Davis has season-high but A-State lets second-half lead slip in 2nd Round of Sun Belt Tournament

PENSACOLA, Fla. (KAIT) - Arkansas State led by 12 points with under nine minutes to play, but Troy outscored the Red Wolves 24-8 the rest of the way to win 63-59 in the Second Round of the Sun Belt Tournament Thursday at the Pensacola Bay Center.

A-State jumped ahead by four after the first half and they would catch fire at the start of the second. Markise Davis scored 9 points as the Red Wolves went on a 17-7 run to go up 51-39.

Davis recorded a season-high in points in back-to-back games. After his 20-point outing against Coastal Carolina in the first round, Davis scored 21 points on 9-12 shooting in the loss.

Terrance Ford (13 points) and Caleb Fields (13 points) joined Davis in double figures for the Red Wolves. Despite the run, the Trojans would get back in the game thanks in large part to second chance points. Troy had 16 offensive rebounds and 13 second chance points, out-rebounding the Red Wolves by 6 in the final 20 minutes.

Troy had two record double-doubles: Zay Williams had 15 points and 11 rebounds, Nelson Phillips had 13 points and 14 rebounds. Phillips had 2 major buckets in the Trojans’ comeback effort, a putback slam to cut the lead to one with under three and a half minutes to play, and the go-ahead three that would put Troy ahead for good with 2:40 left.

The Red Wolves end their season with a 13-20 record. Troy advances to the Sun Belt quarterfinals and will play fourth-seeded James Madison Saturday at 2:00 PM.

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