The Troy men’s basketball team split a pair of road games, as it fell to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and toppled Arkansas State.
On Thursday, Feb. 4, the Trojans (7-16, 2-10 Sun Belt) fell to UALR (20-2, 10-1 Sun Belt), 49-72, keeping Little Rock at the top of the Sun Belt rankings after their victory at the Jack Stephens Center.
The Little Rock men were only ahead by 28-22 at halftime, but a strong run in the second half gave them a 23-point advantage with just under nine minutes left in the game.
They started the game having held their previous opponents to an NCAA-best 58.3 points per game and to 37.4 percent of shots taken from the floor, which is the fifth-best mark in the country.
Senior forward John Walton III led his team, scoring 16 points as well as bringing in six rebounds.
Sophomore guard Wesley Person followed suit, scoring 13 points and hauling in three rebounds.
Person holds the longest active streak in the country, having at least one three-pointer in every game of his 51-game career.
On Saturday, the Trojans turned things around, as they rose victorious over the Arkansas State Red Wolves in a close game, 71-70.
Troy was able to hold a lead for the majority of the game, even holding a 52-38 lead with 14:48 left to play.
This time around, Person outscored Walton by one point, with 22 and 21 points respectively. Walton, however, did score five of the Trojans’ final eight points, making a difference in the outcome of the game.
But the Red Wolves were far from letting the game go, and went on a 14-3 run to narrow the Trojans’ lead to just three with nine minutes left in regulation.
The two sides continued to battle it out in the closing minutes of the second half, and with just 28 seconds left in the game, the Red Wolves and Trojans were tied at 68. Walton broke the tie with a free throw.
A bad pass from Arkansas State gave Troy possession of the ball. During this exchange, junior Trojan guard Daniel Peace was fouled, allowing him to score two more points from the free-throw line.
The Trojans were now ahead by three, and after a questionable foul that put Arkansas State on the free-throw line for three attempts, the Red Wolves were in position to tie.
Despite Arkansas State having three players scoring in double digits, Troy was able to come away with their second conference victory.
The Red Wolves only made two of the three shots, and Troy escaped with the win.
The Trojans are set to return home to Trojan Arena on Thursday, Feb. 11, where they will play Georgia Southern at 7:30 pm.
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