Troy downs Arkansas State in high-scoring affair

Ten days after Arkansas State took down Troy, the Trojans got revenge in the form of a 99-74 win.

The Red Wolves started hot but could not maintain it. Their 7-0 lead slowly evaporated before Troy took a 14-13 lead. The Trojans never looked back.

An 11-0 run, powered by nine points from Thomas Dowd, made the game 21-13. Dowd would finish the game with an incredibly efficient 24 points. The 6’8″ forward from Dothan, AL made eight of his 13 shots and shot 50% from beyond the arc. He also recorded ten rebounds to notch his fourth double-double in his last five contests.

Arkansas State would draw within four before Troy went on yet another run. Three different players scored as the Trojans extended their lead to 12. The remainder of the first half featured both teams trading blows. A layup from Arkansas State’s TJ Caldwell was matched by one from Troy’s Jerrell Bellamy. Christian Harmon made two threes, but two free throws from Victor Valdes staved off the Arkansas State push.

The Red Wolves threw the final punch of the first half when Chandler Jackson’s jumper went in with zeros on the clock. Troy still maintained a 44-35 lead.

As the second half began, Troy strengthened its grip on the contest. With the lead now at 16, the Trojans put any hope of an Arkansas State comeback to bed with an 11-0 run. Cobi Campbell started the party with a three and Dowd put an exclamation point on it with a trey of his own. Troy would fall just one point short of hitting the century mark. It would have been the team’s sixth 100-point game of the season.

BOOOOM @RedMambaCobi pic.twitter.com/NLFRJ2VTUI

— Troy Trojans MBB (@TroyTrojansMBB) January 17, 2026

Troy and Arkansas State came into the game as the first and third ranked offenses in the Sun Belt, respectively. The game lived up to the billing, with the teams scoring a combined 173 points. The Trojans were able to hunt matchups and generated quality looks at all levels. Five players finished with an effective field goal percentage over 60. Dowd finished with an astounding offensive rating of 141.6 – meaning for every 100 possessions with Dowd on the floor, the Trojans would score about 141 points.

On the other hand, Arkansas State’s offense sputtered. They shot 41.7% from three, but could not manage to carry that efficiency inside the arc. For the game, the Red Wolves shot a lousy 42.6% – just below their season average of 44.9. The area of greatest concern was the charity stripe. Arkansas State made just 12 of its 22 attempts from the line – well below its 76.2 season average. The team’s second-leading scorer, Joey Chammaa, scored just five points while posting a -20 in just 12 minutes.

The Red Wolves fell to 4-3 in conference and will be back in action on Thursday, as the team takes a trip to Statesboro for another Sun Belt matchup against Georgia Southern. The Eagles have lost two of their last three, but won nine in a row before. The game should be another high scoring affair. Arkansas State ranks third in the Sun Belt in points per game, while Georgia Southern ranks second. The two teams also sport two of the bottom three defenses in the conference.

Take it away @kerringtonkiel 🎶#TakeTheStairs | #OneTROY ⚔️🏀 pic.twitter.com/9MKFGE6S3Q

— Troy Trojans MBB (@TroyTrojansMBB) January 18, 2026

Troy will travel to Virginia for a Wednesday evening matchup against Old Dominion. The Monarchs are just 6-14 this season but are coming off a hard-fought victory over Appalachian State. The matchup is a favorable one for the Trojans, who should be able to score against an ODU defense that ranks in the bottom-half of the Sun Belt.

Troy now sits alone atop the Sun Belt standings at 6-1, with the team’s lone loss coming against Arkansas State in the first meeting between the teams this season. The Red Wolves are now tied for fourth in the conference.