For the first time since 2022, the Troy Trojans (21-10, 14-5) have advanced to the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Semifinals after a resounding 75-59 win over the Old Dominion Monarchs (15-20, 8-11) on Saturday in Pensacola, Fla.

Troy never trailed in the game and the game was never tied again after the Trojans took their initial 3-0 lead in the opening moments. The Troy defense forced nine turnovers and held ODU to under 15 percent shooting in the first half to take a 36-18 lead into halftime. Sun Belt Player of the Year Tayton Conerway scored 17 points in the first half.

The second half was more of the same as the Trojans led by as many as 23 points. ODU managed to cut the lead to 10 with 8:34 left after going on a 14-4 run, but would never manage to get the Trojan lead under 10 points.

Troy shot 44.1 percent from the field, while holding ODU to 30.8 percent shooting. Troy also forced 11 turnovers and scored 14 points off turnovers. While Old Dominion won the rebound battle 46-39, Troy outscored ODU 15-10 in second chance points. Troy also dominated the paint, outscoring ODU 44-22 inside.

Conerway totaled 18 points, five rebounds, five steals and two assists, while Myles Rigsby tallied 17 points and eight rebounds. Thomas Dowd and Marcus Rigsby Jr. scored 10 points each and both also grabbed four rebounds. RJ Blakney led ODU with 20 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Troy will play James Madison, the No. 2 seed, in the conference semifinals on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Troy and JMU played just once in the regular season, a 64-61 James Madison win on Feb. 5.