Troy defeated Arkansas State, 94-81, in the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship Game on Monday evening at the Pensacola Bay Center.

The Trojans punched a ticket to their third NCAA Tournament in program history and first since 2017. They will learn their seeding and regional destination during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, March 16 at 5 p.m. CT.

Troy senior guard Tayton Conerway scored a game-high 21 points with six rebounds and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Sophomore forward Myles Rigsby added 20 points, while sophomore forward Thomas Dowd added 14 points, nine rebounds and three steals to earn Sun Belt All-Tournament Team recognition.

Troy created an early 12-4 lead on a Marcus Rigsby Jr. 3-pointer just over four minutes into the action, but Arkansas State responded to tie the game at 14 in just two-and-a-half minutes later. The Trojans ran up their largest advantage of the period, 25-16, with 10 minutes to go and kept the margin at eight, 30-22, on a Jackson Fields trey with 7:20 left.

Arkansas State got even with eight-straight points as part of a 10-2 scoring run to tie the game at 32 with just over four minutes remaining in the first half. Dyondre Dominguez made a 3-pointer from the left wing with 2:51 to go, giving the Red Wolves a 36-34 edge for their first lead of the night. It also marked the first time the Trojans trailed in their third game of the tournament.

Three additional ties and four more lead changes kept the remainder of the first half a seesaw battle, but a Derrian Ford conversion beyond the arc with 24 seconds left sent Arkansas State into the intermission with a 43-41 edge.

Troy scored the first seven points of the second half to pull ahead by five, but Arkansas State found an offensive groove scored on six-consecutive shot attempts – the last two being a 3-pointer by Dyondre Dominguez trey and a trey by Ford with 10:07 remaining to give the Red Wolves a 66-58 lead.

The Trojans forced their gear to full throttle in all phases from that point, erupting for 24-4 scoring to the 2:12 mark and propelling themselves to an 82-70 lead. Troy continued to get easy baskets inside the final two minutes to complete the triumph.

2025 Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship All-Tournament Team
Most Outstanding Player: Tayton Conerway, Troy
Thomas Dowd, Troy
Terrance Ford Jr., Arkansas State
Izaiyah Nelson, Arkansas State
Obinna Anochili-Killen, Marshall
Sean Durugordon, Old Dominion