came together, and we were able to get stops down the stretch."

Up Next
The Trojans have punched their ticket to the semifinals of the tournament for the first time since the 2022 season, when it played Louisiana. The Dukes earned a bye into the semifinals and have not played since their regular season finale on Feb. 28. A win would send Troy to its first championship game since the 2016-17 season.

Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. at the Pensacola Bay Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Troy Sports Media Network. Live stats will be available on TroyStats.com.

Notables
• The Trojans move to 3-0 all-time against Old Dominion and are 13-14 in the Sun Belt Tournament.
• Troy is 12-0 this season when holding its opponents to under 40 percent shooting. Old Dominion shot 30.8 percent on Saturday night.
• Troy is 9-0 this season when allowing less than 60 points. Old Dominion scored 59.
• The Sun Belt Player of the Year, Tayton Conerway, had a team-high 18 points, 17 of which he scored in the first half. He also added five rebounds and five steals.
• Myles Rigsby had 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Also scoring in double-digits were Thomas Dowd and Marcus Rigsby Jr., with 10 each.
• The Trojans led for 38:39 of the night and never trailed.
• Troy is 19-6 this season when starting Tayton Conerway, Marcus Rigsby Jr., Myles Rigsby, Thomas Dowd and Jackson Fields.