South Alabama Athletics Weekend Update
Men’s Basketball
The Jaguar Men’s basketball team defeated North Texas at the Mitchell Center on Saturday night 69-57. Four Jags scored in double figures with Javier Carter earning his third career double-double on Senior night.
The Jags started their conference home schedule with a loss, but ended it against North Texas with seven consecutive wins. This improved the Jags to 16-10 overall and 13-5 in Sun Belt Conference play. UNT fell to 11-19 and 6-13 in Sun Belt play.
Senior Wendell Wright set a new career high in scoring with 10 points and a season best five rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Mychal Ammons led all scorers with 18 points. Augustine Rubit was held to nine points, but came down with 15 rebounds.
The Jags never trailed in the game.
USA continues to hold onto second place in the conference with a 13-5 record, one game ahead of Arkansas State who clinched the western division title with a 12-6 Sun Belt record.
The Jags basketball team travels to Western Kentucky for a Thurday night tip-off set for 7pm. It will be broadcast on ESPN3.
Women’s Basketball
The Lady Jaguars defeated North Texas 65-61 behind Mansa El’s 19 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals in her final game at the Mitchell Center.
The trio of seniors, Mansa El, Camille Reynolds and Mary Nixon combined for 44 points to lead the way for the victory.
The Lady Jags improve to 15-12 overall and 8-10 in Sun Belt play. They are fifth out of six schools in the Sun Belt’s Eastern division, one-half game behind FAU for a tie for fourth place and in eihth place overall in the conference.
The Lady Jags will travel to Western Kentucky and play the Lady Toppers on Wednesday night with tip-off set for 7pm.
Baseball
The Jags set a new school record Friday night at Eddie Stanky Field by defeating former conference foe University of New Orleans 29-6 after a 13 run eighth inning.
Their Saturday game was rained out, but they were able to get in a double-header on Sunday which the Jags sweeped with more modest scores of 4-1 and 5-2.
The Jaguars baseball team improved their record to 7-0 on the season. They will return to action on Tuesday and Wednesday when they travel to Jacksonville, Alabama to face Jacksonville State University for a two-game mid-week series. First pitch for Tuesday’s game is set for 6:30pm at Rudy Abbot Field.
Softball
The Lady Jags traveled to Jacksonville, Florida for the Jacksonville University Tournament. They went 4-0 before their final game was cancelled due to field conditions.
The Jags earned their seventh run-rule win of the season when they defeated Mount St. Mary’s 12-2 in 5 innings in the early Friday game. They then turned around and faced host school Jacksonville University and came away with a 7-0 win.
On Saturday, the Jags had another two game schedule. Their first was against Seton Hall which they earned their eighth run-rule win of the season with an 8-0 win in 6 innings. Their late game on Saturday was against Delaware which they won in a 1-0 decision.
The Lady Jags will be back in action on Thursday when they travel to Tuscaloosa for a make-up game against the University of Alabama. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00pm.
Track and Field
USA had two all-conference performances in the first day of the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships on Sunday. They also had a new school record set on the first day.
Nick Farrell came in first place and earned all-conference honors in the men’s pole vault when he cleared 5.00m. While his teammates William Henley and Connor Smith finished as part of a three-way tie for fifth place by vaulting 4.70m.
Briana Aiken also earned all-conference honors in the women’s long jump when she set a new school record of 6.01m. She finished in third place.
Complete results can be found here on the Jaguar Athletics website.
Day two will begin on Monday at 9am.
Jags Four Game Winning Streak Ends To MTSU
The South Alabama Men’s basketball team had their four game winning streak broken in Murfreesboro, Tennessee Thursday night by the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 85-50. With the win, MTSU clinched the #1 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
The Blue Raiders scored the first 13 points of the game and held the Jags to a mere 28.6 percent shooting for the game. MTSU improved their overall record to 24-4 (16-1 SBC). South Alabama fell to 15-10 on the season (12-5 SBC).
The Jags only managed to shoot 26.1 percent in the first half while committing 14 turnovers before halftime. The Blue Raiders held USA to only one field goal over a 10-minute span and led by as many as 19 points in the first half.
