Men’s And Women’s Basketball Fall At Troy
Men’s Basketball
South Alabama men’s basketball team tried to rally late at Troy Thursday night but their rally fell short 79-74 as the Trojans end their five-game losing streak.
Troy’s Hunter Williams scored 21 of his game-high 26 points in the second half by hitting seven three-pointers.
The Jagaurs late rally was came from Troy’s inability to convert from the free-throw line. They used a 9-3 run to cut into the 12-point deficit but still trailed 78-74 with 22.7 seconds left. They would miss a 3-pointer on its next possession and could not get any closer.
Augustine Rubit scored 25 points, his most since his career-high 35 points on December 14 against Ganzaga. Barrington Stevens III and Ken Williams both added 13 points as Stevens set a new career high with six assists. Williams hit on three 3-pointers as well.
Mychal Ammons came down with eight rebounds while.
“We did a great job on Williams in the first half,” South Alabama head coach Matthew Graves said. “The problem is we have to sustain it for 40 minutes—it’s a 40-minute game—and we’ve had different issues like this during the season where we’ve not been able to put together a complete game. A shooter like Williams, all it takes is one to go in. We didn’t switch a ball-screen and he got a ‘3,’ we didn’t trail a stagger (screen) and he got a ‘3,’ and the two that he got that were ridiculous, those are the ones that go in because he’s feeling comfortable.”
“Unfortunately a good offensive effort was wasted again tonight because we didn’t dig down and guard.”
“When you get hit in the mouth with a punch, you have to get back off the deck and go back at them or you can stand there and keep getting punched,” Graves said. “Unfortunately, too many times we get punched and you run out of time. They were giving us opportunities down the stretch with missed free throws, but by that time you’ve really put yourself in a bind.”
The Jaguars will have a week off before returning to action against Arkansas State at the Mitchell Center on February 13 for a 7:05pm.
Women’s Basketball
The South Alabama Women’s basketball team committed 27 turnovers which led to 29 points by the Trojans as the Lady Jaguars fell 78-53 at Troy.
The Jaguars were led by Breanna Hall with 12 points, three assists and three steals. Meghan Dunn added 11 points for her 14th double-digit game of the season. Ronneka Robertson ended with eight points and 10 rebounds as she fell just short of a double-double.
USA shot only 25.8% in the second half and 35.6% for the whole game from the floor.
Troy’s Joanna Harden, the Sun Belt’s leading scorer, led all players with 30 points as she was 11-of-27 from the field and 4-of-11 from long range.
Brittany Webb was injured during the game and miss the remained of it. “(The loss of Webb) changed our whole rotation,” Jaguar head coach Terry Fowler said. “She’s our primary ball-handler and that changed everything. Meghan Dunn had to play the whole game and guard hard. I thought fatigue and frustration set in for us. Those are two tough things to overcome.”
The Lady Jags fall to 7-13 overall and 5-5 in the Sun Belt.
The Lady Jags will have most of a week off before returning to action against Arkansas State on February 12 at the Mitchell Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 11:30am.