South Alabama Opens Spring Practice Today
Head coach Joey Jones speaks to his team after their first scrimmage of preseason camp at St. Paul’s Episcopal School on Saturday, August 15, 2014.
The South Alabama Jaguar football team opens spring practice on Monday. It was their first time back on the field after their first-ever postseason bowl appearance.
The Jags will work our in helmets and shorts at the Jaguar Practice Facility on campus from 3-5pm. They will also have a session on Wednesday without pads.
Each Friday during spring practices (March 20, 27 and April 3) as well as Monday April 6 to start the final week of drills. The Jags first workout in full pads is scheduled for Saturday, March 21 at 9am. Other full pads workouts are scheduled for March 23, 25, 30 and April 1.
Two scrimmages are set for the two Saturdays (3pm March 28, 9am April 4 at Murphy HS) prior to the annual Red-Blue spring game.
Each weekday practice will begin at 3pm with all 15 dates open to the general public.
The Red-Blue game is scheduled for noon on Saturday, April 11 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium and is the first of several sporting events that day. The nationally ranked Jaguar softball team will play a double-header against Georgia Southern then at 6:30pm the Jaguar baseball team will host Appalachian State.
During the spring, the Jaguars will look to identify student-athletes to begin filling the spots left by 17 senior starters who graduated after last season. An influx of several players from UAB will help bolster the roster with experienced student-athletes including the starting quarterback from the Blazers.
USA lost 32 seniors from last fall’s team that faced Bowling Green in the inaugural Raycom Media Camellia Bowl. Just seven starters return from that team.
Jags Announcing Hiring of Tracy Buckhannon to Football Staff
Tracy Buckhannon joins the South Alabama staff from Colquitt County (GA) High School where he served as defensive coordinator for the last two seasons. | Photo: moultrieobserver.com
On Sunday the University of South Alabama officially announced the hiring of Tracy Buckhannon as an assistant coach to fill the position left when Freddie Roach left for a position at Alabama. Buckhannon will coach the inside linebackers.
Buckhannon has 15 years experience coaching at the high-school level. He has worked with Jaguar defensive coordinator Travis Pearson previously on the high school level and understands his system.
For the last three seasons Buckhannon has been an assistant coach at Colquitt County (GA.) High school and has served as defensive coordinator the last two seasons. Last fall he helped the team win the 6A state championship with a 14-0 record. In his first season as defensive coordinator the team advanced to the semifinals of the state playoffs before falling to the eventual champion. He began his stint at Colquitt in 2012 by coaching the safeties.
Previous to Colquitt County, he was a defensive coordinator at Elmore County (AL) High School for the previous seven years. He helped the Panthers get to the state 4A playoffs five times during that stretch including advancing to the quarterfinals in 2006, which began a three-year stretch where the team went 28-9 which was capped off with a 7-0 run to the regional title in 2008.
In the 2007 season the defense allowed less than 14 points per game and the following fall Buckhannon was selected the Alabama Football Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year.
Buckhannon was a member of the ECHS staff from 1995-1996 as a volunteer assistant in charge of both the offensive and defensive scout teams. He was a full time assistant at the school from 2001-2003 working with the linebackers as well as with Coach Pearson.
He was a 5-year letterwinner at Elmore County from 1987-1991 where he was part of the a team that won the state 4A championship in his first year with the varsity team. He earned all-county honors as a junior and would earn his bachelor’s degree from Auburn.
With the hiring of Buckhannon, coach Mike Adams’ responsibilities will shift to working with the defensive ends and outside linebackers.
Jags Use Strong Defense In Final Minutes To Defeat UALR 57-55; Advance In SBC Tournament
The South Alabama Men’s Basketball team used strong defense late in the game to hold off a hard charging Arkansas-Little Rock team in the final minutes of the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament to win 57-55.
The #6 seeded Jags held UALR without a field goal for the final 3:49, then used key stops to hold on for the win.