The first 13 points of the game all went to Middle Tennessee before Trey Anderson got the Jags on the board with 14:30 left to play in the first half. MTSU also had a 12-2 run later in the first half to pull out to a 40-21 lead and would take a 41-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The second half was more of the first with MTSU putting together a 23-6 run with back-to-back three-pointers to pull out to a 36 point advantage.
Augustine Rubit earned his 15th double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Mychal Ammons also scored 13 points before fouling out of the game. Anderson scored 11 points off the bench for the Jags, a season-high for him.
MTSU had five players in double-digits for the game.
“We just didn’t play well,” interim head coach Jeff Price said after the game. “You can’t come in and play a team like this, in this environment, and play poorly on both ends of the floor. You have to do one or the other and I thought we did not play well on either end. I’m more disappointed than anything in our defense.”
“We turned the ball over and our turnovers led to their easy baskets,” Price commented. “When you come in here, you have to take care of the ball. We talked so much about throwing the first punch in this game, we know how well they do early in games, and we’re sitting there down 13-0. It’s just a big hole to climb out of here.”
“I didn’t think we stayed in front of the ball well, I didn’t think we were good in our transition defense and we didn’t guard the rim like we have been,” observed Price. “That has not been a normal pattern of our team and we just have to go back to work. We have a big game on Saturday. We have to get this one past us and move on to the next one.”
The Jags will host their final home game of the season on Saturday when they face North Texas for Senior night. Trey Anderson, Wendell Wright, Freddie Goldstein, and Javier Carter will be honored Saturday night.
The Jags final three games will determine their seeding in the Sun Belt Tournament. They continue to hold onto second place in the conference by one game over Arkansas State. The Jags have North Texas, @ Western Kentucky and @ Troy to round out the season.
Tip-off is set for 7:05pm on Saturday against North Texas and the student section is planning a special surprise at halftime.
Rubit Garners Some National Attention
Augustine Rubit set a new career-high with 34 points with 12 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season against ULL. Photo by John Adams | usajaguars.com
Augustine Rubit was mentioned by Pat Forde of Yahoo! Sports (sports.yahoo.com) in a section of his post called “Under-The-Radar Love”.
Forde points out that Rubit is the only player to rank among the top 20 nationally in scoring and rebounding. Rubit currently ranks 16th nationally in scoring with an average of 19.5 points per game and 9th in nationally in rebounding with an average of 10.6 rebounds per game.
Rubit is coming off of a career record 34-point game against Louisiana-Lafayette where he also pulled down 12 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season. He also shot a career high 16 free throws and is averaging almost 10 foul shots per game.
Rubit may be flying under the radar nationally, but he is not so under the radar in the Sun Belt Conference.
He ranks first in the conference in rebounding with an average of 10.7 per game while also ranking second in the conference with an average of 19.6 points per game. Additionally, Rubit ranks first in offensive rebounds with 4.5 per game, third in defensive rebounds with 6.2 per game, fifth in blocked shots with 1.3 per game, sixth in free throw percentage at 77.9%, seventh in minutes played with an average of 33.8 minutes per game and eighth in field goal percentage with 49.4%.
If you want to read Forde’s post, you can find it here.
South Alabama Run Away With 88-64 Win Over Louisiana-Lafayette
Augustine Rubit set a new career-high with 34 points with 12 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season against ULL. Photo by John Adams | usajaguars.com
The South Alabama Jaguar Men’s Basketball team defeated Louisiana-Lafayette 88-64 Thursday night at the Mitchell Center. The Jags cruised to their fourth win of the season behind a 34 point performance by junior Augustine Rubit.
This four-game win streak is the longest of the season and marks their seventh win in their last eight games as they improved their overall record to 15-9 and 12-4 in Sun Belt play. The Cajuns record fell to 9-17 on the season and 5-10 in Sun Belt Play.
