On March 9th, top seeded Troy beat No. 8 Southern Miss 78-70 to advance to the Sun Belt Championship game for the second. Year in a row, Gerald Bellamy led the Trojans with 22 points in the semifinal win. The matchup sets up a clash with No.
10 Georgia Southern on Monday at 6 p.m. on ESPN2. Troy's defense held Southern Miss to just 40.6% shooting from the field and a rough 2 of 19 from 3-point range. The Trojans struggled from outside too, but dominated at the free throw line, going 31 of 38.
Isaac Tavares paced Southern Miss with a game-high 32 points. Fans and players celebrated the greedy victory, which halted Southern Miss' three-game tournament win streak. Troy controlled the game for over 36 minutes, including the entire second half. This March, their fourth straight Sun Belt tournament, win dating back to last season's title run.
Standout performances included Bellamy's career-high six blocks and three steals. Victor Valdez broke Troy's single-season free throw record, while Cooper Campbell and Thomas Dowd hit career highs from the line. Troy improves to 22 wins and 10 losses overall. Now Troy prepares to chase back-to-back Sun Belt titles against hot Georgia Southern, who's won five in a row to reach the final.