The Georgia Southern men’s basketball team defeated the Troy Trojans 76-51 in an exciting and entertaining game Friday night in front of a packed Hanner Fieldhouse crowd. The team improves to 16-10 and 8-5 in the conference.

Starting the game after a 25 minute delay, GS came out aggressive and accurate in the paint. They shot 43.8 percent compared to Troy’s 28.3 percent.

Troy struggled the entire game with scoring and found themselves playing catch up. They were held to 26 percent in the paint in the first half, and several Trojans found themselves in foul trouble early on. Freshman guard KJ Simon led the team with 12 points in his 26 minutes of play.

Junior forward Isaiah Crawley had a big night with close to his season high 17 points with 16. Senior forward Montae Glenn was crucial to the team’s defense, grabbing ten rebounds and four blocks. In addition to dominating on defense, he added in eight points. Senior guard Tookie Brown had a career high five steals tonight with 16 points and four assists.

“We couldn’t just slack off because they’re a team that can get on runs and come back,” Brown said. “We tried to stay locked in for all forty minutes.”

The Trojans played without standout player and Sun Belt Player of the Year candidate Jordon Varnado, who averages 21.5 points a game. GS took advantage of this roster adjustment by disrupting their rhythm and forcing turnovers in moments of offensive confusion. They wanted to force Troy to find other ways to be efficient on offense.

GS came out of the half and went on a 27-4 run. They led by as much as 28 points at one point. Head Coach Mark Byington has been emphasizing the importance of defense all season and was pleased with the performance tonight.

“Our defense was tremendous. The defense and rebounds were the best they’ve been all year.” Byington said. “We’ve been a good offensive team but we’ve also been an inconsistent team on defense. From start to finish I thought our defense was really good.”

GS will go on their last road trip of the season to face Coastal Carolina on February 21 and Appalachian State on February 23. Both games can be streamed on ESPN+. The Eagles will return to Hanner Fieldhouse on February 28 for the final three games of the conference play.

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