Jerrell Bellamy catches his breath against Louisiana.
Troy men’s basketball had its regular season conference title hopes dashed in a comeback loss against Louisiana last week. The Trojans avenged the loss with a Senior Day victory over Coastal Carolina in their final home game of the year.
Going into last week, Troy found itself tied for first place with three others in the conference: Arkansas State, South Alabama and James Madison. With one of the more favorable paths of any team for the remainder of the regular season, the hopes of a conference title loomed across campus. A rematch with Louisiana would prove to be a spoiler to that dream.
The weeknight matchup proved to be a new chapter of the same book of heartbreak losses this season for Troy. The Trojans were well in control, with a 38-29 lead at half and as much as a 14-point lead 13 minutes to play. With just three minutes remaining, the Ragin Cajuns had mounted the comeback and taken their first lead of the second half at 63-62.
Troy, suddenly down by five 67-62, put together a small run to give itself the lead again at 69-67. With only 16 seconds on the clock, a Louisiana three-pointer from the logo by Kentrell Garnett met nylon to put the Cajuns back in front. The game would end in a 72-69 final score in favor of the visitors.
“We self-sabotaged our own success,” said head coach Scott Cross. “If you’re not going to be tough and gritty, we’re not going to be successful.
“We were too cool for school.”
Troy’s fifth conference loss of the season is also the fourth time that the team has led a game with less than one minute left and fallen short of the finish line. After dominating Louisiana 74-56 just one week prior, the Trojans loss to the Ragin Cajuns comes as even more of a shock.
Tayton Conerway’s near triple-double of 16 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists was remarkable, yet outshined by Louisiana’s Mostapha El Moutaouakkil. The junior guard from Morocco had 25 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Zeke Cook also earned a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Although the loss likely turned Troy away from a regular season conference title, it did not deter the team from being ready to roll for a Senior Day matchup with Coastal Carolina on Saturday.
It was a struggle between both teams for the entirety of the first half. A small Troy lead was drawn back even by halftime at 33-33. Finally, with just over 10 minutes remaining, a boom in the Trojans’ shooting led them to a comfortable 83-66 win in front of a home crowd one last time this season.
“That was a great way to send those seniors out. Very proud of our guys,” Cross said. “I am thankful to the good Lord that our guys were a little bit tougher in the second half and we were able to get it done.”
As it has been a tradition under the Scott Cross tenure at Troy, all of the seniors got the start in this one, including Braydon Whitaker and Randarius Jones, who both had never done so before. Theo Seng and Tayton Conerway also were in the lineup along with sophomore Myles Rigsby.
Tayton Conerway made sure to go out of Troy with a “bang.” He left the floor with a team-high 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Myles Rigsby also had a 20-plus point game, right at 20, along with four rebounds. Thomas Dowd’s 18 points and nine rebounds also boosted Troy in the win.
The win for Troy helped keep any hope alive for a conference championship, but more importantly, maintained a shot at likely earning a top-four seed in the Sun Belt Tournament. Under the newly formatted bracket, seeding will be more important than ever.
Troy now is tied for second with South Alabama and Arkansas State with an 11-5 record, while James Madison leads the standings at 12-4. Although the Jags and Red Wolves currently hold tiebreakers over Troy in the three-way tie, multiple scenarios could give Troy a chance at a top two seed or even still the possibility of a championship.
Troy will hope to wrap up the season strong and aim for a fourth straight 20-plus win season with its final two games of the regular season against Texas State and Southern Miss on Tuesday and Friday.
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