Men's basketball drops pair of games at home

Troy men’s basketball suffered two at home losses last week against James Madison and App State. Troy fell 74-63 to JMU before dropping a 66-44 contest to the Mountaineers. 

Following a five-game winning streak, Troy welcomed the Dukes of James Madison to Trojan Arena on Thursday night. The 6-1 start to January would come to a halt though with a 74-63 loss. 

Brady Fitch photo

Austin Cross stands during a game.

“James Madison was the better team today; they were very physical from the jump,” said head coach Scott Cross. “They crushed us on the boards and shot a high percentage against us.” 

JMU managed 45 rebounds to Troy’s 33. The Dukes shot 42% from distance compared to Troy’s 28%. It was only the second time the Trojans had shot below 30% during conference play this season 

Despite the loss, Victor Valdes totaled 16 points while Thomas Dowd recorded his fifth straight double-double. Dowd closed out the night with 12 points and 10 rebounds. 

Cliff Davis was the hot hand for the Dukes, scoring 23 points, just one shy of his season high. 

With plenty of ceremony going into Saturday, Troy hoped to redeem itself in the match up with App State.  

The game was preceded by a gathering inside the practice gym at Trojan Arena, as it was renamed the “John Harrison Center.” With Troy legends like former coach Don Maestri in attendance, the Trojans still could not find a rhythm in the 66-44 loss. 

The 3-point shooting went from bad to worse between games, as this time Troy shot at a 15% clip. While the Trojans went 4-for-27 as a team, App State’s Kasen Jennings connected on 7-of-11 attempts from longrange. The USF transfer set a new career high of 33 points.  

After App State earned an early four-point lead, Troy managed to tie it back up 19-19. In the final eight minutes of the first half though, the Mountaineers outscored the Trojans, 17-5, to lead by 12 entering the locker room. 

Not much would change in the second half. Although Troy managed to close the gap back to within five, a 14-2 run immediately after solidified the 20-point win for the Mountaineers. 

“I think our guys are worried about the wrong things,” Cross said. “They’re worried about the stat sheets, and the officials, but we’ve got to come together and get back to the basics.” 

The Trojans entered the week with a two-game lead above the rest of the Sun Belt Conference. Following the skid, Troy now sits just a half game above South Alabama and App State. 

Troy takes on Georgia State on the road Wednesday night before a break from conference play against Akron for the second round of the MAC-SBC Challenge.  

The game against Akron will be aired on ESPN2 at 5 p.m. on Saturday. It is the first nationally televised home game for Troy since 2022. Akron currently sits second in the MAC behind undefeated Miami (OH). 

Troy will tip off at Georgia State on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. followed by a home game with Akron on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Trojan Arena.