Men's basketball earns massive win over San Diego on road

Troy men’s basketball earned its biggest upset win in school history over San Diego State, 108-107 in double overtime on Tuesday night. 

The win marks the highest KenPom rated opponent Troy has ever beaten, as the Aztecs were No. 26. It comes after a struggling start to the six-game road trip following losses to Loyola Marymount 74-63, and a 94-85 loss to Cal State Northridge over the past week. 

“We went through some adversity at [Loyola Marymount] and [CSUN].” Troy coach Scott Cross said. “We've got some scars, and it's all about how you respond to that adversity.  

“There's no way we could have responded any better. Our guys played tough. This was a championship level effort tonight.” 

The Trojans got off to a dominant start, leading by 12 after just the first four minutes. The Aztecs clawed back into it, but Victor Valdes’ 11 points in the first half helped Troy maintain a lead through the majority of the half. The Monterrey, Mexico, native finished with 20 points despite fouling out late in regulation, missing both overtime periods. 

SDSU continued to battle back, leaving things tied 38-38 at the half. The battle waged on through the second half, and Troy once again pulled free to hold a 12-point lead with just four minutes to go in regulation. 

San Diego State once again found its way back, as Troy was held scoreless from the floor for the remainder of the half. Relying on free throws, Troy held a three-point lead with two seconds remaining. SDSU’s Miles Byrd took the inbound and drilled a half-court shot at the buzzer to tie the game and extend the game to overtime, 89-89. 

Troy went into overtime having already lost Valdes to foul trouble. Cobi Campbell and Kerrington Kiel each earned a fifth foul in the extra period as well. 

With three men gone, Thomas Dowd managed to pull the weight. The junior put up 25 points, but more impressively a career high of 19 rebounds. Dowd’s performance off the glass is the fourth-most rebounds in a game across all of Division I. 

Troy managed to take a lead briefly in overtime thanks to Javen Colbert’s free throws, but SDSU tied it back up with seven seconds left off a layup from Reese Dixon-Waters. A 98-98 score would remain, and the Trojans and Aztecs were forced into a second overtime period. 

With exhaustion playing a factor, San Diego State took a lead 104-100 with less than three minutes to go. The Trojans assumed the lead again with help from Theo Seng and a three-pointer from Thomas Dowd. SDSU again answered with a three of their own. 

Down to just 15 seconds on the clock, Theo Seng drove down the lane and laid in the go-ahead bucket to assume the 108-107 lead. SDSU had a clean shot in the final moments, but it wouldn’t go, and Troy survived with the upset victory. 

Theo Seng’s clutch layup put his total at 15 points and seven rebounds. Cooper Campbell  

also finished the night with 16 points and four assists. 

Troy was at one point in the game given just a 4.8 percent chance to win and defied the odds to earn the sixth biggest national upset of the season, according to KenPom. 

The Trojans now move to 4-2, with another chance to shock the world against USC this Thursday night in the final game of the California portion of Troy’s six-game road trip. Tipoff is at 9 p.m. CT.