USA led UALR by as many as 18 points midway through the second half, but saw that lead shrink down to just one point with 28.4 seconds left. But the Jags held strong by forcing a turnover and two missed shots including a desperation shot at the buzzer.
Senior Dionte Ferguson earned his fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds to go with four blocks, including a huge one in the final moments to help preserve the win.
UALR’s Josh Hagins went to the free throw line with 28.4 seconds left and a chance to tie the game, but could only convert one. On the subsequent possession, due to the flagrant foul, USA forced a turnover. Barrington Stevens III also went 1-of-2 from the free throw line but made the Jags lead two points.
Ferguson blocked a shot attempt with four seconds left, then after a timeout following a missed USA field goal, they missed a deperate attempt by Hagins at the buzzer.
Stevens chipped in 14 points in the game. Ken Williams had 12 points all in the second half, with Abdul Lewis and Taishaun Johnson both added eight points each while Lewis added 11 rebounds.
“I’m extremely proud of my team,” head coach Matthew Graves said. “The preparation was really good. I thought we got off to a tremendous start in the first half. We did unbelievable job shrinking the floor; held them to under 30 percent in the first half, and that’s what you have to do. If you want to win at tournament time, you have to really lock in and defend.
“In the second half, I thought we got really tentative around the 12-minute mark. You can say fatigue, all kinds of excuses, but the bottom line is we got tight, missed some shots and turned the ball over a few times. UALR is a very good team. They’re very explosive. They’re capable of making 3s and then they started putting the ball on the floor and getting into the paint and that really bothered us. We were trying to juggle some foul trouble, but the two possessions there late where we dug in defensively and got stops, those were two of the best possessions we’ve had all year long.”
“I’m really proud of this group of guys,” Graves continued. “They hung tough; they battled and it was one of the few times I could say that we got it done on the defensive end of the floor. Usually we score a bunch of points and they’re able to stretch things out, or we score to make a play to win the game, but tonight I can honestly say those couple possessions late defensively, I’m most proud of those two.”
The Jags will face #3 seed Louisiana-Monroe on Friday at 7:30pm. Game coverage will be on 710 AM WNTM in the Mobile area and iHeartRadio. TV coverage will be on ESPN3.com.
Tyler Klava Finished Ninth Individually as USA Men’s Golf Finishes 4th At Auburn
Photo: Mike Kittrell al.com
Jaguar Men’s Golfer Tyler Klava equaled his best finish this season while helping the Jaguars finish fourth at the Auburn Tiger Invitational presented by Jason Dufner.
The redshirt senior posted an even-par 72 in the last three rounds for a 54-hole total of 3-under-par, his lowest total of the season by four strokes, to tie for ninth individually. This is his second time in the last three events he has finished in the top-10.
Auburn won the team title with a 25-under-par score of 839 and finished 22 strokes ahead of Troy who finished second. Georgia State finished third place with an 873 total. The Jaguars finished three-strokes behind with total of 876.
Williams, Hall Earn All-SBC Postseason Honors
A pair of South Alabama student-athletes were named to the All-Sun Belt teams on Tuesday. Ken Williams and Breanna Hall were both selected to All-Sun Belt Teams.
Ken Williams was voted to the All-SBC Men’s Basketball Second Team, his first all-conference honor in his career. He ranks seventh in the conference in scoring with 15.9 ppg, second in 3-pointers per game with 2.6, eighth in 3-point percentage with a .371 average, and eighth in free-throw percentage with .794. He averaged 18 points and 2.8 3-pointers per game which ranked second and first in the conference respectively.
His current total of 82 triples is seventh best at USA in a single season and a record for a sophomore. He is four points away from becoming the 21st player in school history to score 500 points in a season.
Williams scored 20 or more points 10 times this season, including a stretch of four consecutive with at least 23 points. He also make multiple three-pointers in 24 of his 31 games this season.
