Both the Troy Trojans men’s and women’s basketball teams earned Sun Belt Conference wins on Saturday. 

The Trojan men (15-7-, 8-3) won their fourth straight to close out a four-game home stand and move firmly into second place in the Sun Belt. Troy throttled the ULM Warhawks (6-18, 2-9) by a score of 87-50 in a game that the Trojans never trailed in. 

Troy jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first few minutes and then went on an eye-popping 19-0 run later in the first half that gave Troy a 32-8 lead at one point. Troy led 50-15 at halftime. The Trojans also outscored ULM 37-35 in the second half, as well. 

Troy shot 47.6 percent from the field in the win, while holding ULM to 36.7 percent shooting including just 20 percent from the field in the first half. Troy also won the rebound battle 40-26 and outscored the Warhawks 32-26 in the paint. Troy forced 14 turnovers and turned the ball over just six times as a team, a season low. For the second game in a row Troy had under 10 turnovers as a team. The Trojans also scored 22 points off turnovers. 

“It was the best all-around game we’ve played all year,” Troy Coach Scott Cross said. “Usually there is some area of the stat sheet that you look at at the end of the game where you don’t finish it right, and you’re disappointed. Everything that we talk about and emphasize, our guys did today. Just a great, great all-around game. 

“I’m thankful to the good Lord that our guys played that way. It was the first game where I could kind of relax on the sideline. I told the guys before the game; their goal should be for me to sit down during the game. If there was a seat for me to sit down on the bench, I would have.”

Leading the way for the Trojans was Marcus Rigsby Jr. with 17 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Myles Rigsby tallied 15 points, three rebounds, four assists and two steals. Tayton Conerway added 11 points, eight rebounds, five assists and one steal. Jerrell Bellamy also scored six points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked three shots. ULM was led by Makai Willis with 15 points and one block.  

Now, Troy will leave the friendly confines of Trojan Arena for four straight road games, starting against James Madison on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Trojans sit alone in second place in the Sun Belt behind Arkansas State currently. 

The Troy women (14-9, 8-3) snapped a two-game skid with a resounding 70-45 win over the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (8-14, 4-7) on Saturday despite early struggles. 

While Troy led 15-7 heading into the second quarter, Southern Miss was able to cut the lead to 30-22 going into halftime and 40-35 going into the final period. In the fourth, though, Troy outscored Southern Miss 30-10 to leave no doubts. 

Troy dominated the boards, out-rebounding Southern Miss 58-28 and outscored the Eagles 32-14 in the paint and 22-6 in second chance points. Troy also forced 18 turnovers and scored 20 points off turnovers despite turning the ball over 21 times themselves. Troy also shot 40.6 percent from the field, while holding Southern Miss to just 27.1 percent shooting. 

“What a good day we had here in Southern Miss. We followed the game plan and stayed with our primary defense,” Troy Coach Chanda Rigby said. “Our team got in a grove and kept them in. I’m most proud of our rebound effort, outrebounding them by 30 and scoring 30 points in the fourth quarter. It’s hard to win here. They have one of the best post players in Grayson for the Sun Belt Conference. 

“But I think our post players contained her well and were able to score on her, which shows our growth as a program. We harp on rebounds. There’s not a day that goes by when that is our emphasis. And in the fourth quarter, it was like a muscle memory, especially in the fourth quarter. Their coach, Joye Lee-McNelis, wasn’t on the floor today, but a day doesn’t go by when we don’t pray for her. We love her, and I’m happy we were able to do something small to show our support for her. Now, we return home. And this game is going to give us a boost against Old Dominion. We need our sixth man and can’t wait to get home.”

The Trojans were led by Briana Peguero with 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Emani Jenkins tallied 13 points and four rebounds. Ashley Baez scored 11 points and earned three steals, while both Brianna Jackson and Fortuna Ngnawo scored 10 points each. Jackson also grabbed nine rebounds and blocked two shots, while Ngnawo earned six rebounds. Southern Miss was led by Nyla Jean with 17 points and three assists. 

Troy is back at home this Wednesday for a conference matchup with Old Dominion at 5 p.m. Troy currently sits tied for third place in the Sun Belt with Appalachian State, behind James Madison and Arkansas State.