Troy welcomes in USM
Published 6:56 pm Wednesday, November 14, 2018
The Troy Trojans men’s basketball team returns home to take on the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles on Friday evening inside Trojan Arena.
The Trojans (1-2) return home after falling in two straight games in the Barclays Center Classic against St. Louis and Pittsburgh.
After leading the majority of the game, the Trojans fell to the Billikens 62-58. The Trojans ended the two-game road trip with an 84-75 loss to Pittsburgh on Monday evening.
Senior Jordon Varnado leads the Trojans in scoring with 16.3 points per game. Varnado is averaging a double-double in the season’s first three games. He comes into this evening’s game averaging 10.3 boards per game. Alex Hicks and Javan Johnson also average double figures in points per game with 13 and 10.7 points respectively.
The Eagles come into today’s contest with a 2-0 record and are coming off a 74-64 win over SMU on Sunday afternoon. They began the season with a 111-66 win over Southeastern Baptist.
Tyree Griffin comes into tonight’s contest as the Golden Eagles’ leading scorer at 16.5 points per game. Dominic Magee and LaDavius Draine also average double figures at 11.5 points per game.
The Golden Eagles knocked off the Trojans last season 89-71. Alex Hicks led all returning players in scoring against the Eagles with 13. Thursday’s game will mark the first time the Trojans have hosted the Golden Eagles since December 1, 2015. In the 15 total meetings between the two schools, the Eagles have 14 wins. Troy is 1-2 in Troy against the Eagles.
Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m. inside Trojan Arena.