Both the Troy Trojans men’s and women’s basketball teams picked up big Sun Belt Conference victories on Saturday, rebounding from losses.

The men’s team (18-10, 11-5) closed out the home schedule for the season with an 83-66 win over Coastal Carolina (9-20, 2-14) on Feb. 22, after dropping a heartbreaker to Louisiana on Thursday. More than 4,000 Troy fans filled Trojan Arena for Senior Day. Seniors Tayton Conerway, Theo Seng, Randarius Jones and Braydon Whitaker were honored prior to tipoff and all four started the game, which were the first starts of Whitaker and Jones’ careers. 

Troy trailed Coastal 12-6 early in the first half but went on a 10-3 run to take the first lead of the game 16-15. Troy would then go on a 13-1 run to earn a double digit lead before the Chanticleers proceeds to go on a 14-4 run to tie the score 33-33 at halftime. 

While the two sides slugged it out back-and-forth early in the second half, Troy then went on a 15-4 run and never led by fewer than 10 points for the rest of the contest. Troy ended the game shooting 52.7 percent from the field, which was the third highest shooting percentage of the season for the Trojans. Troy won the rebound battle 34-32 and outscored Costal 32-24 in the paint, but the Chanticleers outscored Troy 17-15 in second chance points. Both teams turned the ball over nine times but Troy scored 11 points off turnovers compared to Coastal’s eight points. 

“That was a great way to send those seniors out,” men’s coach Scott Cross said. “Very proud of our guys. Coastal is playing good basketball, they had a great win against Southern Miss on the road, who is tough to beat on their home court. Their big man, Noah Amenhuaser is one of the best bigs in the league. I am thankful to the good Lord that our guys were a little bit tougher in the second half and we were able to get it done.”

Conerway had a big night in his final home game at Troy, tallying 21 points, six rebounds, eight assists and three steals. He became just the second Trojan in school history to score at least 20 points along with earning at least eight assists and six rebounds in a game. Myles Rigsby added 20 points and four rebounds, while Thomas Dowd totaled 18 points, nine rebounds and two steals. For Coastal, Amenhauser scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds. 

The Trojans currently sit tied for second place in the conference with Arkansas State and South Alabama. Troy will wrap up the regular season this week with road games against Texas State on Tuesday and then head to Southern Miss for the regular season finale on Friday. These games will be big in deciding if Troy will be able to grab one of the top two seeds in the conference, and earn byes all the way to the conference semifinals. 

The Troy women (18-11, 12-4) also earned a big conference win on Saturday by a score of 86-71 against rival South Alabama (6-21, 2-14), which guarantees Troy at least a bye all the way into the Sun Belt Tournament Quarterfinals in March. 

The Trojans shot 50 percent from the field against South Alabama, the second time in the last three games that Troy shot 50 percent or better. The Trojan defense also held South Alabama to 37.5 percent shooting and forced 24 turnovers. Coming into the contest Troy continued to lead the entire country in rebounding but South Alabama managed to out-rebound the Trojans 37-35. Troy, though, outscored South 48-28 in the paint and 10-9 in second chance points. 

“We’re very thankful to have this win in South Alabama,” women’s coach Chanda Rigby said. “These road wins are not easy to come by, especially with an in-state rival. This game was closer than the final score shows. We had to become uncomfortable with our pace and slow down to manage the clock. It felt like every time they touched the ball, we were called for a foul, so we decided to just hold the ball until the final seconds of each possession. 

“And Ashley (Baez) was clutch at the end, hitting two big layups for us in the final minute for the win. This team did what they needed to do in terms of making stops and scoring at the other end. We stayed in green all night despite the adversity, and that showed a lot of growth for us. Now, we need to polish the apple and focus on Texas State on Wednesday in Trojan Arena.”

Zay Dyer led Troy with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while both Briana Peguero and Ashley Baez scored 10 points each. Shaulana Wagner tallied nine points, four rebounds and eight assists, while Khila Morris earned five steals. Rachel Leggett led South with 27 points and eight rebounds. 

The Trojans now sit in third place of the Sun Belt with two remaining contests left in the regular season, none bigger than Friday’s matchup. First, Troy will face Texas State at Trojan Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m., but then the Trojans face second place Arkansas State on Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. A win in both games could earn Troy a bye all the way into the semifinals of the conference tournament.