Troy Basketball dispatches UTSA, now 4-2
Trojans scorched the nets Monday ... Also Senior Day at the Vet with many prize give-aways ... Barry McKnight up for 'Sportscaster of Year' ... Vintage photos of old Troy State pool ... CHHS tennis.
The Troy men's basketball team kicked off its multi-team event – the Trojan Turkey Tipoff – with a decisive 86-72 win over UTSA on Monday night in Trojan Arena.
Troy (4-2) had a dominant shooting performance, especially from distance and had its best shooting half of the season in the final 20 minutes of the game. UTSA (1-3) did not take care of the basketball, as they turned it over 20 times. It's the first time since March 9, 2024, that Troy has forced its opponent to turn it over 20 times.
The Trojans finished the night shooting 54.9 percent (28-51) from the field, their best shooting performance since Dec. 10, 2022, against Tennessee Tech when they shot 57.6 percent from the field.
Troy was also 11-20 (55.0 percent) from distance, its best 3-point shooting performance since Nov. 22, 2021 against FAU when it was also 11-20.
Myles Rigsby had a season-high 17 points – the most by a Trojan this year – on 5-7 shooting, including 6-7 from the free-throw line.
Jerrell Bellamy had the best game of his career with 15 points on 5-7 shooting. He was also 4-4 from the free throw line and had two rebounds.
Also having a career night was Cooper Campbell, who had a personal-best 10 points on 3-3 shooting and 2-2 from downtown.
Tayton Conerway did a little bit of everything, recording 15 points, six rebounds, five steals and three assists. He was 7-15 from the field.
"It was a really good offensive performance by our guys. One of the best all-around for 40 minutes,” said Trojan Coach Scott Cross. “We did some good things defensively. We forced them to turn the ball over quite a bit. … I told the guys this team could be really special once we put it all together."
Troy is 51-21 at Trojan Arena under Scott Cross and is 2-0 to start this season. Last year, Troy was 15-2 at home.
Troy is now 2-3 all-time against UTSA.
The Trojans two losses were on the road against Arkansas, in a game Troy led by one point at halftime, and at Oregon.
The Trojans are back in action to close out the Trojan Turkey Tipoff on Friday at 1 p.m. against Merrimack. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Troy Sports Media Network.
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‘Voice of the Trojans’ Barry McKnight Named Finalist
for Alabama Sportscaster of the Year
“Voice of the Trojans” Barry McKnight has been named a finalist for the National Sports Media Association (NSMA) Alabama Sportscaster of the Year, the NSMA announced Monday.
McKnight is joined by UAB Sports Network’s David Crane, CBS 42’s Dee Jackson, WVTM’s Ryan Hennessey and WKRG’s Simone Eli as finalists for the award, which will be presented at the NSMA’s 65th Awards Weekend and National Convention in North Carolina June 28-30, 2025.
McKnight has served as the “Voice of the Trojans” on radio and ESPN+ broadcasts since 2002 and has been a staple on sports radio in the Montgomery area since 1997.
He has won numerous broadcasting awards from the likes of the Alabama Broadcasters Association, Associated Press and more.
In addition to his work on radio and with Troy Athletics, McKnight has called games for Auburn Baseball, minor league baseball and others. Throughout his career, McKnight has won the AP Award for Broadcast Excellence, AP Play-by-Play Broadcaster of the Year and the Sun Belt Conference Broadcaster of the Year.
Barry Trivia:
Barry McKnight might be the only resident of Troy who has ever competed on the game show “Jeopardy!”
His younger brother, Michael McKnight, is also a well-known and excellent sports journalist and has written many in-depth and fascinating feature stories for Sports Illustrated among other publications.
Also, Barry’s sidekick on the “John and Barry” popular and excellent sports talk show is John Longshore of Montgomery. John was an Alabama Sigma Nu pledge brother of myself (and fraternity brother of Trojans Rush Rice, Mark Davis, Jeff Davis, Wes Gaylard, Stewart (Earl) Vance, Charles Bradshaw and Kent Hendricks.
John was also a teammate - and back-up quarterback - to Mike Turk at Jeff Davis High School in the early ‘80s.
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Troy vs. USM will be Senior Day,
Judy Morgan Day; Give-aways Galore!
Football is back at The Vet on Saturday when Troy hosts Southern Miss on Senior Day; kickoff is set for 1 p.m. between the Trojans and Golden Eagles.