Earlier in the season, Rubit had tied his career high of 32 points when the Jags played at Louisiana-Monroe. But he broke that career high on 11-of-16 shooting from the floor and 12-of-16 from the foul line while grabbing 12 rebounds for this 14th double-double of the season.
Mychal Ammons also earned a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor and 2-of-4 from outside the three-point arc. He scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half.
The first half was close until the final four minutes before halftime when the Jags began to pull away. A 9-0 run with a three-pointer by Antoine Allen moments before halftime really put the momentum in the Jaguars favor with a 39-28 lead at intermission.
The Cajuns never really mustered a challenge in the second half as South Alabama’s lead swelled to 17 points in the first five minutes of the half. Then an 11-1 run would grow the lead to 24 points with a score of 72-48 with 8:04 left in the game.
While Rubit and Ammons were the only Jaguars in double digits, Dre Conner had a team-high of five assists with nine points and Javier Carter added eight points. Antoine Allen had eight points while four other Jaguars scored points as well.
ULL’s Elfrid Payton scored 17 points and a game-high seven assists while Kasey Shepherd added 16 points off the bench and the Conference’s leading scorer Shawn Long added 11 points for the game. Bryant Mbamalu, the conference’s seventh-leading scorer was held to four points on 1-of-6 shooting.
“It was good to see us put together what I thought was a total game for two halves,” interim head coach Jeff Price said in his post-game press conference. “The first half, I thought we played really well and the second half we built the lead some. We’ve had these leads before and allowed them to go down so it was good to see our team be able to step up a little bit and build this thing up instead of let it go down. It happened in a lot of ways. I thought we turned it up defensively in the second half.”
“We felt like this was a game where we could have some success inside with him (Augustine Rubit),” Price said. “Our game plan will be consistent. We don’t have a lot of secrets here. We need to get the ball inside.”
“I haven’t even looked at the stats, but I could tell he (Mychal Ammons) was active,” Price said noted after the game. “I talked to Mike a lot this week about how he wasn’t rebounding like he was earlier. He just wasn’t rebounding the ball and tonight, before the game, he needed to get me 10 and he got 11. It’s more of a focus with Mike and if he really puts his mind to it. I mean, he’s as athletic as anyone on the floor and as strong as anybody in the league and when he wants to he goes and gets it.”
“They shot the ball well,” Cajun head coach Bob Marlin said in his post-game conference. “I thought Rubit shot it well from the perimeter as well as from the post. (Javier) Carter had a really nice game and made some jump shots. Mychal Ammons had a nice game outside. That might be the best front line in our league from the 3, 4, and 5 positions.”
“Mychal Ammons and Antoine Allen are very good defensively,” Marlin continued. “They’re strong, they’re quick, and they’re aggressive. And when they can lean on you like they did tonight, it’s hard to get it over them. Bryant worked hard, but credit South Alabama.”
The Jags will have a week off to prepare for a trip to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to take on the Sun Belt Eastern Division and overall Conference leader Middle Tennessee State (22-4 overall, 14-1 SBC) on Thursday with tip-off scheduled for 7:00pm.
“We know that’s going to be a really tough game on Thursday and we didn’t want to talk about it until we got this one out of the way,” Price said. “We’ll talk about it a lot this week and see if our guys can answer the challenge on the road. We’ve played well on the road, 5-2 on the road against some really good teams.”
Jags Host ULL Tonight Looking For Fourth Consecutive Win
The South Alabama men’s basketball team will try to get their fourth consecutive win Thursday night when they host Louisiana-Lafayette at the Mitchell Center for a 7:05pm tip-off.
The Jags have equaled their season-high three-game win streak and have won six of their last seven games. The Jags enter the game with a 14-9 record overall and an 11-4 record in Sun Belt play, which is good for second place in the Conference and the most by the school since the 2007-08 season.
Louisiana-Lafayette will enter the game with a record of 9-15 (5-9 SBC) and leads the conference in scoring with 71.3 points per game and three-point field goals with 7.1 per game. Also in their last two games they are averaged 97.5 points per game.
The Jaguars defense, currently ranked second in the conference in field goal percentage and 3-point percentage in conference games will definitely be tested tonight.
