Troy guard Malakyi Hall scores over Stebbins center Nick Vincent. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Lee Woolery)
Troy wins a heart-stopper over Stebbins, and another vestige of the Hall name with Trojan basketball emerged to be a part of it. It’s back-to-the-future time in Troy.
By Marcus Hartman for Press Pros
Troy, OH — Teams looking to get the 2025-26 Troy Trojans might want to do it now.
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A 66-59 victory over visiting Stebbins on Friday night was just their third on the season, but they have won two in a row after starting 1-2.
The way they did it hinted at the possibility of bigger things ahead.
Veteran columnist Marcus Hartman writes the OHSAA, Ohio State, and sports at large for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Coach Mark Hess’ team displayed not only a little intestinal fortitude in erasing a six-point second-half deficit but showed off a variety of weapons in the process.
Senior guard Josh Murphy, honorable mention All-Miami Valley League last season when the Trojans went 13-5 (14-9 overall) to finish third in the MVL Miami division, scored 14 points, his third double-figure game of the season.
Forward Kardel Winfield added 18 points after missing two games with a concussion. The 6-5 senior is three-for-three in double-figure scoring nights this season after hitting that mark only three times last year.
Then there was Malakyi Hall.
A 6-foot sophomore who played in only three games on the varsity last season and totaled four points, he scored a career-high 17 points, including 14 in the second half.
Troy senior Joshua Murphy takes the ball into the front court against Stebbins.
He hit a step-back 3-pointer with time winding down in the third quarter to tie the game at 44 and converted a four-point play early in the fourth quarter after being fouled on a 3-pointer.
That gave Troy a 53-48 lead, its first two-possession advantage of the night, and the Trojans controlled the game from that point after trailing for most of the first three quarters.
“We kind of made a shift to put the ball in his hands more,” Hess said. “We feel like other guys — Brady O’Leary, Josh, Aiden Luis and Ethane (Atkins) can shoot it well, and Ky’s got some good size, and we like the ball in his hands.
“He just has a good feel to pass, to score. He’s got some good size, and he’s gonna be a big part of this team and a big part of the program going forward. And when he’s in, the ball’s in his hands, and that’s kind of who we’ve been, having him make some plays.”
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Hall has good bloodlines as the son of Mike Hall and the nephew of Brooks Hall, both stars for the Trojans in their day.
“My dad was an amazing basketball player and so was my uncle, so I just want to continue the legacy for them and just keep working every day for them,” the younger Hall said after keying the Troy comeback.
Brady O’Leary hits another three to put Troy up for good.
He had six points in a season-opening win at Sidney, 10 in a loss at Greenville, eight in a home loss against undefeated Butler and seven last Friday night in a tight win at Xenia that got the Trojans back to .500 on the young season.
This was the best game of his budding career.
“I think Troy basketball is all about winning, making the right plays defense, helping one another, never getting down on teammates, picking them back up when they’re down,” he said. “We haven’t really been playing like how we can play. So I think we’re starting to get there now. Just got to keep working every day practice.”
Stebbins presented a great measuring stick for the Trojans on Friday night.
The Indians lost a non-league game to Tecumseh on Dec. 2 but were 4-0 in the MVL entering the weekend.
They showed why early, not only staking themselves to the lead but holding off multiple comeback attempts by the hosts.
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O’Leary got loose for a layup to tie the game at 13 with about a minute to go, but Nick Vincent scored in the post for the Indians to put them back on top.
Then Cayden Bishop beat the buzzer with a long 3-pointer form the left wing to give them a five-point lead and Bishop 12 points in the stanza.
Aiden Luis draws a foul from Stebbins senior forward Zach Cron.
Stebbins scored the first basket of the second quarter to extend its lead to seven points, but Troy responded with a 9-2 run.
Murphy started that with a 3-pointer then Hall scored from close range for the Trojans.
After Malik James hit two free throws for Stebbins, Winfield made back-to-back baskets to tie the game at 22.
First he put back a miss by Hall, then he finished with a layup off a sweet pass from Atkins.
After a steal and breakaway layup by Adrien Carter for Stebbins, Winfield scored off another offensive rebound to tie the game again at 24, and the Trojans pulled ahead 27-24 on a 3-pointer from the right wing by Luis.
Stebbins was undaunted, though, and scored the last two baskets of the half.
First Anthony Harris made a contested jumper with about two minutes left, then Carter drilled a base-line jumper in the final seconds to give the Indians a 28-27 advantage.
Stebbins scored the first two baskets of the third quarter, but from there it was the Hall and Winfield show.
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“We’re starting to get there,” Hess said. “You know, Ky’s a sophomore. His best basketball is still in front of him, and we’re kind of playing through him. He’s grown up. He’s had some really big games, and we knew he’d have a breakout game. And I think tonight was his game.
Troy sophomore guard Malakyi Hall hits a three late in the 4th quarter.
“And obviously, Kardel was a beast inside. Sometimes you don’t remember how much you miss someone until they’re gone, and then he comes back, like, ‘Wow.’ He’s just really efficient in the paint, does a good job on the glass, and he just plays with a lot of energy, too.”
For much of the night, Stebbins looked the part of an undefeated team.
The Indians showed a variety of weapons, too, and played stout defense at times.
They just could not withstand the Trojans’ attack once it started to get rhythm with Hall handling the ball and Winfield keeping plays alive with offensive rebounds.
It turned out to be the first Troy game decided by more than five points this season, a trend Hess joked has been bad for his beard color but could be good in the long run.
He sees the Trojans as on a typical development path in the second half of December.
Tyler Schramm battles for rebound with three Stebbins defenders around him.
“I’ll be honest, we haven’t been playing very well,” Hess said. “I’ll be the first one to tell you that. I’m evaluating what I’m doing, how I can make us better, but I felt like a lot of it, we’ve been beating ourselves, not rebounding the basketball, turning the basketball over, not making smart decisions, and that’s kind of the conversation we’ve had with our team.”
He wanted to see better decision-making, more care with the basketball, better rebounding and working the offense to get good shots.
The Trojans did all those things in the second half against Stebbins.
“We got good possessions,” Hess said. “We were efficient there down the stretch when we needed to be. We made good plays. We got to the paint. We got good looks. Then it opens up our jump shots, and I think we’re starting to get it. You know, every year still the hardest thing is you still have to learn how to win. No matter how many players you’ve got back, no matter how good you are. And, we’re still learning to do that. I was glad to see our growth in that aspect tonight.” 
Bishop scored only two points in the second quarter and finished with 18 for Stebbins. He missed most of the third quarter after picking up his third foul, but Carter picked up some of the slack and finished with 15 points.
Despite coming up short on their trip to Miami County, the Indians are only one win shy of their total for last season, when they finished last in the MVL Valley division with a 5-13 conference mark and a 5-18 overall record.
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