Ticket Sales / Will Call / Gate Information …
Tickets will be sold on gameday at the following locations:
Main Ticket Office (Tine Davis Fieldhouse) - 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Gate One - 10 a.m. until halftime
Will call is located at Gate One of The Vet; will call will be open from 10 a.m. until halftime.
All gates open 90 minutes prior to kickoff, while the Stadium Club and Suites open two hours prior to kickoff.
Ticket Specials
• $1 Student Guest Tickets for Troy University Students – Visit TroyTrojans.com/StudentTickets. All students who purchase a student guest ticket will be entered into a drawing to participate in a $2,000 field goal kick during the game.
• $5 reserved seats in sections 101, 103 and 105 … visit TroyTrojans.com/promo and use the code FIVE.
Prizeapalooza Giveaways
Troy Athletics and our corporate sponsors will open the prize closest with great giveaways for both fans and Troy students throughout the game.
Giveaways:
Jersey Mike's
Albama Peanut Producers
Coke
Domino's Pizza
Momma G's
Rike's Tacos
Z-Tec
Trojan RV Station Park
Conecuh Sausage
Half Shell Oyster Bar
Publix
Jim Whaley Tires
Mural City Coffee
Senior Day Festivities: Before the game 13 football seniors will be honored on the field before their final regular season home football game. During the game, Troy Cheer seniors will also be recognized.
Judy Morgan Day at The Vet
Troy Athletics will celebrate the career of Troy Football secretary Judy Morgan, who is in her 25th season with Troy Football and 30th with Troy University. She will retire from Troy University at the end of 2024. Morgan has worked with five head football coaches and been part of 10 conference championship teams.
To celebrate Ms. Judy's final game, all former football student-athletes, coaches and staff who have had the privilege of working with her are invited to join us at Veterans Memorial Stadium for the celebration. To RSVP for the event and secure complimentary tickets to the game, visit TroyTrojans.com/Judy.
Prior to the game, a tailgate will be held in Tailgate Terrace for all returning members of the football program to visit with Miss Judy, and she will also lead the team in Trojan Walk.
2009 SBC Championship Reunion:
Troy Athletics is excited to welcome back the 2009 Sun Belt Championship team on Saturday. The celebration includes a pregame tailgate party and in-game recognition.
Mobile Ticketing: Mobile ticketing and parking remain an option for fans to use on gameday.
Ticket purchasers can manage their tickets on their smartphones by visiting TroyTrojans.com/tickets and logging into their account. It is strongly encouraged that all fans download their tickets before game day. Just prior to reaching the gates, fans will simply open their digital wallet on their smartphone, select their game tickets or parking passes, and hold their smartphone near the scanner.
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Troy State Swimming Pool was once a very cold spot!
Thanks to Citizen reader Dot Green for providing two great history pictures of the long-time Troy State swimming pool, which was located off McKinley Drive between the Lagoon and the President’s Mansion.
The area where the pool was located for many decades is currently being transformed by a major landscaping project at the Lagoon.
As Dot told me, “the top picture is the way I remember the pool looking when I went there to swim with friends in the early to mid ‘60s.
“The second picture came from TSU archives. I believe it is the building on the right from the first picture. Artists painted scenes on the building, which makes it look different from the first, but it is the same pool.”
According to a caption accompanying the second photo, the campus swimming pool “at Rose Park was completed in 1925.”
The pool’s water came from a natural cold spring and everyone remembers how chilly the water was.
It’s not known when the former swimming pool was last used. It was still visible through the woods and, while no longer in use, could still be seen through the trees in the late 1970s when our family moved back to Troy.
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CHHS tennis rosters announced ….
Coming tomorrow: In-depth feature story on the late CHMS P.E. Coach Whitey Whitman and the “best PE program in America.”
I copy and paste comments from readers at popular Facebook groups. I like this one from Elizabeth Carter Burdick at "You Know you from Troy, Ala" ....
Elizabeth Carter Burdick: "I spent almost every single day of summer in this pool. We lived on campus my entire childhood. Kenneth and I walked over to the pool and stayed all day."
Does anyone know the last year this pool was used or open?
I also appreciate anyone who has used the "Share" button in these Substack dispatches to increase the number of people who know about the existence of "Alabama's first Substack newspaper." For now, my only "marketing plan" is this share button. It's free marketing ... and people need to know they can subscribe to The Troy Citizen for free.