Troy men’s basketball destroys ULM for fourth straight win

Troy started hot and never let up, as it dismantled ULM 87-50 in Trojan Arena on Saturday evening to close out its longest homestand of the season with four wins in seven days.

Troy (15-7, 8-3 SBC) had its way on both the offensive and defensive sides of the court and never once trailed. Troy came out of the gates strong and blew the game open on a 19-0 scoring run that spanned over four minutes and gave it a 32-8 lead.

The Trojans continued to expand that lead as the half progressed and took a 50-15 lead into the halftime break. The 35-point advantage was the largest halftime lead of the season for Troy, and the 15 points allowed were the fewest in a half this year.

Myles Rigsby had a game-high 12 points at the break, while Marcus Rigsby Jr. and Tayton Conerway each had 11. Troy shot 53.1 percent in the half, while also knocking down 8-18 3-point attempts. Rigsby Jr. was 3-4 from deep, while Rigsby was 2-3.

ULM mustered just 5 makes on 25 attempts going into the locker room.

There was no letting up from Troy in the second half, as it extended its lead to a game-high 46 points with 11:13 left in the game leading 72-26. That score marks the largest lead at any point during a game this season for the Trojans.

Braydon Whitaker hit a pair of late threes to tie his career-high six points. He also pulled down a rebound.

The Trojans were led all night by Rigsby Jr., who finished with a career-high 17 points on 5-7 shooting. All of his makes and attempts came from distance. Rigsby had 15, while Conerway recorded 11 points.

The 32 combined points between the Rigsby brothers are the most in game since the pair got to Troy prior to the 2023-24 season. Conerway has now scored in double figures in all 11 conference games. He also had a team-high eight rebounds and five assists.

Troy turned it over just six times, while recording 20 assists. It’s the fewest turnovers by Troy since it had five in its home win against Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 21, 2023. Troy has now recorded back-to-back games of single-digit turnovers after it had just eight against Georgia Southern on Thursday night. Saturday also marked the second time this season the Trojans recorded 20 or more assists (21 at ULM).

The Trojans outrebounded the Warhawks 40-26, while also grabbing 14 offensive boards.

Troy finished the night shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 35.9 percent from distance. Its 14-made 3-pointers are the most in a game this season and the most since it had 14 against SUNO on Dec. 12, 2023.

Troy held ULM to 36.7 percent shooting and 20 percent from deep. Makai Willis had a team-high 15 points for the Warhawks.

“It was the best all-around game we’ve played all year. Usually there is some area of the state 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.”

Troy embarks on its most grueling road stretch of the season, as its away from Trojan Arena for the next four games. First up is James Madison on Wednesday night in Harrisonburg, Va. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Troy Sports Media Network.