Men's basketball obliterates conference opponents

The Troy men’s basketball team earned back-to-back home victories last week over Southern Miss, 91-65 and Arkansas State, 99-74. The Saturday win over the Red Wolves lifted the Trojans to the number one spot in the Sun Belt Conference standings. 

Following two consecutive road games, Troy returned home with a statement win over Southern Miss, 91-65. A career night for Cobi Campbell led the way as the redshirt junior earned a new best of 30 points. He set a new career high of 11 made shot attempts, including six 3-pointers. 

Brady Fitch photo

Victor Valdes stands after drawing a foul against Arkansas State.

“Tonight was a great all-around win for our guys; we did a great job on the boards,” head coach Scott Cross said. “Cobi [Campbell] was cooking tonight and kind of transcended the rest of the team.” 

Along with Campbell’s offense, the defense kept Southern Miss from ever putting itself back into the conversation after going down by 16 at half. While Troy shot 52% from the floor and 44% from three, Southern Miss was just 15% from long range, shooting 3-for-20. 

Troy carried the momentum off the Southern Miss game into a rematch against Arkansas State on Saturday. After falling to the Ryan Pannone-coached squad just 10 days prior, Troy stunned the Red Wolves, 99-74.  

The two teams went back and forth briefly, but Troy once again pulled away late in the first half to find itself ahead 44-35 heading into the locker room. The Trojans continued to carry the momentum into the second half thanks to incredible offensive and defensive play from Thomas Dowd, Victor Valdesand Jerrell Bellamy to secure the win. 

Dowd earned a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds. This comes right after 11 points and 10 rebounds night against Southern Miss.  

It was the Valdes-to-Bellamy connection that stole the show, though. Five dunks from Bellamy, each seemingly flashier than the one before, kept Trojan Arena buzzing with momentum en route to a career high 22 points. Along with his 17 points, Victor Valdes finished with 14 assists on the evening, which is the most of any Trojan since 2006. 

Brady Fitch photo

Jerrell Bellamy throws down a dunk against Arkansas State

“We got going, our guys got in flow, and we were playing with a lot of toughness and grit.” Cross said. “We set the tone with our rebounding in the first half. They crushed us on the boards in Jonesboro, so I challenged the guys and they really responded.  

“It all came together today; this is the best version of Troy.” 

Troy finished with 38 rebounds to Arkansas State’s 30. In the first matchup between the two, Arkansas State handled the Trojans on the boards with 44 rebounds compared to Troy’s 30. 

The win now puts Troy at 6-1 in the Sun Belt, marking its best start to conference play since the 2003-04 season, where the team began the year 6-1 in the ASUN. 

Troy once again hits the road for back-to-back games. The Trojans take on Old Dominion on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. followed by a Saturday afternoon battle with Georgia Southern at 2 p.m. The Trojans will return home on Jan. 29 to take on James Madison at Trojan Arena.