The Ragin’ Cajuns has three players in the top seven in scoring in the conference. Shawn Long is third with an average of 15.8 points per game, Elfrid Payton is sixth with an average of 15.2 points per game and Bryant Mbamalu is seventh with an average of 14.8 points per game. Long also leads the conference in double-doubles with 15. Payton put up 26 points against the Jags in Lafayette earlier this season in a double-overtime thriller win by the Jags.
In the game back on January 10, Augustine Rubit also scored 26 points, Dre Conner and Antoine Allen both had 19 points and Mychal Ammons came off the bench to earn a double-double.
Jaguar interim head coach Jeff Price has the team playing well despite having a player dismissed from the program and another out due to a broken collarbone. In the last few games they have become quite adept at grinding out wins the largest margin of victory being four points in the last four wins.
Go Jags!
Rubit Earns Third SBC Player Of The Week Honor
Augustine Rubit scored 18 points to move into the Top 10 career scorers in South Alabama history. Photo by John Adams | usajaguars.com
Augustine Rubit was honored as the Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the third time this season as announced by the Conference on Monday.
Rubit averaged 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while leading the Jaguars to their two wins this past week. In the two games he shot over 46 percent from the floor, 75 percent from the foul line, blocked two shots and had the game-winning put-back against Florida Atlantic on Saturday.
On Thursday against Troy, Rubit earned his 13th double-double of the season with 21 points and 12 rebounds while making his last 10 shots from the foul line to help the Jags down the Trojans 65-62.
He then followed up that performance with 18 points against Florida Atlantic, including the game-winning put-back with 35.2 seconds left in the game for a 72-71 victory. He did that on a sore ankle as well.
His five rebounds against the Owls put Rubit into 14th place in Sun Belt History for career rebounding with 820. Also his 18 points moved him into the Top 10 of career scorers for South Alabama with 1,245.
South Alabama will host Louisiana-Lafayette for the third and final game of a three-game home-stand on Thursday evening. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05pm at the Mitchell Center.
Jags Hold On To Defeat FAU 72-71
Augustine Rubit scored 18 points to move into the Top 10 career scorers in South Alabama history. Photo by John Adams | usajaguars.com
The South Alabama Jaguars needed a key putback by Augustine Rubit to hold on for a 72-71 win over Florida Atlantic at the Mitchell Center Saturday night in front of the largest crowd in two seasons. Rubit missed his shot with 35.2 seconds left in the game but fought for the rebound and putback.
The win improves the Jags record to 14-9 overall and 11-4 in Sun Belt play, the Jags first 11 win conference record since the 2007-2008 season. Florida Atlantic falls to 11-15 on the season and 6-9 in Sun Belt play.
“It was just another really hard-fought game,” interim head coach Jeff Price said in his post-game press conference. “I keep telling people our games are going to be battles. With our depth and the way we’re limited, we just have to grind out games. I don’t know that we’re going to blow anybody out. I sure would love to, but I think this is something we’re going to see the rest of the year. Our guys know how to play in close games. If you go back and look at our win margins, they’re really close, but we’re finding a way to get it done. We’re doing what we need to do at the end of the game, which is impressive to our credit.”
Rubit finished the game with a team-high 18 points and five rebounds. He accounted for the Jags final seven points of the contest but missed several minutes in the second half due to an ankle injury. He was able to play down the stretch but was visibly limping at times.
“He (Rubit) really wasn’t anywhere near 100 percent, but if he’s in the game, we’re going to go to him, hurt or not hurt,” Price explained. “We went to him, and he found a way to get it done. He had a late basket, and the last one he missed, he tipped it back in. He did what he had to do, and he did a nice job on the last defensive possession before the timeout.”
It was another game that kept the fans engaged and excited as neither team led by more than two points in the final 6:16 of the game. Actually there were 12 ties and 12 lead changes.
Jordan McCoy tied the game at 63-63 with a three-point play at the 6:16 mark then both teams traded scores on the next six possessions, which was capped off with two foul shots by Stefan Moody with 4:04 left in the game to tie it back up at 69-69.
