Troy University Athletics
Troy University
16-8,9-3Sun Belt
Georgia State
9-15,6-6Sun Belt
Second-Half Surge Lifts Troy Past Georgia State, 74–63
2/4/2026 9:59:00 PM | Basketball (M)
ATLANTA, Ga. – Following two home losses last week, Troy men's basketball responded in a big way with a 74-63 win on the road at Georgia State.
Troy (16-8, 9-3) used a dominant second half in which it scored 46 points and shot 56.7% (17-for-30) from the field to pull away from the Panthers.
Thomas Dowd set the tone for the Trojans, finishing with 16 points and 15 rebounds, including a first-half double-double.
Four other Troy players scored in double figures, including Cobi Campbell (15), Jerrell Bellamy (12), Victor Valdes (12), and Cooper Campbell (10). Valdes also added nine assists.
Troy opened the game shooting 1-for-9, with its first basket coming on a Thomas Dowd follow-up layup.
At the first media timeout, the two teams were a combined 1-for-15 from the field and 0-for-5 from 3-point range.
Troy found its advantage on the glass, including a possession that included three offensive rebounds, resulting in a Dowd three.
Dowd finished the first half with 10 points and 10 rebounds, good for a first-half double-double.
The Troy defense played well throughout the opening 20 minutes, forcing the Panthers into six turnovers while picking up three steals.
A 6-0 Georgia State run gave the Panthers the largest first-half lead at 28-22 with less than two minutes to play in the half. However, Troy responded by scoring the final six points – a three from Dowd and a layup plus the foul by Cooper Campbell.
These buckets made the halftime score 28-28.
Troy's offense came alive to begin the second half, scoring 13 points in the first four minutes of play.
The stretch was capped by an easy Theo Seng dunk created by an extra pass, forcing a Georgia State timeout with the score 41-34.
Troy maintained its lead throughout the majority of the second half, and a no-look pass from Valdes leading to a Jerrell Bellamy slam gave the Trojans an 11-point lead - its largest of the game at the time.
Jelani Hamilton scored his first of only two field goals of the night on a wide-open 3-pointer off an offensive rebound. Hamilton entered the game as the Sun Belt's leading scorer, averaging 18.7 points per game this season.
Hamilton's bucket shrunk the Troy lead to five, the closest the game got the rest of the way.
Troy immediately rattled off an 11–0 run over three minutes, capped by Cobi Campbell's fourth 3-pointer of the night. Campbell put an exclamation point on the game a minute later, knocking down a fadeaway jumper well beyond the 3-point arc to give the Trojans a 72–57 lead.
The Trojans went on to win 74-63 for their ninth Sun Belt win of the season.
Georgia State (9-15, 6-6) was led by 18 points from Micah Tucker.
Quotable – Head Coach Scott Cross
"I'm so thankful to the good Lord for this victory. Our back was against the wall, so we had to go on the road and find a way to win. Georgia State has a good basketball team; they've been shooting the ball really well. Our guys defended at a high level today, but what won us the game was our offensive rebounding. Credit to our guys – Victor [Valdes] and Thomas [Dowd] set the tone. Thomas grabbed eight offensive rebounds and Georgia State only had 10 as a team. Looking forward to Saturday against Akron. They're one of the best offensive teams in the country, so it's not going to be easy. But if our guys play with the tough mindset they played with today, then we're definitively capable of beating them."
Notables
- Thomas Dowd's 16-point, 15-rebound outing marked the third time this season he has recorded at least 15 points and 15 rebounds in a game, tied for the second-most such performances in the country.
- Monday's game marked the first time since Jan. 17 against Arkansas State that five or more Trojans scored in double figures.
- Troy is in the midst of a four-game road winning streak, its first in a single-season since Feb. 12-28 of last season.
- Troy outrebounded Georgia State 43-34, giving the Trojans their seventh best rebounding margin of the season at +11.
- Troy's 16 offensive rebounds were tied for its second-most in a game this season. The Cardinal and White corralled offensive rebounds against USC on Nov. 20.
- Cobi Campbell set a career high with five assists.
- An altercation at the 9:21 minute mark of the second half resulted in the ejections of Troy's Theo Seng and Georgia State's Trey Scott III.
- Troy is now 31-24 all-time against Georgia State.
Up Next
Troy will return home for a nationally televised game against Akron on Saturday, Feb. 7. The contest is set for 5 p.m., airing on ESPN2 with the audio broadcast available on the Troy Sports Media Network.
