Troy University Athletics
Troy University
19-11,11-6Sun Belt
Louisiana
10-20,7-10Sun Belt
Bellamy Scores 25; Trojans Use Strong Second Half to Roll Past Louisiana
2/24/2026 10:19:00 PM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. – Jerrell Bellamy scored a career-high 25 points, and the Trojans poured in 51 second-half points as Troy men's basketball took down Louisiana on Tuesday night, 78-59.
The win puts Troy (19-11, 11-6) in position to earn at least a share of the Sun Belt regular-season title with a victory over ULM on Friday night.
The Trojans used a dominant second half to secure the win, shooting 65.4% (17-of-26) and outscoring Louisiana by 15 to pull away comfortably.
Bellamy's 25 points came on 11-of-13 shooting. The big man also added four rebounds, two assists, and a block.
Louisiana (10-20, 7-10) got a 19-point performance from Jaxon Olvera and six assists from Michael Collins.
The Cajuns scored the first two points of the game on a cutting dunk from De'vion Lavergne.
They led 9-2 with 16:55 on the clock after a 7-0 run, forcing Scott Cross to call an early timeout.
Troy's first six points came from the free-throw line, as it made its first six attempts from the charity stripe.
The Trojans did not make their first field goal until the 11:45 mark, ending a 15-minute stretch dating back to Saturday's game against South Alabama without a field goal.
Louisiana then entered a cold spell on the offensive end, going more than eight and a half minutes without scoring.
During that span, Troy caught fire from 3-point range, as Cooper Campbell and Thomas Dowd connected on back-to-back possessions to give the Trojans an 18-13 lead.
A 5-0 run, highlighted by a three-pointer from Austin Cross and a floater by Bellamy, pushed Troy's lead to 23-15 with about three minutes remaining in the first half.
The Trojans took a 27-23 lead into the locker room.
Troy used a 9-0 run early in the second half to jump ahead 36-25, marking the first double-digit lead of the game. The stretch included Bellamy's second dunk, giving him 14 points on the night.
After Troy built a 47-30 advantage, the Cajuns responded with three straight field goals to cut the lead to 11.
The margin hovered in that range for several minutes, as baskets from Victor Valdes and Dowd helped Troy maintain control.
Troy then surged again, as Dowd knocked down his second three-pointer of the night and Bellamy continued his career performance. The Phenix City, Ala., native knocked down an open look from beyond the arc to reach a new career high with 23 points.
That basket pushed the Trojan lead to 19 with 3:15 remaining. Although Troy extended the margin to as many as 21, the final differential was 19, as the Trojans secured a 78-59 victory and set the stage for Friday night's title opportunity against ULM.
Quotable – Head Coach Scott Cross
"In the second half we started getting hot, started to hit some shots. Once we got the lead we were really able to spread the floor. We kept it simple and our guys made really good decisions. It was a great all around game, and I felt like we were connected like we had been in some of our great games early in the year, and it was great to see."
Notables
- Jerrell Bellamy's 25-point performance is one of 29 games in college basketball this season in which a player has scored at least 25 points while shooting 84.6% or better on a minimum of 13 field goal attempts.
- Troy tallied assists on 19 made baskets, compared to Louisiana's nine. The 10 assists net difference was Troy's third-highest net assist difference against Division I teams this season. The Trojans finished with 14 more assists in the first meeting against Louisiana on Jan. 10.
- A win on Friday against ULM would guarantee Troy at least a share of the Sun Belt regular-season title — and the program's second straight Sun Belt regular-season crown.
- Thomas Dowd's four blocks tied a career high.
- Dowd's eight made free throws were also a career best.
- Troy is now 12-23 all-time against Louisiana.
Up Next
The Trojans remain home, wrapping up their regular season on Friday night by hosting ULM at 6 p.m. As part of Troy's senior night, the team will honor four seniors prior to tip-off – Jerrell Bellamy, Corbin Green, Kam Mitchell, and Theo Seng.
