Late-game struggles doom Trojans in key contests
Troy men’s basketball fell short in back-to-back home conference matchups with Texas State and Arkansas State last week.
While most students were away for the holidays, the team was hard at work with a 3-0 start to Sun Belt Conference play. After the wins over Georgia State, Appalachian State and Marshall, expectations were high in Trojan Arena as students began to return to show their support.
Trojan nation left with disappointment last Thursday though, as a 74-73 loss to the Bobcats served as a roadblock on Troy’s hopeful path to a conference title. Troy got out front quickly in the early going, leading by as much as nine in the first half.
By halftime, the Trojans had a strong lead at 41-34. It wasn’t until the final 10 minutes that Texas State took control for the first time, and it was back-and-forth from there until the finish line. The Bobcats were fouled with just one second remaining as Tylan Pope knocked down the game-winning free throw.
“Honestly, we self destructed,” head coach Scott Cross said. “They were tougher than us.
“They had more will. They had more grit to them. For one reason or another, our guys didn’t sit down and defend.”
Troy struggled to defend Tylan Pope throughout the game. The senior forward had a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Troy’s work was done by Tayton Conerway and Myles Rigsby, who had 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Troy and Arkansas State both came into the Saturday afternoon clash with the hopes of bouncing back. The Red Wolves had just lost matchups to James Madison and South Alabama and needed a win to live up to their status as the pre-season favorites.
Once again Troy started the first half hot. The Trojans pulled away late in the first half, leading by as much as 13. At halftime, the home crowd sat comfortably with a 43-34 lead.
The Red Wolves slowly tracked down the Trojans but still didn’t have the lead with just one minute left to play. A string of threes from Thomas Pinion launched Arkansas State out front though, stealing a win from Troy with an 84-78 final score.
“It was an identical game to Texas State,” Cross said. “I think it’s a lesson for our guys. We’re not all the way connected the way we need to be.”
Tayton Conerway led Troy with 32 points, seven rebounds and four assists. The astounding performance from Conerway on his birthday was outshined by the efforts of the Red Wolves’ Taryn Todd and Joseph Pinion. Todd led the team with 21 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
Pinion scored 17 points, but the most notable stat is that 15 of those came from beyond the arc. He was 5-for-9 from three-point range, including consecutive makes to first take the lead, then seal the game.
In the last two games, Troy led for a combined 66 minutes. Its opponents only sat in front for five minutes and 13 seconds.
Troy will look to close out games this week, as they hit the road to face ULM on Wednesday, followed by a matchup in Mobile, Alabama against rival South Alabama on Saturday.
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