After a disappointing loss to rival Georgia State, the Georgia Southern men’s basketball team defeated Troy, 86-57, in a commanding fashion at home on Thursday.

“We kind of took a bad loss on Saturday,” senior forward Isaiah Crawley said. “Everybody kept their head on straight… We wasn’t settling for jump shots… that’s how we play, that’s our style. When we attacking it and pushing the ball that’s when we see success.” 

In the first half, GS built a huge lead by going on a 25-1 run over the course of seven minutes. The Trojans never caught up, as GS outscored the Trojans 45-32 in the second half alone.

GS shot considerably better from the three-point line than previous games, finishing at 40 percent. 

Redshirt-junior guard Quan Jackson led both teams on offense and came one point short from his season high of 22 points. 

“I think Quan’s been playing really good for about the last 4,6,7,8 games,” Byington said. “Sometimes his great games aren’t about scoring. He’s leading the league in steals right now…he was a great presence in our matchup zone tonight.”

Crawley added 18 points, followed by sophomore guards Elijah McCadden and Calvin Wishart’s 12 and 13 points, respectively.

The victory improves the team to 13-9 overall and 7-4 in the conference. The Eagles sit at third place in Sun Belt standings, tied with Arkansas State and one game behind Georgia State.

“It’s a long season,” Byington said. “We’ve got nine more league games to go. So, a lot of times, after one game people over exaggerate a win or a loss…the challenge is to get this next one on Saturday.”

GS will play South Alabama at home at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The last time these two teams met, the Jaguars took the win in their own territory.

Amanda Arnold, The George-Anne Managing Sports Editor, gasports@georgiasouthern.edu