Jaguars Win In Impressive Fashion Over FAU
The Jaguars showed what they can do when they are hitting on all cylinders. They never trailed during the game and shot over 67% from the floor for the contest in their fourth consecutive home victory to get them above .500 for the season in the Sun Belt Conference.
Throughout the first ten minutes of the first half, FAU would not let USA get too far from their sights and would close the gap to within one point. But with a 15-3 run the Jags would never look back for the rest of the half gaining a 15 point advantage several times in the final four minutes of the half, going into the locker room up 46-31.
The second half would see both teams trading baskets but USA would eventually inch out to a 21 point lead at 60-39 at the 14:13 mark in the second half. FAU would not give up, battling back with a 15-5 run in just under four minutes to close the lead to 11 points, 65-54.
FAU and the Jaguars would continue trading shots until FAU closed the lead by one more point to 10, 77-67, with 4:48 remaining in the game. But USA would finish the game with a 14-3 run for the final score of 91-70.
Coach Arrow said after the game, “I thought tonight that we went ahead and put them away. We shared the ball really well tonight. Twenty-six assists is super. We executed our plays and in transition. When we took the lead early, our defense got steals, layups and deflections. We played with a lot of energy to start the game.”
Florida Atlantic’s Paul Graham III lead all in scoring with 27 points on 10-22 shooting, going 3-8 from 3-point range and hitting all four of his free-throw attempts. Shavar Richardson added 24 points as well as being the only other player in double-digits for FAU.
Brandon Davis lead the way for the Jags with 23 points on 9-10 shooting from the floor and 5-6 from the free-throw line, he did not attempt any 3-point shots. Domonic Tilford scored 17 points hitting 3 of the Jaguars six 3-pointers for the game. LaShun Watson scored 12 points and had a tie for the most assists for the game with DeAndre Coleman with 7. Bryan Sherrer scored 11 and CJ Garner added 10 points to round out the double digit scorers.
USA as a team has 8 blocks and 13 turnovers compared with FAU’s one block and 9 forced turnovers. USA led with 46 points in the paint to FAU’s 20 and 27 fast break points to FAU’s 2.
The Jaguars are back in action on Thursday when they travel to Middle Tennessee State for a 7pm tip-off against the Blue Raiders who won their previous match-up at the Mitchell Center 82-67. A win against MTSU would move USA over MTSU into 3rd place in the Eastern Division.
GO JAGUARS!
USA Win On Buzzer Beating Shot Against FIU
South Alabama finally got to celebrate after a buzzer beating shot this season. Over the previous several weeks, USA have been on the losing end of the last second shot brigade but LaShun Watson nailed a 3-pointer as the clock expired to give the Jaguars a much needed 66-65 win Thursday night at the Mitchell Center.
USA would score first on a Ronald Douglas layup but it would be FIU who would gain the lead for the next three minutes of the game. A jumper by Brandon Davis would tie the game again at the 16:41 mark.
Over the next five minutes a team would get a small lead then the other would come back on a short run to retake a short lead. This was until the Jaguars went on an 11-0 run over a four minute span to firmly take the lead by eight at 25-17 and would not give it up again the rest of the first half. FIU would close the gap to three points with a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left in the first half to go into the locker room down 35-32.
The second half would start with USA shooting 7 for 11 from the floor while holding FIU to only 2 for 10 and taking a 10 point lead in the meantime. USA held a 10 point lead three times in the second half, once at the 11:14 mark, the second at the 9:26 mark and the third at the 5:34 mark.
However the lead would not last with FIU going on a 10-2 run with back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers by Alex Galindo while USA could only muster two free-throws during that stretch. USA was then up 62-60 when CJ Garner was fouled with 1:15 left in the game, he only made one of this two shots. Then a layup by FIU shrunk the lead to one with 1:07 left and FIU called a 30 second time out.
Watson missed a jumper with 43 seconds left that would have put USA up by three points but FIU would come away with the rebound and call another time out with 33 seconds left. Coming off the time out, FIU’s Alex Galindo hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left forcing USA to take a time out with 7 seconds left to set up a game tieing or game winning play.
Coach Arrow said after the game, “It was a flare play for (Dominic) Tilford, and Bryan (Sherrer) had enough about him to see they jammed him, but he found LaShun (Watson) and he nailed the shot.”
FIU’s Alex Galindo lead all in scoring with 26 points on 8-15 field goal shooting while hitting 8-11 from 3-point range and both free-throw attempts. Russell Hicks added 15 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Tremayne Russell also added 12 points in the losing cause.
LaShun Watson lead USA in scoring with 17 no 7-11 field goal shooting, going 2-2 from the free-throw line and hitting his only attempt at a three for the game at the buzzer. Brandon Davis added 14 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double. Ronald Douglas added another 10 points in the win. Davis’ 10th double-double of his career and leads all active USA players in that category as well as moving into 9th place all-time in rebounding in USA history.
Again, poor free-throw shooting by USA combined with 10-19 3-point shooting by FIU made for a close game.
USA improves to 14-11 for the season and evens their Sun Belt record to 7-7 while FIU falls to 10-17 and 5-9 in the SBC. USA will get a day off before hosting Florida Atlantic on Valentines day with a 7:05pm tip-off at the Mitchell Center.
So go out for an early Valentines Dinner with your special someone and then head over to the Mitchell Center to support your JAGUARS!!
Western Kentucky Proves To Be Too Strong Down The Stretch For The Jaguars
WKU was too strong down the stretch for the Jaguars and won the contest in Bowling Green, 67-59. The game was broadcast on ESPN2 and Coach Arrow said, ““Fans got to see across the country what the Sun Belt is all about. Both teams made a good showing they just got some things done at the end that we didn’t.”
