PENSACOLA, Fla. – Troy defeated Georgia Southern, 77-61, in the championship game of the 2026 Visit Pensacola Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Air Force Reserve on Monday evening at the Pensacola Bay Center.
The Trojans punched a ticket to their fourth NCAA Tournament in program history and became the Sun Belt’s first back-to-back champions since Georgia State in 2018 and 2019. They will learn their seeding and regional destination during the NCAA Selection Show which will be televised nationally on CBS on Sunday, March 15 at 5 p.m. CT
Junior forward Thomas Dowd registered his 17th double-double of the season with a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds on 8-for-12 shooting while adding three assists. He was named Sun Belt Tournament Most Outstanding Player as, senior forward Jerrell Bellamy added 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting to earn All-Tournament Team honors.
Troy shot 30-for-51 (.588) from the field, owned a 35-18 rebounding advantage and outscored Georgia Southern, 50-22, in the paint and 11-2 on second chances.
Georgia Southern scored the first basket of the game on a 3-pointer by graduate guard Tyren Moore, but Troy responded with eight-straight points capped by a transition basket in the paint from Bellamy.
Troy led for the remainder of the half and created its first double-digit lead of the night, 32-18, on a 10-2 scoring run capped by a 3-pointer off the hand of redshirt junior guard Cobi Campbell with 2:31 left before halftime. The Trojans shot 15-for-26 (.577) from the floor and outscored the Eagles, 26-8, in the paint whole holding them to just 8-for-26 (.308) shooting at the intermission.
Georgia Southern’s offense found a groove early in the second half, trimming its deficit to just four, 39-35, on a trey by graduate guard Jefferson Koulibaly with 16:07 to go.
Troy got the margin back to double digits, 49-39, on a Victor Valdes basket at the 12:34 mark. The advantage remained in double-digits for the rest of the night, as the Trojans shot 60 percent from the field in the second half.
Georgia Southern was led by graduate guard Spudd Webb’s 16 points on 5-for-11 shooting.
2026 Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship All-Tournament Team
Most Outstanding Player: Thomas Dowd, Troy
Jerrell Bellamy, Troy
Alden Applewhite, Georgia Southern
Tyren Moore, Georgia Southern
Spudd Webb, Georgia Southern
Tylik Weeks, Southern Miss
2026 Visit Pensacola Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship Presented By Air Force Reserve
Tuesday, March 3
Game 1 – (12) Louisiana def. (13) Georgia State, 84-75
Game 2 – (11) Old Dominion def. (14) ULM, 87-80
Wednesday, March 4
Game 3 – (9) James Madison def. (12) Louisiana, 87-72
Game 4 – (10) Georgia Southern def. (11) Old Dominion, 88-84
Thursday, March 5
Game 5 – (8) Southern Miss def. (9) James Madison, 86-80
Game 6 – (10) Georgia Southern def. (7) Arkansas State, 80-77
Friday, March 6
Game 7 – (8) Southern Miss def. (5) Texas State, 81-77
Game 8 – (10) Georgia Southern def. (6) South Alabama, 94-85
Saturday, March 7
Game 9 – (8) Southern Miss def. (4) App State, 86-73
Game 10 – (10) Georgia Southern def. (3) Coastal Carolina, 96-72
Sunday, March 8
Game 11 – (1) Troy def. (8) Southern Miss, 78-70
Game 12 – (10) Georgia Southern def. (2) Marshall, 82-78
Monday, March 9 (Championship)
Game 13 – (1) Troy def. (10) Georgia Southern, 77-61