Troy’s Brady O’Leary gets an easy pair of points in transition during the Trojans’ 76-49 Friday win over Greenville. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Lee Woolery)
Troy bounced back from a blowout loss at Tippecanoe with a balanced scoring attack against struggling Greenville. Trojans improve to 8-5.
By Marcus Hartman for Press Pros
Troy, OH — Troy enjoyed a two-for-one Friday night at home against Greenville.
The Trojans picked up a get-right win after taking on one the chin from Tippecanoe on Tuesday, and they scored some revenge over the Green Wave for an early season loss.
Logan Services, in Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus, proudly sponsor the best in area sports coverage on Press Pros Magazine.com.
Coach Mark Hess would like to think the 75-49 victory was a sign Troy is finding itself after an up-and-down first half of the season, but it’s not quite that simple.
Veteran columnist Marcus Freeman writes the Buckeyes and sports at large for Press Pros Magazine.com.
The winning formula is in sight, but they are still working it out.
“What I just told our kids in the locker room is what’s nice about us, our success comes down to us,” Hess said. “If we play together, have great attitudes, be great teammates, and look for the best shot possible, we’re gonna be OK.”
The Trojans handled Greenville’s press improved to 8-5 overall and 7-4 in the MVL Miami division.
They avoided losing back-to-back games for the third time this season and hope instead to be at the beginning of a third winning streak.
“When we’ve gotten in trouble is when we haven’t made great decisions. We haven’t taken great shots. We’ve turned it over. We’ve worried about things that don’t matter in winning,” Hess said. “And so it comes to us. We have to focus on controlling what we can control and what we work on in practice and what we’re preaching. And that was kind of my challenge tonight here in this back half of the year, of just committing to each other, committing to our job and having a positive attitude throughout the world all the time.”
Troy’s Malakyi Hall cans a three-pointer in Friday’s 75-49 win over Greenville.
The last time the Trojans took the floor, they turned the ball over 15 times in a 57-44 loss against division-leading Tipp.
That snapped a three-game Troy winning streak and had Hess lamenting his team’s lack of discipline.
Although the Green Wave came into the game with just two wins, one of them was 67-64 at home against Troy on Dec. 9.
That gave the Trojans ample motivation to be on top of their game Friday night.
“We didn’t play well over there,” Hess said. “Tip your cap to them, I mean, they made plays over there. Played with a lot of confidence over there.”
This time it was a different story.
Although Greenville scored the first four points, Troy countered with the next five.
Athletes In Action is proud to be a presenting sponsor of area basketball on Press Pros Magazine.com. Call now for camp opportunities for your team in summer, 2026.
Troy senior guard Aiden Luis put the hosts on top for the first time with a three-pointer, and he hit another trey to start the scoring in the second quarter and extend Troy’s lead to 16-8.
After Troy extended to a 10-point lead, Greenville scored five in a row to get back within five at 20-15, but Troy’s Brady O’Leary put down that uprising with two quick baskets.
Troy’s Kardel Winfield absorbs some contact on his way to the rim during Friday’s win over Greenville.
First he beat the press down the floor for a layup, then he took the ball away at midcourt and went back down for two more to force a Green Wave timeout.
After a Michael McMahon three-pointer for Greenville, Troy scored the next nine points to take control of the game.
Luis started it with another trey. Then Hall beat the Greenville press down the floor for a layup.
After McMahon was called for an offensive foul, the Trojans knifed through the press again, this time with some deft passing that resulted in a Kardel Winfield layup.
That was part of a big night for the Troy big man, who had not scored in double figures since he had 14 against Miamisburg on Dec. 20.
An athletic 6-5 senior, who led the victors with 18 points Friday night.
Minster Bank is a proud sponsor of the Miami Valley League on Press Pros Magazine.com.
“He plays really hard, and he just feeds off of our guards getting him the ball in good situations,” Hess said. “They were kind of scrambling in their pressure, and we were able to get drives to the middle and find the right play and made the right pass to him. And he finished inside and got on the offensive glass a couple time, so it’s good for him to get going. Really I think he’s a key for us to get going here on this back stretch of the season. When he becomes an offensive player inside, we’re way better.”
Trailing 34-20 at the half, Greenville scored first in the second half on a Johnny Barr dunk, but Troy answered with a 7-0 run to go up 19.
Greenville’s Michael McMahon hits a consolation three-pointer in the fourth quarter of Friday’s game with Troy.
After another Barr basket, Josh Murphy connected from beyond the arc to give the Trojans a 20-point lead for the first time, and they never looked back.
Sophomore guard Malakyi Hall scored 13 points for Troy while O’Leary had 10, Luis finished with nine and Tyler Schramm added eight, but none of that seemed to matter much to their head coach.
“I never know who our leading scorer is, and it’s a strength for us,” Hess said. “It can be a different guy each game. It can be a different each night. It can be different each quarter, and I think we’re starting to adapt to that. We’re starting to embrace it.”
Next up is a game against Minster in Fort Laramie on Sunday before another big test at Butler on Tuesday night.
The Aviators beat Fairborn 74-46 on Friday night to improve to 10-3 overall and 10-2 in league play.
They beat Troy 58-53 on Dec. 12, but Hess hopes to show his team has learned a thing or two about itself since then.
“You always want to play your best basketball in the new year, after Christmas break,” Hess said. “And so we’re getting there. We’re getting there, you know? I think we’re still trying to settle into our roles. We’ve got guys that hadn’t played together as much, and so we’re kind of trying to identify our roles. So we’re getting there, but I’m happy with the progress we’ve made over the last few weeks.”
For Greenville, a tough season continued. The Green Wave lost its fifth straight despite the usual double-digit scoring nights for McMahon (13 points) and Barr (15).
They play host to Xenia on Tuesday night before going to Stebbins and Versailles next weekend.
Wilson Health/Orthopedics proudly sponsors the best in area sports and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Press Pros.