Troy University Athletics
Troy University
18-10,10-5Sun Belt
ULM
4-24,1-14Sun Belt
Kiel’s Game-Winner Lifts Trojans Past ULM
2/18/2026 10:21:00 PM | Basketball (M)
MONROE, La. – With 10 seconds left on the clock, Kerrington Kiel pump-faked, drove down the lane and finished a contested layup for what proved to be the game-winning basket.
The make capped Kiel's 15-point performance - a career high - and allowed Troy (18-10, 10-5) to escape Monroe with a 77-76 win over ULM.
In a back-and-forth game that featured 17 ties and 16 lead changes, it was the Troy defense that got a stop when it needed one. The Trojans stood tall without fouling and forced a Krystian Lewis missed layup as time expired.
Lewis, the leading scorer for ULM (4-24, 1-14), finished with 19 points and six assists.
To open the game, Cobi Campbell scored the first basket at the 18:46 mark with a deep 3-pointer. Lewis answered with four early points for ULM, and the Warhawks led 8-6 at the first media timeout.
Like the game itself, the first half was tightly contested, featuring nine ties and nine lead changes.
With Theo Seng sidelined due to a leg injury, Evan Griffin and Corbin Green both saw minutes throughout the game. Griffin was the first player off the bench for the Trojans less than three minutes into the contest.
Thomas Dowd corralled his own miss for his third rebound of the night at the 16:34 mark, moving him into first place in Troy's Division I history for rebounds in a season. The board was Dowd's 278th of the year.
Troy battled foul trouble throughout the opening 20 minutes, committing 10 personal fouls. Kerrington Kiel was the guilty party on three of them, limiting him to just five minutes in the first half.
The Trojans took their largest lead of the opening period at 27-23 with 6:05 remaining, thanks to two free throws from Victor Valdes.
Moments later, ULM responded with two straight 3-pointers from Alex Molofeev and Dylan Diaz to take a three-point advantage.
The Warhawks carried this lead into the halftime break, 37-35.
The second half began with four early points from Jerrell Bellamy, including a thunderous slam
Valdes picked up his third personal foul at the 15:58 mark but remained in the game. The decision paid off as he knocked down a 3-pointer two possessions later. However, he was whistled for a loose-ball foul at the 13:59 mark, sending Troy's leading scorer to the bench with four fouls.
Valdes reentered with 8:54 remaining, and head coach Scott Cross utilized offense-defense substitutions down the stretch.
Thomas Dowd picked up his 15th double-double of the season and made two free throws to give Troy another three-point lead as the clock ticked down to under seven minutes.
A 6-0 run gave Troy its largest lead of the game at 70-64, as Jerrell Bellamy scored his 11th point of the night.
Still, the Warhawks stuck around, and Renars Sondors nailed his only triple with 46 seconds on the clock, tying the game at 75-all.
After a Valdes missed floater and a Dowd foul in the backcourt, Sondors went 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, setting up Kiel's game-winning drive and securing a 77-76 victory for Troy.
Quotable – Head Coach Scott Cross
"It was a rock fight tonight; we had to adjust for not having Theo [Seng] there. That was a challenge. Kerrington Kiel brought so much energy, he was the difference in the game in my opinion. He played his heart out. But I'm proud of our guys, this wasn't an easy game. ULM has talented guys and they were on their home court. There were so many things that weren't going our way, but our guys figured out a way and got it done."
Notables
- Thomas Dowd surpassed Alex Hick's 277 rebounds during the 2017-18 season with his third rebound and now holds Troy's Division I record for most rebounds in a season.
- In addition to Dowd's record-setting rebound season, Victor Valdes set the new mark for made free throws in a Troy Division I season. Valdes made seven on Wednesday night, giving him 143 for the season, passing Myles Rigsby's 142 set last season. Valdes is just 13 makes away from tying Troy's all-time record, set by Terry McCord during the 1992-1993 season.
- With the win, Troy has now won 10 Sun Belt Conference games for the fifth consecutive season, the longest streak in the Sun Belt.
- Kerrington Kiel's 15 points were a career high. Kiel scored 13 of those points in the second half and added five rebounds and three assists.
- Kiel also added a career-high two blocks.
- Thomas Dowd tied a career high with six assists.
- The Trojans are now tied for first place with App State in the Sun Belt standings at 10-5. Marshall and South Alabama are both a half-game behind with a 9-5 record.
- Troy is now 19-11 all-time against ULM.
Up Next
The Trojans will finish their regular-season road schedule on Saturday with a matchup at the top of the Sun Belt standings against South Alabama. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m., with the action streaming on ESPN+ and available to listen to on the Troy Sports Media Network.