Defenses on both ends of the court would tighten up only allowing five total points in the final four minutes of the game. Rubit broke a tie making one field goal before McCoy hit two to take the lead with 1:02 left in the game. Rubit’s key tip-in came with :35 seconds left in the game to give the Jags the final margin of 72-71.
South Alabama went into the locker room at halftime thanks to free throw shooting. They made 11 of 12 attempts while only shooting 34.6 percent from the floor.
Florida Atlantic’s Greg Gantt is the eighth-leading scorer in the nation and had a game-high 23 points on 4-of-8 shooting from outside the arc. However the Jaguar defense was held scoreless for almost the final 14 minutes of the game.
“I think we were very dysfunctional in the first half,” Price observed. “We were lethargic again, and we were standing around too much. They crushed us on the offensive glass in the first half. We gave up 13 points in the paint and nine offensive rebounds, which can’t happen with our team.”
“Gantt’s just a great player, and you have to know where he is at all times,” Price said. “If you let up off the ball for a second, he’s going to find a way to get open. They screen for him, and he doesn’t need a lot of space to get a shot off. He’s a good player. He cut loose a couple times, but I thought our effort was pretty good on him for the most part.”
The Jags shot 18-of-20 from the free throw line in the game. Rubit moved into South Alabama’s top 10 in career scoring and into 14th place in the Sun Belt in career rebounds.
The Jags close out their three-game homestand on Thursday when they host Louisiana-Lafayette for a 7:05 tipoff at the Mitchell Center.
SBC Officials Choose New Orleans To Host Future Basketball Championships
Almost lost lead-up to National Signing Day, the Sun Belt Conference office announced on Tuesday where the future Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments will be held starting in 2014.
Conference officials announced that Lakefront Arena in New Orleans will be the new host site of the SBC Tournament through 2016. Previously, Lakefront Arena hosted the Sun Belt Championships in 2002 when the University of New Orleans was a member of the conference. However this time it will be a neutral site for the tournament, making it the third such arena to host the Sun Belt Tournament as a neutral site.
Recently Lakefront Arena has undergone renovations that include $3.5 million eterior metal facade and sloped roof panels, a $1.5 million state-of-the-art bitumen roof system, $2.5 million in new seating with 8,700 total seats, $1.2 million in ramp renovations, new flooring through out the second level concourse, new tiles and restroom fixtures throughout the building, lighting upgrades, a new sound system and the addition of two new lounges.
This announcement about the relocation of the tournament comes with a year left on the existing agreement with the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Both parties mutually agreed to split ways after the fifth consecutive year of hosting the Tournament after this year’s tournament on March 8-11.
“All of the characteristics that make New Orleans one of the greatest tourist destinations in the world will guarantee that the Sun Belt Conference’s student-athletes, fans, coaches and administrators will love coming to the ‘Big Easy’ every March,” Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation CEO Jay Cicero said in a statement with the Sun Belt Conference. “We look forward to playing an important role in making this one of the NCAA’s best conference tournaments.”
“New Orleans is a great destination for our basketball championships and the recent renovations to Lakefront Arena make it an excellent venue to showcase our league,” Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Karl Benson said in a statement on Tuesday. “In addition to being a great geographical fit for our membership, New Orleans has an incredible track record of hosting great sporting events – including the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl which has had a Sun Belt participant since the inaugural game in 2001. The city’s great restaurants, shopping, entertainment and accommodations, provide Sun Belt fans numerous things to do when away from the arena.”
“New Orleans is a great destination for Sun Belt fans, as those who have attended the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl can attest,” said Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr., Chancellor of Troy University and President of the Sun Belt Conference Executive Committee in the statement. “It provides an excellent geographical fit for our league and is easily reachable for our fans. As we make this announcement, however, I would be remiss if I did not thank the City of Hot Springs for four and soon to be five memorable tournaments, starting in 2009.”
