Troy men’s basketball won its home opener over Toledo in the MAC-Sun Belt Conference Challenge Monday night.
The Trojans quickly got out front with a 6-0 run led by preseason All-Sun Belt first team selection Myles Rigsby. Rigsby was credited with the first bucket of the year for Troy.
Toledo would battle back and even lead 19-18 with eight minutes in the first half, but a 14-5 run would give Troy a comfortable lead. At the half, the Trojans led 43-29.
The second half was all about defense and maintaining the lead for the Trojans. That’s exactly what they did, as Toledo never managed to cut the lead back to single digits. Troy would close out the night with an 84-74 victory.
“It’s a great steppingstone for us as a team,” head coach Scott Cross said, “I was proud of our guys.
“We were really locked in defensively.”
Troy’s defense certainly was a defining factor of the team in the season opener. The team had nine steals and five blocks. The defense also outrebounded Toledo 42-35.
Thomas Dowd, Myles Rigsby and Tayton Conerway each came away with two steals and at least one block. Rigsby and Conerway also led the team offensively with 12 points each.
“That’s who we want to be as a team,” Dowd said, “We want to be loud on defense and out-tough them, and I think we did that.
“We hit the ground running this offseason, and I think we did the same today.”
Multiple players made their debuts for the team. Kerrington Kiel, Cooper Campbell and Jerrell Bellamy each saw notable playing time. Bellamy, a transfer from Chattahoochee Valley CC, had seven points and two rebounds.
While Troy’s scoring was spread out within the team, Toledo had a heavy focus on its top players. Javan Simmons led the Rockets with 19 points, eight rebounds and two assists. He was also perfect from the free throw line with seven attempts.
Sonny Wilson was not far behind Simmons, with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists. He and Simmons barely managed to get Toledo over 40% shooting, something Cross said he had hoped to prevent.
Troy’s win was one of eight that came for the Sun Belt on Monday. The Sun Belt came out on top of part one of the MAC-SBC Challenge 8-4. Part two of the challenge will be Feb. 8, 2025.
Troy’s win makes five consecutive years of season opening victories. The win over a Toledo team with four-consecutive MAC regular season championships will certainly do the Trojans a favor when the NET rankings come into play.
Troy now looks at a five-game road stretch, beginning with New Orleans on Saturday. That road trip includes power matchups against a John Calipari-led Arkansas team and the Oregon Ducks.
The Trojans will take on the Privateers in New Orleans at 4 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+.
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