Troy gets revenge with win over South Alabama

Troy (14-7, 5-3 Sun Belt) drained eight 3-pointers, six in the second half, to avenge a 19-point loss at the hands of the Jags (15-6, 5-3) on Thursday in Mobile. The win, which came in front of 4,546 fans, snapped a seven-game winning streak by South Alabama in the series and put the two rivals in a tie for third in the league standings.

Duke Miles scored a season-high 22 points on 5-of-10 from the field to lead the Trojans and was one of four players to score in double-figures – Zay Williams with 13 points, Efe Odigie with 12 points and Kieffer Punter with 12 points.

Odigie finished with his second double-double on the season with 15 rebounds, while Punter scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half, while Miles dropped in 12 points after the break.

The Jaguars had two 20-points scorers in Charles Manning Jr. and Jay Jay Chandler, while Javon Franklin also got involved with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

“The fans really lifted us up. They gave us a ton of energy on defense. They’ve made

a huge difference for us. And I’m so proud of our guys,” Troy coach Scott Cross said. “I told them before the game we faced a lot of adversity. In our last game, we got beat pretty handily. Adversity reveals character, and our guys have responded over and over this season. And they did it again today in the biggest fashion.”

Troy dominated South Alabama on the glass holding a 44-28 advantage in rebounds, including a 17-8 advantage on the offensive glass. The Trojans took advantage of their second chances with 22 points on their extra possessions, while Troy’s bench outscored South Alabama’s by a 21-7 margin.

South Alabama took its largest lead of the game at the 10:25 mark in the opening half on a Manning Jr. free throw. Troy followed with a 12-1 over the next five minutes to take a seven-point lead 20-13. The run consisted of eight points from Miles, including two shots from behind the arc.

The Trojans went to the break with a 31-22 lead despite struggling to find the bottom of the net, shooting just 28.1 percent in the half. However, Troy excelled at the free throw line in the opening period connecting on 11-of-14 while South Alabama shot just 28.6 percent from the floor and 53.3 percent from the charity stripe.

Zay Williams set the tone for the remainder of the game less than a minute into the first half draining a clutch 3-pointer following an offensive rebound by Odigie.

Feeding off the near-record crowd in Trojan Arena, Troy went on a 17-5 run over a five-minute stretch capped by back-to-back deep 3-pointers from Desmond Williams, two of three in the game from Troy’s sophomore sharp-shooter.

The Trojans connected on 12-of-15 from the free-throw line over the closing three

minutes of the game to thwart any hopes that Jags had at making a comeback.

The Trojans will hit the road once again for a double-dip in Georgia starting next Thursday, Feb. 3, at Georgia State. The game is set to begin at 6 p.m. in GSU Sports Arena.