Trojan Revenge: Troy takes down South 77-68

The Troy men’s basketball team defeated South Alabama 77-68 Saturday inside Trojan Arena, avenging the crushing 19-point loss in Mobile Thursday to the program’s bitter rival.

Troy was led by Duke Miles, who scored a season-high 22 points and seven assists. Miles also shot 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Miles was one of four Trojans in double figures, joining Zay Williams, Efe Odigie and Kieffer Punter.

With the win, Troy moves to 14-7 overall and 5-3 in the Sun Belt. After the win, the Trojans are tied with South for third place in the conference.

The crowd inside Trojan Arena, the largest attendance for a Sun Belt home game this season, set the tone early. The 4,546 students and fans showed up, and were rowdy the entire game.

Troy opened the game on a 4-0 run.

With 10:25 left in the first half, the Jaguars took their largest lead on a free throw by Charles Manning Jr. Following South Alabama’s lead, Troy went on a 12-1 run which included eight points from Miles.

Manning and Jay Jay Chandler both scored 20 for the Jags, and Javon Franklin finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. 

The Trojans took a 31-22 lead into the halftime break and then came out firing in the second half. At one point, Troy held a 20-point lead.

However, the Jaguars went on a 17-8 run late in the game. Even then, the Trojans continued to counter South’s shots with their own.

One of the largest impacts of the game for Troy was rebounding. The Trojans out rebounded South Alabama 44-28, and had a 17-8 rebounding advantage at the offensive end of the floor. Desmond Williams was also big in this match-up, as he hit back-to-back three point shots to extend the Trojans’ lead.

At the free-throw line, Troy finished 12-of-15 over the final three minutes of the game. Troy shot 40.4 percent from the floor and 76.7 percent at the charity stripe.

The Trojans scored 22 from the floor on second chance opportunities. From the bench, the Trojans outscored South 21-7. The Trojans’ largest lead was 20, while South Alabama’s largest lead was just four.

Two big match-ups this upcoming week could set the tone for the final stretch of the season.

The Trojans travel to Statesboro and Atlanta this week. On Thursday, the Trojans face off against Georgia State with a 6 PM tip. Then on Saturday, Troy travels to Statesboro to face Georgia Southern.