The South Alabama Men’s Team will face Arkansas-Little Rock on Thursday with tip-off scheduled for 7:30pm in New Orleans. The game will be aired on ESPN3.
Hall was named to the Third-Team All-SBC on Tuesday for her first postseason honor. She earned preseason All-Conference honors earlier this year.
She ended the regular season ranked fifth in the conference in scoring with 15.4 ppg. She accounted for 416 points this season, the first Jaguar to top the 400-point mark since 2008-09 season. Hall led the conference in 3-point shooting with a 40.8% mark and was among the national leaders in that category. Her 2.4 triples per game were second most in the conference this season.
She ranked third in free throw shooting by converting 82% of her attempts.
Jaguar Sports Weekend Update
Men’s Basketball
Fresh off of clinching a spot in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in New Orleans, South Alabama Men’s basketball team returned home for Senior Night to host the Troy Trojans. A big scoring night by Ken Williams and Barrington Stevens III led the Jaguars to a 96-93 win at the Mitchell Center.
The Jags finish the regular season with back-to-back wins to improve their record to 11-20 overall and 9-11 in conference play. Troy ends the season with a 10-19 mark overall and a 5-15 mark in conference play.
Troy’s Musa Abdul-Aleem scored 37 points with eight 3-pointers against the Jaguars while Wesley Person added 25 points. But it was the Jaguars offensive surge in about midway through the second half that propelled the Jaguars to victory.
Dionte Ferguson played 36 minutes with 19 points and 14 rebounds for his team-leading fourth double-double of the season. In the second half alone, he had 13 points and seven rebounds.
Williams was a point shy of equally his career high with 28 points and a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe. Stevens III set a new personal record with 19 points and five 3-pointers. Both Williams and Stevens combined to score all five points for the Jags in the final 25 seconds.
With the win, the Jaguars earn the #6 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament and will play Arkansas-Little Rock on Thursday night at 7:30pm.
Softball
The #24 ranked Jaguar softball team dropped both games of a Saturday double-header to #7 ranked Lousiana-Lafayette by scores of 3-2 in Game 1 and 9-3 in game 2.
The Jags rally came up short after scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth inning but could not overcome the one run deficit their next time up in the bottom of the seventh.
Emily Messer led off the inning with an infield single followed by freshman Kristian Foster being hit by a pitch. Kaleigh Todd came on to pinch run for Foster. Messer scored from third on Rathburn’s RBI single and Todd would score on Amanda Minihan’s two-out bases-loaded walk before Amanda Herron popped out to end the threat.
In the bottom of the seventh Messer drew a one-out walk but Todd struck out swinging and Stephanie Pilkington flied out to left field. Messer was 2-for-3 in the game with a run scored while Rathburn was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Devin Brown gave up two earned runs on two hits while striking out three with five walks in 3 2/3 innings. McGill threw 3 1/3 innings of relief and gave up one unearned run on four hits with one strikeout and no walks.
In game two on Saturday the Cajuns scored in all but one inning including a three-run second inning and a two-run seventh inning.
Messer was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Pilkington went 2-for-3 whiel Rathburn went 1-for-3 with two RBI. Brown took the loss in game two as well.
In the third and final game of the series on Sunday, the Jaguars took a 4-3 lead in the third inning then followed up with a three-run fifth inning and an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth to defeat the Cajuns 8-5.
Blair Johnson went 2-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI. Pilkington went 1-for-4 with two RBI, Rathburn went 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI while Kaitlyn Griffith went 1-for-2 with a run scored and three RBI.
Devin Brown earned the win to run her record to 8-4 on the season with Kalen McGill earning her third save of the season.
The Jags record sits at 16-5 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
Baseball
After falling to UALR in the opening game 4-3 the Jags came back and won the next two games to win the series with scores of 1-0 and 3-2.
In game one Cole Billingsley went 3-for-4 with a run scored and a walk as Kevin Hill went 5 innings and allowing one hit with seven strikeouts and four walks.