“The city of Hot Springs and the Hot Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau have been terrific for the Sun Belt Conference,” said Commissioner Benson. “When Hot Springs began hosting the tournament in 2009 it was the first neutral site that the Sun Belt had used in over twenty years. The leadership of Steve Arrison and his staff made the existence of a neutral site basketball tournament for the Sun Belt possible.”
“We have had a great partnership with the Sun Belt Conference over the past five years and are looking forward to a great tournament come March,” said Hot Spring Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO Steve Arrison in the statement released by the Sun Belt Conference. “We originally had only a three year deal with the Sun Belt and are fortunate that next month we will have had five outstanding Sun Belt tournaments here in Hot Springs.”
Dates for the 2014 tournament will be released at a later date. But it is very exciting that New Orleans will be the host for the next three years. It’s a much easier location to reach for fans and has virtually unlimited sites and activities for fans to enjoy outside of the Arena. The city definitely had the upper hand as that is where the Conference headquarters are still located.
Jags Second Half Rally Downs Troy 65-62
Rubit earned his 12th double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds against in-state foe Troy. Photo by John Adams | usajaguars.com
The South Alabama Men’s basketball team fought their selves back from an eight point deficit in the second half to defeat Troy 65-52 Thursday night at the Mitchell Center. The Jags had a 20-5 run in the second half and 20 consecutive free throws to end the game as they improve their overall record to 13-9 (10-4 SBC). Troy’s record falls to 10-14 on the season and 5-8 in Sun Belt play. This was the first win by the Jags after trailing at halftime.
Augustine Rubit notched his 13th double-double this season with a team-high 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Dre Conner added 11 points and a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line.
The Jags dug themselves a hole early in the game by going 4-of-13 from the foul line. But once they warmed up they made 20 in a row down the stretch to help retake the lead. Trey Anderson got it started when he made two shots with 10:25 left in the game then Rubit and Conner would combine for the next 18 shots, including the final 16 points of the game.
All through the first half the Jags and Trojans traded the lead back and forth until Troy took a five point lead into halftime. But the Trojans would take control in the second half with a 10-3 run to pull out to their largest lead of the game, 43-35 with 12:40 left in the game.
Rubit and Javier Carter would combine for eight points as the Jags answered with their own 10-3 run. But after two free throws by the Trojans, the Jags would take the lead for the final time with a 10-0 run.
Troy would work themselves within two points on three different occasions and would pull within one point, 61-60, with 18.1 seconds left when Hunter Williams hit a three pointer. However Rubit would draw a foul and sink both shots for a 63-60.
On the other end, Carter would get his fifth block of the game when he rejected a three-point attempt with eight seconds left in the game. Then Barrington Stevens III would foul Emil Jones as he was trying to pass the ball to send him to the line to shoot a one-and-one with 3.6 seconds left in the game.
Jones would make both shots to pull within one point again. But Rubit would seal the game with two free throws forcing Troy to take a desperation half-court shot at the buzzer. But the shot missed it’s mark.
Carter finished the game with eight rebounds and five of the Jaguars nine blocks in the game. He went a perfect 3-of-3 from the floor.
“That was a really hard-fought game,” interim head coach Jeff Price said after the game. “I don’t think anything is going to be easy for us at this point and it’s just a really hard-fought game. To their credit, I thought that they did a great job of making things difficult for us on the offensive end. They play a zone, they play a switching soft man to man and it really had us back on our heels in the first half, really the first thirty minutes of the game. That’s to their credit.”
“We have to do a better job of attacking,” Price continued. “Finally, towards the end of the game ,I thought we took over the game. In the last seven or eight minutes I thought we got really aggressive. We got the ball inside and we got to the free throw line. And like I keep saying that’s going to be the key to our team is to keep defending and keep getting to the free throw line.”
“Our free throw shooting was tremendous down the stretch,” Price observed. “We had 20 consecutive free throws which is outstanding. That won the game for us.”
“I thought Javier ,defensively, was really great,” Price said. “That’s why I always put him in late. He got a block on a three late in the game because of his length. And we were switching everyone one through five.”
