Troy University’s men’s basketball team was unable to overcome an early deficit in its 86-74 loss to Arkansas State on Wednesday night at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
The Trojans, now 10-6 overall and 3-1 in conference play, led for just over two minutes before falling behind early. Theo Seng delivered a strong performance for Troy with 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting and added eight rebounds.
Arkansas State improved to 11-5 (3-1 Sun Belt) and was led by Christian Harmon, who scored 18 points and made four three-pointers.
Seng scored the first three points of the game from the free throw line after winning the opening tip. Arkansas State responded with a Chandler Jackson three-pointer two minutes into play. The Red Wolves made seven threes in the first half compared to Troy’s four.
Troy did not record its first field goal until nearly seven minutes into the game, when Thomas Dowd scored through contact to cut the deficit to five. The Trojans briefly regained the lead at 21-19 following a layup from Seng. However, both teams endured scoring droughts before Arkansas State went on a decisive 12-0 run, taking a 45-32 advantage into halftime.
The second half saw Arkansas State extend its lead with a quick 10-3 run. The Red Wolves maintained a double-digit margin throughout the remainder of the contest. Dowd reduced the gap to eleven with under three minutes left but Harmon responded with another three-pointer for Arkansas State. Dowd finished with his eighth double-double of the season, recording 14 points and ten rebounds.
Head coach Scott Cross said after the game: “[Arkansas State] was flying around defensively and attacking the paint on us. Coach Pannone is a great coach, and we came up short. It wasn’t our night; we were a little out of rhythm. Our guys fought and kept playing. We’re going to have nights like this and experience some adversity. We need to find a way to go to Louisiana and win that game.”
Other notable performances included Thomas Dowd setting a new career high with four blocks and tying for eleventh nationally in double-doubles this season at eight. Theo Seng set his career best by making ten field goals, while Austin Cross matched his personal best with two made three-pointers.
Troy holds an all-time record of 19 wins and 15 losses against Arkansas State.
Next up for Troy is an away game against Louisiana at Lafayette scheduled for Saturday at noon, which will be broadcast on ESPN+.
