Needing a win to keep their season alive, the Tigers were up 15-2 after the first quarter, and they were never tested en route to an 83-41 victory.
The fifth-seeded Tigers will now face fourth-seeded Fayette County at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Shaw High.
The winner of that game advances to Friday’s semifinals, and earns an invitation to the state tournament.
Fayette County won both of the regular-season meetings against Troup.
“I know we’ve got a tough one coming up, but we’re going to play like we always play, and do what we can,” Troup head coach Thermond Billingslea said.
The Tigers have found their stride in their past two games.
On Friday, Troup beat Shaw, which at the time was tied for first place in the region.
The Tigers then came out against Columbus and put up their high point total of the season.
Going back to a 65-59 loss to LaGrange last week, Billingslea believes the Tigers have played three solid games in a row.
“I thought we played well against LaGrange,” Billingslea said. “We started building some momentum, and then we came back and played Shaw really well, and then came back and played well tonight.”
Against Columbus, Demetrius Trammell led Troup with 19 points, and Jamaal Wilkerson and Lakeithin Buckner each scored 15 points, with Wilkerson scoring 13 of his points in the fourth period.
Daryl Dunlap chipped in with 11 points.
The offensive execution was crisp all night, even late in the fourth quarter when the reserves were in the game and the starters were cheering on the bench.
“They did a real fine job of moving the basketball,” Billingslea said. “If we get some open shots, they can hit the shots. We just have to get them open and not throw the ball away.”
Leading by 13 after the first period, the Tigers went up 22-2 with six minutes left in the first half when Trammell made a 3-pointer.
Trammell hit another 3-pointer with 12 seconds left in the half, and Troup had a 32-13 lead at the break.
After giving up the first four points of the third quarter, the Blue Devils did find some momentum with a 9-0 run to get within 16, but the Tigers regained control and were up 53-31 heading into the fourth period.
The fourth quarter was all Troup, which outscored Columbus 30-10 to finish strong.
In Monday’s other tournament game at Troup, Carrollton kept its season alive with a 56-52 victory over Sandy Creek.
Carrollton will play Shaw at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday with a berth in the semifinals on the line.
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