Trojans Heading to the Big Dance

Men’s basketball wins Sun Belt Tournament

Brady Fitch photo: Jackson Fields holds up Sun Belt championship trophy

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Troy men’s basketball punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament, thanks to a 94-81 victory in the Sun Belt Tournament Championship over Arkansas State.

The Trojans entered the tournament as the three seed, but emerged as champions following wins over Old Dominion, James Madison and finally Arkansas State. This marks the third time in program history Troy has punched its ticket to the big dance.

The battle with the Red Wolves was a tough one.

Troy pounced to an early 14-7 lead. Arkansas State battled back before halftime and went into the locker room with a 43-41 lead.

The dogfight continued into the second half, until Arkansas State had a run to put the team up eight over the Trojans with just 10 minutes remaining. Head coach Scott Cross called a timeout following the Red Wolves’ run, and it seemingly paid off.

Troy matched the Arkansas State run and raised them with a run of its own. With a 23-4 run, the Trojans found themselves ahead 74-70 at the under-four timeout. The Trojans could see the finish line at this point and crossed it with a final score of 94-81.

“It’s been a long, long journey and our guys really came together as a team,” said Cross. “To see this come to fruition is absolutely amazing.”

The win marks the first conference tournament championship for Troy since the 2016-17 season, and the first title for the Trojans in the Scott Cross era. It is also Cross’ first tournament appearance since 2008, when he took UT-Arlington to the big dance.

En route to the title, Troy had to battle through both a quarterfinal and semifinal game in the days prior. The Trojans never trailed in either matchup against Old Dominion and James Madison. Troy handily beat ODU 75-59 on Saturday, followed by a 79-60 victory against JMU on Sunday.

Tayton Conerway and Myles Rigsby both had 20 plus point games in the championship. Thomas Dowd also had 14 points. The championship appearance would not have been possible without the standout showings in the semifinals from Conerway, Dowd and Jackson Fields, who each had over 20 points in the win over James Madison on Sunday.

“Knowing the amount of work we’ve put in behind closed doors, to come out on top like this, you can’t ask for anything else,” said Conerway. “There’s no better way to go out.”

Already the regular season player of the year, Tayton Conerway was named the Sun Belt Tournament Most Outstanding Player, averaging 20.3 points over the three games. Thomas Dowd was named alongside Conerway to the all-tournament team as well.

The three wins in the conference tournament also has Troy on a six-game winning streak. This is the longest win streak the team has had all season and is certainly coming at the right time. This season has seen 23 victories for Troy, beating the program’s previous best of 20 for the last three seasons.

The conference tournament championship win earns Troy an auto-bid into the NCAA Tournament for the third time in school history. Troy’s previous appearances came in 2003 and 2017.

In Troy’s previous appearances, it has been given a 14-seed in 2003 and a 15-seed in 2017. The Trojans fell in the first round to Xavier and Duke in those years, respectively.

The Trojans now get a break as the remaining conference tournaments crown their champions throughout the week. Troy will find out who its opponent in the first round will be during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show at 5 p.m. on CBS. Fans can join the Trojans in finding out who their first-round opponent will be at Baumhowers Sunday night.

Brady Fitch photos (from left to right): Tayton Conerway celebrates as Troy Trojans win conference championship; Jackson Fields and Head Coach Scott Cross celebrate; Theo Seng cuts part of the net after winning the game.