Troy University Athletics
Troy University
10-6,3-1Sun Belt
Arkansas State
11-5,3-1Sun Belt
Early Deficit Too Much to Overcome as Troy Falls at Arkansas State
1/7/2026 10:39:00 PM | Basketball (M)
JONESBORO, Ark. – Troy men's basketball was unable to string together enough defensive stops on Wednesday night, as Arkansas State shot its way to an 86-74 win in First National Bank Arena.
Troy (10-6, 3-1) led for only 2:02 of game time, finding itself in an early hole that it was never able to dig out of.
For the Trojans, Theo Seng turned in one of his best performances of the season. Seng finished with 23 points on 10-13 shooting, while adding eight rebounds.
Arkansas State (11-5, 3-1) was led by Christian Harmon's 18 points, which included four 3-point conversions.
Theo Seng won the opening tip and scored the first three points of the game, all from the free throw line.
Arkansas State got on the board two minutes into the game, courtesy of a Chandler Jackson 3-pointer. The Red Wolves made seven first half threes, compared to the Trojans' four.
Troy did not make its first field goal until the 12:51 mark. Thomas Dowd finished through contact to cut Arkansas State's lead to 10-5.
Troy took its second lead of the first half following a layup from Theo Seng to make the score 21-19. Seng finished the first half leading the Trojans with seven points.
After Arkansas State went on a three-minute scoring drought, Troy followed with a 3:42 stretch without a basket. The Red Wolves took advantage, in part using a 12-0 run to take a commanding 45-32 lead into the halftime break.
The second half opened with Arkansas State using a 10-3 run to take a 20-point lead, its largest of the game.
The Red Wolves were able to keep a double-digit lead for the entirety of the second half. A jumper from Thomas Dowd cut the lead to 11 with just under three minutes remaining. Dowd finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season.
However, as was the case the entire night, Arkansas State had an answer in the form of a 3-pointer from Christian Harmon.
The Red Wolves were able to make free throws down the stretch, handing Troy a 74-86 defeat.
Quotable – Head Coach Scott Cross
"[Arkansas State] was flying around defensively and attacking the paint on us. Coach Pannone is a great coach, and we came up short. It wasn't our night; we were a little out of rhythm. Our guys fought and kept playing. We're going to have nights like this and experience some adversity. We need to find a way to go to Louisiana and win that game."
Notables
- Thomas Dowd's eight double-doubles are tied for 11th in the country.
- Dowd's four blocks set a new career high.
- Theo Seng set a career best with 10 field goals made.
- Austin Cross tied a career-high with two 3-pointers made.
- Troy is now 19-15 all-time against Arkansas State.
Up Next
Troy will stay on the road, heading south to Lafayette for a matchup with Louisiana on Saturday. Tip-off from the Cajundome is scheduled for 12 p.m. on ESPN+.
