Troy rolls to 79-60 victory over James Madison in Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinal

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Tayton Conerway had 22 points, Jackson Fields scored 21 and Troy rolled to a 79-60 victory over James Madison on Sunday night in a Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinal.

The third-seeded Trojans (22-10) will play No. 4 seed Arkansas State in the championship game on Monday with an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament on the line. The Red Wolves eliminated top seed South Alabama 74-71 in the other semifinal.

Conerway shot 7 for 10 (2 for 3 from 3-point range) and 6 of 7 from the free-throw line for the Trojans. Jackson Fields hit 5 of 8 from beyond the arc and grabbed six rebounds. Thomas Dowd shot 6 of 8 from the field, including 2 for 4 from 3-point range, and went 4 for 5 from the foul line to finish with 18 points.

Mark Freeman led the way for the second-seeded Dukes (20-12) with 34 points. Elijah Hutchins-Everett added nine points, six rebounds and two steals.

Troy took the lead with 18:53 left in the first half and did not relinquish it. Conerway scored 11 in the first half to help the Trojans take a 40-23 lead at the break.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.