In the second game, USA and UALR were scoreless through seven-and-a-half innings before the Jaguars scratched the one and only run across the plate in the bottom of the seventh. Daniel Martinez got the game winning RBI.
In the third and final game of the series, the Jags scored in the bottom of the 11th inning on an error to win the game.
Martinez led off the inning with a single to right field followed by Garrett DeGallier drawing a walk. Pinch hitter Cameron Cummings grounded to shortstop who threw wide of third base trying to get a forced out but instead allowed Martinez to score the game-winning run.
The Jags improve to 11-5 overall and 2-1 in SBC play. UALR falls to 4-7 overall and 1-2 in SBC play.
#24 Jaguar Softball hosts #7 Lousiana-Lafayette for three-game Series at Jaguar Field
This is a huge weekend for South Alabama Softball.
The #24 ranked Jags (15-3) open their Sun Belt Conference schedule by hosting #7 ranked Louisiana-Lafayette (15-2) for a three-game series at Jaguar Field.
USA and ULL have split the last 12 matches and have met for the Sun Belt Conference’s automatic bid twice in the last three seasons. The Cajuns will bring the reigning Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year Christina Hamilton and 2012 and 2013 first team All-Sun Belt choice Jordan Wallace. The Jags will counter with 2014 first team All-Sun Belt selection Farish Beard and two-time Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week in her freshman Season Devin Brown.
The Cajuns pitching has held opponents to a .147 batting average and 16 runs over 106 2/3 innings. The Jaguars have allowed opponents to hit .176 and to score 41 runs in 120 innings.
ULL faced #4 ranked Alabama last weekend in Tuscaloosa, so this is their second-consecutive weekend in Alabama to face a top-25 teams.
The series opens on Saturday with a double-header beginning at noon and the second game at 2pm. The third and final game of the series will get underway at 1pm on Sunday.
Go Jags!
Jags Earn SBC Tournament Spot with 81-76 Win over Arkansas State
The Jaguar men’s basketball team controlled their own post-season destiny as they traveled to Jonesboro, AR. for their Thursday night game against Arkansas State and they held on down the stretch to earn their way in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
The Jags (10-20, 8-11 SBC) saw a 24-point second-half lead slip away in the final minutes but thanks to sophomore Ken Williams leading a late charge, the Jags held on for the 81-76 win.
Over a span of 8:17, the Jags were outscored 29-7 including 15-2 at the end of the run to tie the game at 73-73 with under three minutes left in the game led by Anthony Livingston scoring six of the final 10 points of their run.
Williams answered back with on the next possession with a 3-pointer from the corner to break the tie. After a turnover, Williams added a layup to stretch the Jaguar lead to 78-73 with 2:11 remaining.
ASU (11-17, 6-13 SBC) connected from deep to pull within two with 1:13 left to play, but freshman Taishaun Johnson added a free throw with 38 seconds remaining to extend the lead to three points at 79-76.
Arkansas State’s three-point attempt missed and allowed Williams to grab the rebound. After being fouled, he sank both of his attempts to effectively ice the game.
Williams scored 12 of his 18 points after halftime. Johnson just missed a triple-double with 17 points, nine rebounds and a career-high seven assists. Senior Dionte Ferguson led the team with 20 points while freshman Abdul Lewis added 15 points.
“I can’t begin to say enough about how proud I am of this team and what they’ve accomplished,” South Alabama head coach Matthew Graves said after the game. “They hung tough and made some tough plays in those last couple of minutes to secure the victory.
“This team is starting to grow up. Certainly it’s been frustrating at times, but if you look at us a month or two months ago, we would not have won this game. There’s no question about that. We would have ended up getting beat by six or eight points down the stretch. This team has grown up and they are doing more things consistently. Obviously, we can continue to get better, but I’m really proud of our effort and to have one more home game for our two seniors. We need to be focused and ready to go on Saturday.”
The Jaguars return home to host Troy for their regular season finale on Senior Night. Jags and Trojans tip-off at 4:05PM at the Mitchell Center.
