STATESBORO, Ga. – Musa Abdul-Aleem posted 25 points and 12 rebounds and scored the go-ahead basket with 32.7 seconds left as Troy hung on to defeat Georgia Southern 65-62 in Sun Belt Conference men's basketball action Thursday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.

Trailing 65-62 with 1.5 second s to go, Georgia Southern had a last chance to tie the score off a sideline out-of-bounds play. The Eagles inbounded to Jelani Hewitt, but the senior's 25-foot, 3-point try from the wing was off the mark as the buzzer sounded.

Mike Hughes tallied 14 points and seven rebounds to lead Georgia Southern (18-6, 11-4), while Hewitt posted 12 points and five assists. Angel Matias collected 11 points and 10 boards, and Curtis Diamond tallied nine points and six rebounds.

Kevin Thomas contributed 11 points and nine rebounds for Troy (10-15, 5-11), and Chris Bilbo tallied 10 points and four assists.

Matias tied the score 62-62 with a layup with just over a minute to play after two offensive rebounds for the Eagles. Abdul-Aleem answered by driving into the lane and hitting a tough turnaround jumper to give the Trojans a 64-62 lead with 32.7 seconds to go.

Matias drove the lane on the Eagles' trip down the floor, but Abdul-Aleem stepped in front and took the charge with 21.2 seconds left. The Eagles had to foul and hacked Bilbo after trying to steal the inbounds pass.

Bilbo missed two from the charity stripe, but Thomas pulled down the rebound for Troy and was fouled. He made the second end of the two-shot foul for a 65-62 lead.

Hewitt tried a contested 3-pointer from the wing with the clock running down, and Hughes was there to collect the rebound as the bench called timeout with 1.5 seconds remaining, setting up Hewitt's final try.

Troy held the Eagles to 36 percent from the floor and forced 16 turnovers. Both teams struggled with free-throws as Georgia Southern hit 11-of-21 and Troy made 12-of-20.

Georgia Southern held a 27-18 lead late in the first half after Hewitt fed Trent Wiedeman for a 3-pointer from the wing with 4:37 on the clock. The Trojans finished the frame with an 14-2 run, capped by a Bilbo triple with 26 seconds left, and went into the locker room with a 32-29 cushion.

With Troy trailing 56-54, Bilbo knocked in a 3-pointer from the wing with 5:50 remaining, was fouled and made the freebie to give the Trojans a 58-56 lead, which they never relinquished.

The Eagles return to action at home Saturday against South Alabama in a 7:30 p.m. tipoff, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3. It's GATA Club Reunion Night – all former Georgia Southern student-athletes are welcome for the game.

All-session ticket books to this year's Sun Belt Basketball Championships March 11-15, in New Orleans are available for $99 at the Georgia Southern Ticket Office. Call 1-800-GSU-WINS!

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. For tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, call 1-800-GSU-WINS or visit GSEagles.com.