Phillips ties NCAA record in dominant Troy win

The Troy Trojans (6-1) kept their hot start to the season going on Tuesday night with a 118-61 win over the Southern-New Orleans (SUNO) Knights (2-6) and Nelson Phillip tied the NCAA record for steals in a game in the process.

Troy hit 16 three-pointers – 13 in the first half – in the dominant performance, and opened the game on an 18-2 run. Troy broke out a 66-30 lead going into halftime. SUNO attempted to battle back in the second half but Troy went on an 11-0 run and took a 40-point lead, never looking back. The 118 points is the 219th time the men’s basketball team has earned more than 100 points in a game and it’s the most points scored by Troy since the 2016-2017 team scored 135.

Phillips had a career night with 22 points, eight assists, one block, eight rebounds and an NCAA-record 13 steals. That steal total not only ties Mookie Blaylock’s 1988 NCAA record, but it shatters both the Troy and Sun Belt Conference record for steals in a game, as well.

“It was a good overall performance tonight from our guys. I think the night belongs to Nelson Phillips, though,” Troy coach Scott Cross said. “He tied an NCAA record for steals in a game with 13 and I don’t think I had 13 steals in my entire career.

“It was just amazing to watch him fly around and create chaos defensively. He was so close to a quadruple double. He was plus-61 in his 27 minutes on the floor, which is an outlandish stat.”

Troy outrebounded Southern 41-34, forced an eye-popping 33 turnovers, blocked four shots, hit 63 percent of its shots and shot 51.6 percent from beyond the arc. Duke Miles scored 22 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished three assists and had three steals, while Christyon Eugene scored 21 points and earned six assists. Aamer Muhammad also scored 12 points and Nate Tshimanga chipped in with 11 points, six rebounds and three assists. Zay Williams scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds, had four assists and earned three steals. Christian Turner also blocked three shots.

Troy will get to enjoy some Thanksgiving rest before hitting the road to match up with the SEC’s No. 9-ranked Arkansas on Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. in a game that will air nationally on the SEC Network.

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