Troy men win second-straight road game, defeat Arkansas State 69-64

Published 3:05 am Saturday, February 7, 2015

After snapping its four-game losing streak, the Troy men’s basketball team is now in the midst of another run.

Thursday night, the Trojans won their second-straight road game with a 69-64 victory over Arkansas State at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro, Ark.

Troy’s top-scorer Musa Abdul-Aleem led the Trojans with 17 points on the night. Kevin Thomas earned his 12th career double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds and John Walton III and Wesley Person scored 12 and 11 points, respectively.

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After both teams got off to a slow start offensively, Troy (9-12, 4-8) took its first and final lead of the game at 5-4 early in the first half.

Shortly after, the Trojans extended their lead thanks to a 14-2 run with 11:28 to go, fueled by Abdul-Aleem’s 15 points in the first half, including a perfect 3-of-3 mark from 3-point range to give the Trojans a 17-6 lead.

Arkansas State (9-13, 4-9) managed a run of its own with under five minutes to play in the first half, scoring seven-straight points, but Person put a stop to the Red Wolves’ run with a long 3-pointer as Troy went into halftime boasting a 42-24 lead.

The Trojans shot 51 percent from the field in the first half, including 4-of-9 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Troy also dominated Arkansas State on the boards in the first half, outrebounding the Red Wolves 23-7.

Coming out of the break, Troy quickly extended its lead to 20 points thanks to a layup from Kelton Ford.

With its large lead in tact, Troy went cold from the floor midway through the second half.

Despite a 10-minute drought from the field, Troy was able to hang on to its lead with sound free throw shooting.

The Red Wolves made one final run at Troy’s lead late in the second half but ultimately feel short, 69-64.

Sean Gardner led Arkansas State with a game-high 20 points. Anthony Livingston scored 13 with all of his points coming in the second half.

With the win, Troy avenges its 64-55 loss to the Red Wolves Jan. 24 at Trojans Arena.