Men's basketball earns two-game road sweep

Troy men’s basketball continued its hot streak with two wins last week over Old Dominion and Georgia Southern – 83-77 and 83-78 respectively -- but it certainly was not easy. 

Troy entered the week looking to maintain its top spot in the Sun Belt Conference heading into a Wednesday night clash with the Monarchs on the road. The Trojans found themselves playing chase to ODU throughout the first half. Troy trailed by as much as seven in the first half but managed to close things up to be tied 35-35 heading to the locker room.  

Brady Fitch photo

Theo Seng stands during a game against Arkansas State.

The second half remained consistent, with both teams trading blows back and forth. In a game with 15 lead changes and 10 ties, regulation would come down to the final seconds.

With just five ticks remaining, Thomas Dowd nailed an 18-foot jumper to knot things up again 64-64 and send Troy to its fifth overtime game of the season. 

Neither team would budge in OT, as both teams finished the final 2:30 of the period going scoreless, to put the game into a second overtime period with a 70-70 tie. This marked Troy’s 10th overtime period of the season and fourth game with two or more overtimes. 

This time, Troy shot out front with a five-point advantage in the first 45 seconds of the double overtime. In the culminating moments, it came down to Victor Valdes and Cooper Campbell’s free throw shooting, which got the job done. The Trojans’ 29-for-34 night from the stripe helped seal an 83-77 double overtime win. 

“I think it came down to the toughness of guys like Thomas Dowd and getting stops down the stretch,” head coach Scott Cross said. “The rebounding, that's where it was won as well.” 

Dowd’s 12 points and 15 rebounds marked his 11th double-double of the season at the time.

He did carry his three-game streak into the Saturday matchup with Georgia Southern. 

Finishing out another week-long road trip, Troy managed to earn a sustainable 47-38 lead at the half, but Georgia Southern came back with a fight. 

Midway through the second half, the Eagles mounted a 13-3 run to take the lead, 62-61. It continued to be back-and-forth until Victor Valdes scored four of the Trojans’ six points and helped force the Eagles to go without a field goal for the final two minutes of play. Troy would earn the win 83-78. 

“Victor was phenomenal down the stretch for us, and we got stops and rebounds in the last couple of minutes.” Cross said. “Any team in this league is capable of beating us and we have to have the right mentality every possession.” 

The Monterrey, Mexico, native had a 22-point afternoon en route to the win. Dowd once again shined as well with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Jerrell Bellamy managed to come off the bench and shoot a perfect 5-for-5 with 10 points total. 

The Trojans are now 15-6 and 8-1 in Sun Belt play. With other teams falling this week, the Trojans now have a two-game lead over second place Georgia State. While the Panthers are scheduled for Feb. 4, the focus will be on this week’s home games against James Madison and App State. 

The Trojans will tip off against the Dukes Thursday at 6 p.m. in Trojan Arena with a quick turnaround against App State on Saturday at 3:33 p.m.