Troy men win No. 20, advance to semifinals

The last two times the Trojans won 20 games, they won it all. The same mark this year brings the same goal.

Troy held off Little Rock 69-62, advancing to the Sun Belt semifinals for the first time since the 2016-2017 season. The Trojans won the tournament title and took part in the Madness that season, capping off the season with 22 wins.

The next most successful season was seven years before that, when legendary coach Don Maestri led Troy to a 20-13 record, an NIT berth and a regular season title in the 2009-2010 season. 12 years later, the Trojans are aiming for their second postseason appearance since.

Troy began Saturday’s game with a three pointer from Desmond Williams, which made up half his scoring for the day. Both teams went back and forth in the first half but Troy expanded the lead to 18-10 after an 8-0 run midway through the first half.

Little Rock kept the game close until the half, but headed to the locker room, Troy led 37-26. UALR’s largest lead in the first half was just two points to Troy’s nine. 

In the second half, Troy went up 40-26 on the second three-point shot from Desmond Williams. Efe Odigie scored on a layup to give Troy a 42-31 lead, then Little Rock started a comeback.

From the 17:12 mark, Little Rock went on a 24-13 run and got back to a 55-54 deficit. With six minutes remaining, Troy’s Zay Williams hit two free throws and put the team up 57-54.

Following a few missed shots by both teams, Little Rock hit four free throws in two possessions and tied the game at 58. 

With 1:30 left, Duke Deen nailed a shot from beyond the arc that set the tone for the win. Little Rock pulled within 61-60 on a jumper from Jefferson but two free throws by Kieffer Punter and a dunk and a foul shot by Odigie put Troy up 66-60. 

Following a layup from Little Rock’s Jordan Jefferson, Duke Deen went to the charity stripe twice and closed out the seven-point victory with three free throws.

Odigie led the Trojans with another double-double, 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting and 11 rebounds in the game. Deen scored 15 on 4-of-10 shooting from the floor and Punter added 10 of his own. 

Little Rock was led by Nikola Maric with 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Jefferson added 17 and Jovan Stulic scored nine. The Arkansas-based Trojans fell to 9-19, 3-11 in their last Sun Belt season.

Following an upset over top-seeded Texas State, eight-seed Louisiana will play the No. 4 Trojans Sunday at 5 p.m.