Troy lost a Sun Belt Conference on Thursday night at home as James Madison’s Vado Morse hit a final second jumper to lift the Dukes to an 89-87 overtime victory over the Trojans.
The long jumper by Morse came with his foot on the 3-point line. The basketball hit the back iron, but instead of caroming off, it softly fell into the basket. Troy had less than a second left and managed to get off a half-court shot that missed.
Perhaps the hardest part of the loss for Troy (12-8 overall, 4-3 SBC) is that the game shouldn’t have come down to a final shot. The Trojans led 42-35 at halftime and had the lead for just over 38 minutes in the 45-minute game. Troy led by as many as 10 points and carried a five-point advantage into the final minute of regulation.
James Madison (13-7 overall, 4-3 SBC) outscored Troy, 6-1, in the final two seconds and Mezie Offorum’s follow shot after his own missed 3-pointer tied the game at 74 just before the regulation buzzer.
The teams traded the lead for much of the overtime period before James Madison took an 87-83 lead after a layup by Offorum and a 3-pointer by Morse after a wild scramble for the ball. Troy hustled down for a transition 3-pointer by Aamer Muhammad to cut the deficit to one point with 1:10 remaining. Troy pulled even on a free throw by Christian Turner with five seconds remaining, setting up the final sequence.
Southern Miss 76, South Alabama 72: The Jaguars (8-11 overall, 2-5 Sun Belt) put up a fight but came away empty-handed in a Sun Belt Conference game that included eight lead changes and 11 ties. Southern Miss (16-4 overall, 5-2 SBC) jumped out to a 16-5 lead, but South Alabama carried a 37-33 lead into halftime.
A jumper by South Alabama’s Greg Parham II tied the score at 70 with 2:40 left in the game. Neither team scored again until Felipe Haase’s three-point play with 59 seconds left. The Golden Eagles hung on for the win.
Isaiah Moore had 22 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Jags. Kevin Samuel chipped in with 15 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks, two assists and a steal.
Florida Gulf Coast 55, Jacksonville State 51: Jax State led for less than five minutes in the road game. The Gamecocks still made it difficult for the Eagles (14-6 overall, 4-3 ASUN). Jax State (8-12 overall, 1-6 ASUN) outrebounded the Eagles 40-32 and won the points in the paint category, 32-24. However, the Gamecocks were just 2 of 17 on 3-point attempts.
Jacksonville State’s Juwan Perdue had 17 points and five rebounds but also turned the ball over five times. Skyelar Potter was the only other double-figure scorer for Jax State with 10 points. He was 2 of 11 from the field overall and 1 of 7 on 3-point attempts.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email steve.irvine@1819news.com.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