Jags Travel to Arkansas State Needing Win to Secure SBC Tournament Spot
The South Alabama men’s basketball team head into the final two games of the regular season needing a win to put themselves into the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
In their first opportunity Thursday night at Arkansas State, the Jags control their own destiny. Win and they are in. However, all is not lost if they lose but it means they don’t control their own destiny. With a loss at ASU, they would need to return home and defeat Troy at the Mitchell Center on Saturday but would need some help in order to make the tournament.
The Jags (9-20, 7-11 SBC) have lost their last three games against the top three teams in the conference. They have had a week to prepare to exact revenge on the Red Wolves )11-16, 6-12 SBC) who defeated USA in overtime at the Mitchell Center on December 30.
The Red Wolves have won two of their last three games after a five-game losing streak. Both wins came at home against conference co-leaders Louisiana-Monroe and Texas-Arlington. Also the Red Wolves sit just one game behind the Jaguars and also need a win to keep their tournament hopes alive.
ASU’s Anthony Livingston is coming off a 20-point, 13-rebound effort against Texas State and averages a double-double per game for the season. Against the Jags in December he had 16 points and 13 rebounds. He ranks sixth in the conference in scoring with a 15.6 point per game average and ranks second in rebounding with an even 10 rebounds per game.
South Alabama’s Ken Williams ranks seventh in the conference in scoring with a 15.4 point per game average and ranks second in 3-pointers per game. In the previous game against ULM, Williams scored 21 points with four 3-pointers. He has also had nine 20-point outings this season. He also moved up to eighth in school history with 77 3-pointers, the most ever by a USA sophomore.
USA and ASU tip-off at 7:30pm tonight in Jonesboro, AR.
South Alabama 2015 Football schedule and Spring Game Dates Released
South Alabama, in conjunction with the Sun Belt Conference office, released the full 2015 football schedule late last week. Previously the dates had only been set for the Jaguars non-conference schedule and the Jaguars knew who in the conference they would be facing, but not the dates.
The 2015 schedule will be a good one. USA has two nationally-televised home games on the ESPN family of networks this fall. The first will be on Tuesday, October 13 at 8pm against Arkansas State on ESPN2. The second will be against Louisiana-Lafayette on Thursday, November 12 on ESPNU.
Here is the complete football schedule:
- September 5 vs Garner-Webb Time:TBA
- September 12 @ Nebraska Time:TBA
- September 19 @ San Diego State Time:TBA
- September 26 vs North Carolina State Time:TBA
- October 3 @ Troy Time:TBA
- October 13 vs Arkansas State Time: 8PM
- October 24 @ Texas State Time:TBA
- November 7 vs Idaho Time:TBA
- November 12 vs Louisiana-Lafayette Time:TBA
- November 21 @ Georgia State Time:TBA
- November 28 @ Georgia Southern Time:TBA
- December 5 vs Appalachian State Time:TBA
Five of the 12 teams they face this season participated in bowl games last year including five Sun Belt teams that finished tied or ahead of the Jags in the final conference standings. Eight of the 12 posted winning records last season with three, Georgia Southern, Louisiana-lafayette and Nebraska, all earning nine wins last season.
Kickoff times for the games are yet to be determined.
This week the Jaguars announced when spring practices would start and announced the date of the annual Red-Blue Spring Game.
The Jags will hit the practice fields in less than two weeks as they start their spring schedule on Monday, March 16 for the first of 15 workouts over the span of four weeks. The full spring practice schedule will be released before spring drills begin.
The annual Red-Blue game is scheduled for noon on Saturday, April 11 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium and will be part of a big weekend of South Alabama sports. The Red-Blue game starts at noon, the nationally ranked Jaguar softball team will host Georgia Southern starting at 1pm at Jaguar Field and the baseball team will host Appalachian State at Eddie Stanky Field with first pitch scheduled for 6:30pm.