The Jag will continue their three-game homestand against Florida Atlantic on Saturday in a Women’s and Men’s doubleheader at the Mitchell Center. The Lady Jaguars tip-off at 5:00 with the Men set to tip-off at 7:30pm (or 30 minutes after the Women’s game if it goes long). The game will be available on the Sun Belt Network (CSS/Cox).
Jags Down UALR 70-66 In Little Rock On Saturday
Mychal scored 16 points against UALR, including two key shots and a block near the end. Photo by John Adams | usajaguars.com
The Jaguar men’s basketball team held on to defeat Arkansas-Little Rock 70-66 on Saturday. The Jags held a 15-point lead in the first half but needed a key shot by Mychal Ammons and some defensive stops to hold onto the win.
The win by the Jags improves their overall record to 12-9 on the season and 9-4 in Sun Belt play. Arkansas-Little Rock falls to 14-10 overall and 8-5 in Sun Belt play. The Jags continue to hold onto second place in the Eastern Division but are now solely in possession of second place overall in the conference. USA trails Middle Tennessee (20-4, 12-1 SBC) by three games. UALR falls into a tie with Arkansas State atop the Western Division but both have a four game lead over third place in the Western Division ULL (8-16, 4-9 SBC).
Augustine Rubit and Antoine Allen would both score a game-high 17 points each. Rubit would earn his 12th double-double of the season by adding 11 rebounds. Rubit also hit nine of his 12 attempts from the foul line.
Allen would go 3-of-7 from outside the arc while hitting on 11 of his attempts from the floor and dishing out three assists.
“I’m just really proud of our team,” interim head coach Jeff Price said after the game. “We did a great job of following the game plan. Our guys are buying to what we have to do to win. I thought we were extremely patient on the offensive end, which is what we talked about, we held them to 34 percent, we won the battle at the free throw line and they just did what we asked them to do.”
“Our team is always going to be better when we’re making perimeter shots,” Price said. “Antoine shot the ball well and it certainly helps, and I thought he was solid on the defensive end too. Everybody chipped in — the starters, the bench — it was just a great team effort.”
With 6:38 left in the game, the Jags held a 13 point advantage but they would see the Trojans cut it down to only two points in a span less than five minutes.
Following a Jaguar time out, Ammons would drive the right baseline for a key layup to give South Alabama a 66-62 advantage with 48.3 seconds left in the game.
“We were up two, called a play, got good execution and got a great basket from Mychal,” Price explained in the post game conference.
Ammons was not done though. On the defensive end on the UALR possession, be would block a shot that led to an Allen layup with 33 seconds left in the game.
Jaguar players would then go on to miss three of their last four foul shots to allow UALR to make it a one possession game. Ammons would come through again by hitting his final attempt of the game with 10.9 seconds left in the game to make the final score 70-66.
The Jags held the Trojans to 34.4% from the floor, the lowest allowed by a Jaguar opponent this season. In the first half, USA would force five consecutive missed shots and two turnovers over a four-and-a-half minute span in the first half for a 7-0 run to gain a 12 point lead on the Trojans.
“Home teams are going to make runs,” Price explained. “These guys hadn’t lost a league game at home yet, so you know they’re going to make a run. We talk about that all the time and I thought our guys did a good job of sticking their chest out, being resilient and fighting off the run at the end of the game.”
“We were just focused on the defensive end,” Price said. “We watched tape, we talked about it and I didn’t think we did a very good job at Arkansas State (Thursday). We did a really nice job of guarding the ball. They’re a very set-oriented team. I thought they were well scouted, we knew their offense and they had hard time in their sets.”
In the second half, UALR only managed to shoot 32.4% from the floor and were held to 4-of-17 shooting from outside the 3-point line.
Ammons would end the game with 16 points, one short of sharing the game high with Rubit and Allen. Ammons also made his only three-point attempt of the game.
Ben Dillard led the Trojans with 15 points while Josh Hagins added 13 points. Will Neighbour had a team-high 10 rebounds.
Jags will return home to face Troy to begin a three-game homestand.