Men's basketball drops rivalry contest, sits in SBC second place
- Gavan Baxley
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Troy men’s basketball went 1-1 over its two road games this week. The Trojans beat ULM 77-76 on Wednesday night but fell short against South Alabama 65-54 on Saturday.
Coming off two road losses in the previous week, Troy needed to turn things around to stay in the hunt for a Sun Belt Conference regular-season title. The team managed to do that on Wednesday, edging out ULM, 77-76.
The Warhawks have struggled all season with just four wins total and only one in conference play. They managed to throw everything they had at Troy, though, leading 37-35 at the half.
It continued to be a close duel the entire way with 16 total lead changes. The Warhawks led late by one, but Kerrington Keil’s drive inside for a contested layup fell with 10 seconds left to play. This would secure a win for Troy, barely escaping its trip to Monroe.
“Kerrington Kiel brought so much energy, he was the difference in the game in my opinion,” said head coach Scott Cross. “He played his heart out.
“I'm proud of our guys, this wasn't an easy game.”
With Theo Seng out with an injury, Kiel stepped up with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists, including the game-winner. Thomas Dowd managed another double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Dowd also tied his career high of six assists.
Troy then traveled to Mobile, Alabama, to face off against rival South Alabama for the second time this season. After beating the Jaguars in Trojan Arena in January, the Richie Riley-coached team got its revenge over Troy, 65-54.
South Alabama cracked the code on how to beat Troy, especially when missing one of its big men, Theo Seng. The Jaguars ran a 4-1 zone for almost the entire game, keeping Troy out of the paint and forcing three-point attempts.
Despite the struggle to penetrate inside, Troy only trailed by seven, 33-26, at halftime. Troy did not make a single two-point field goal in the first half and only made three total on the afternoon. Of Troy’s 53 total shot attempts, 42 of them were from a long range.
Cooper Campbell’s hot hand earned him 26 points while shooting 7-for-17 from three.
While his efforts kept Troy in the game, the shots eventually stopped falling and allowed South Alabama to pull away. Troy was held scoreless for the last 2:30 of the game.
“Obviously they make you take three-point shots, they do a great job of packing everything into the paint,” Coach Cross said. “We just couldn't see the ball go in enough.”
Had Troy beaten the Jaguars, it would have put the team in the top spot in the Sun Belt standings with just two regular-season games remaining. Instead, the Trojans are in a three-way tie for second along with Marshall and South Alabama. App State currently is in first but has played one more game. If all four teams win each of their games this week, there will be a four-way tie for first in the conference, just like last season.
Troy returns home for its final two games before the Sun Belt Tournament in Pensacola, Florida. It will see rematches with Louisiana and ULM on Tuesday and Friday night at Trojan Arena. Both games tip off at 6 p.m.