Men's basketball takes down Kent State in OT thriller

The Troy men’s basketball began its season in thrilling fashion with a 103-97 overtime victory over Kent State at the M.A.C. Center on Monday night. 

The Trojans led by as much as 14 late in the first half. The lead began to slowly fade as the second half continued, with the Golden Flashes taking the lead with just one minute and 28 seconds left in regulation.  

With one tick remaining on the clock, Cooper Campbell took it coast-to-coast to lay in a game-tying basket. The two teams entered overtime knotted at 87 points each. 

In overtime, Kent State got off to a hot start, leading 94-90 after the first two minutes. The final three minutes of play belonged to the Trojans though. Troy outscored Kent State 13-3 in clutch time to secure a win in the season opener. 

“The guys didn't lose their composure, I mean this is a tough road environment,” head coach Scott Cross said. “This was a team effort, to score 103 points in this building is not an easy task.  

“Kent State is a great basketball team and it took everything for us to win this game."  

Cooper Campbell’s near-buzzer beater capped off an impressive game from the sophomore. The showing marks a career-high 19 points for Campbell, adding on to a notable six assists and eight rebounds. 

Theo Seng and Victor Valdes were both neck-and-neck for the leading scorer on the night. Seng finished with 24 points, while Valdes ended with 23. The duo both made seven of their 14 shot attempts, including two 3-pointers each.  

Thomas Dowd rounded out the starting five for the Trojans with a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds. The junior also had six assists. All five starters for Troy finished with double-digit scoring nights, and each made at least two shots from beyond the arc. 

While Delrecco Gillespie got the start for Kent State and was nearly unstoppable with 22 points and 16 rebounds, Rob Whaley Jr. stole the show coming off the bench. The UNLV transfer only played two games last seasonwith a total of 23 minutes played.  

With Kent State now, he electrified the team with 21 points and eight rebounds over 30 minutes of play. Whaley also made the three-pointer that gave Kent State its first lead late in the game. 

The Trojans were just one of four Sun Belt Conference teams to win in the first round of the MAC-SBC Challenge, giving the Mid-American Conference the win, 9-4, on the night.

While all Sun Belt teams were on the road for this round, they will each play host to a MAC opponent in the second round in early February. 

Narrowly managing to achieve a 1-0 record, the Trojans hope to carry the momentum into their matchup on the road against Furman this Friday. The team will play its first home game at Trojan Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 11 against Pensacola Christian.