Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Troy Trojans (4-5) hit the road on Saturday and dropped a 82-70 loss to the Dayton Flyers (7-2) in a game that aired nationally on the USA Network.

Troy jumped out to a 6-0 lead early in the game but Dayton quickly answered and eventually led 45-31 at halftime. Troy tried to claw its way back in the second half and outscored the Flyers 39-37 but it wasn’t enough as Dayton hung on for the 12-point victory.

Troy shot 40 percent from the field but the Flyers shot a staggering 52.7 percent, including 50 percent from three-point land. Both teams turned the ball over 11 times but Dayton scored 18 points off turnovers, compared to Troy’s nine points. Dayton also won the rebound battle 37-29 and hit 14-of-20 free throw attempts.
“We just weren’t tough enough defensively. Credit to Dayton, they are really good offensively,” Troy Coach Scott Cross said. “Top 30 in the country in their offensive efficiency. We didn’t go at the ball screens very well and we’re going to have to get back to work and be tougher and more aggressive defending those.

“We allowed them to shoot too high of a percentage from the three-point line. They are a Top-10 team in the country from three-point range. That was obviously a point of emphasis, but we didn’t do a good enough job.”

Christyon Eugene scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds with six assists and a steal in the Troy loss, while Aamer Muhammad added 12 points and Theo Seng scored 11 points with three rebounds and two assists. Dothan freshman Thomas Dowd earned three blocks on the defensive end, as well.

Troy returns to Trojan Arena on Tuesday to face SUNO at 6 p.m. in a game that will stream on ESPN+.