Troy is heading back to the NCAA Tournament.
The Trojans won their second straight Sun Belt Championship Monday night, beating Georgia Southern 77–61 in Pensacola to secure the conference’s automatic bid and prove to be the best in the league.
The title game brought together two teams that took very different paths to get there.
Top-seeded Troy entered the championship well rested after playing just once in the tournament. Georgia Southern had to battle through the entire bracket, winning five straight games to reach the final.
That kind of run almost never happens in a conference tournament. Winning five games in five days has only been accomplished a handful of times in Division I basketball.
Troy head coach Scott Cross made sure to acknowledge what the Eagles had done to reach the championship game.
“Six games in six days has only been done one other time in history,” Cross said. “Credit to Georgia Southern for what they did this week.”
Even after that stretch, the Eagles came out ready.
Georgia Southern grabbed an early lead and showed the same energy that carried it through the tournament. But Troy quickly settled into the offense that helped it win the Sun Belt regular season title.
Instead of relying on one scorer, the Trojans spread the ball around and forced Georgia Southern to defend the entire floor, finishing with four players in double figures. Troy also shot nearly 59% from the field, showing the offensive balance that carried the team throughout the season.
Leading the effort was tournament Most Valuable Player Thomas Dowd.
Dowd finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds, controlling the paint on both ends of the floor. Whether it was finishing around the rim or pulling down key rebounds, he gave Troy a steady presence whenever the game began to tighten.
By halftime, the Trojans had built a 13-point lead and appeared to have control of the game.
The Eagles opened the second half with a short run that cut the deficit to single digits, briefly shifting the momentum and forcing Troy to regroup.
Cross remembers that timeout as the moment that shifted it all.
“I just made them all take a deep breath,” Cross said. “We’ve been here before.”
After that moment, Troy responded by getting stops on defense and turning those stops into transition opportunities. A few quick baskets pushed the lead back into double digits and swung the momentum back in Troy’s favor.
From there, the Trojans stuck with the same balanced approach that carried them all year.
Cross said the team’s chemistry has been one of the biggest reasons for its success.
“We have great players that are really, really connected,” Cross said. “It was an all-around team performance.”
That connection showed throughout the game. Rather than leaning on one player to carry the offense, Troy had production across the lineup while Dowd anchored the effort inside.
Georgia Southern continued to battle, but the Trojans maintained control through the final stretch.
As the clock wound down, Troy’s lead remained comfortable and the Trojans closed out the 77–61 victory to secure the conference championship.
For Georgia Southern, the loss ends one of the most impressive runs of the tournament. Entering the bracket as the No. 10 seed, the Eagles battled through the field before ultimately falling one game short of completing their push.
For Troy, the win felt like the final step in a season that had been building toward this moment.
The Trojans won the Sun Belt regular season title, earned the tournament’s top seed, and finished the job in Pensacola.
And Cross made it clear the program does not take that accomplishment lightly.
“I believe it’s the hardest league in the country,” Cross said. “There’s 14 teams trying to get to the NCAA Tournament, so we don’t take it for granted.”
At 22–11, Troy leaves Pensacola as back-to-back Sun Belt champions, ready to dance.
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