The Hilltoppers jumped out and dominated the first 3:57 of the game by holding them scoreless. WKU then pulled out to a 16-8 lead before they hit a cold streak for the next 4:04 allowing the Jags to tie the game.
The remainder of the first half saw the Hilltoppers pull away towards the end of the half for a 33-26 halftime lead.
Orlando Mendez-Valdez had a hot hand in the first half and that continued in the second half. The Jags pulled within two less than two minutes into the second half but Mendez-Valdez connected on one of his ten 3-point attempts to keep WKU in the lead. However by the 15:55 mark, the Jaguars took the lead, for the first time in the game, on a Ronald Douglas dunk on a pass from Domonic Tilford.
The Jaguars would pull out to their largest lead at five points at the 13:46 mark in the second half. But the Hilltoppers would not give up and would start working their way back.
After a few ties and swapping leads, the two teams would be tied for the last time on a 3-pointer by WKU with 3:47 left in the game at 59. After a timeout by USA, DeAndre Coleman would be whistled for a three second violation and USA would go scoreless for the final 3:47 of the game.
Orlando Mendez-Valdez lead all scorers with 24 on 9-20 shooting while going 6-10 from 3-point range and no free-throw attempts. AJ Slaughter and Steffphon Pettigrew both scored 13 for the Hilltoppers.
DeAndre Coleman lead USA with 13 points while three Jags scored 12: Brandon Davis, Ronald Douglas and Domonic Tilford.
The Hilltoppers record improves to 17-7 and 11-2 in the Sun Belt to stay in first place in the Eastern Division. While USA falls to 13-11 and 6-7 in the Sun Belt to be in 4th place in the Eastern Division.
The Jaguars will host Florida International at the Mitchell Center on Thursday, February 12th with tip-off slated for 7:05pm.
Come out and support your Jaguars!
Jags Win Second Straight Home Game Downing UNT
The Jaguars even their Sun Belt record at 6-6 and improves to 13-10 overall while North Texas drops to 12-10 overall and 5-6 in the conference.
The Jags lead most of the first half after UNT took the lead with the first score of the game. The Jags pulled out to a modest lead but UNT would close the gap to three at halftime, 37-34.
UNT would keep it close in the second half, getting within one point with 14:49 left in the game. The Jags would then go on a 19-3 run to gain an 11 point lead for the second time in the game, the other time was 9:38 mark in the first half.
UNT would then go on a 13-2 run of their own to take the lead for the first time since 25 seconds into the first half. But LaShun Watson would step up and drain two jumpers to score the final four points in the last 1:20 of the game.
Domonic Tilford would lead all scorers with 22 points on 6-15 shooting, also going 4-6 from 3-point range and hitting all six of this free-throws. Brandon Davis added 15 points and LaShun Watson added 14 including the final four of the game.
Ronald Douglas tied his career high with six blocks in the game in his second game back from a shoulder injury. DeAndre Coleman fouled out early in the second half without scoring any points.
North Texas had two scorers in double digits: George Odufuwa and Eric Tramiel both with 14. Tramiel also came down with 13 rebouds for a double-double.
The Jags travel to Western Kentucky for a 1pm tip-off Saturday that will be televised on ESPN2.
GO JAGS!
Women’s Basketball Roundup 2009-02-03
The lady jags have gone 2-2 over the last four games since I last wrote about them on this site. Thus its time for a Lady Jag Roundup.
On January 21st the Jags hosted the SBC west division leading University of Arkansas Little Rock at the Mitchell Center. But despite Ra’Shawna Sippio’s third straight double-double USA fell 53-44.
Sippio tied a career high in scoring with 22 points and added 10 rebounds. She was the only Jag in double digits for the game. She added three blocked shots for the game as well. Chastity Reed of UALR lead all scorers with 28 points and 13 rebounds while Anshel Cooper chipped in with 11 points as well.
While USA came into the game with the second best average of 8.2 3-pointers per game, they were held to a mere 2-15 from outside the arc. Combined with 32% shooting from the floorand 71% from the free-throw line, it was obviously a long night for the Lady Jags.
On January 24th the Lady Jags traveled to Lafayette Louisiana to take on the Ragin’ Cajuns. A really good start in the first half helped the Lady Jags to come out with their 14th victory of the season and 5th in the Sun Belt Conference.
In the first half the Jags outshot ULL 57%-30% from the floor, 47%-17% from 3-point range but missed both free-throw attempts while ULL connected on 6 of 8 attempts.
The second half was even with the Jags hitting 9-23 from the floor, 2-12 from 3-point range and 5-12 from the free-throw line. While ULL went 12-30 from the floor, 3-8 from 3-point range and 2-3 from the free-throw line. So the 8 point lead at halftime led to a 14 point win.
The Lady Jags had four in double digits scoring. Shakira Nettles led the way with 18. Ra’Shawna Sippio added 13 points and 12 rebounds for yet another double-double. Shaniece Brunner and Jessica Starling both scored 11 points.
On January 29th the Lady Jags traveled to Denver Colorado to take on the Pioneers at Magness Arena. However another Ra’Shawna Sippio double-double could not lead the Jags to a win in overtime, 61-56.
Both teams were scoreless for the first two and a half minutes of overtime until Denver University scored. They then took a 60-53 lead on two consecutive buckets before Karina Sproal got USA on the board with three free throws. However USA could not come up with baskets in the closing seconds to lose by six.
Ra’Shawna Sippio lead all scorers with 21 points and 10 rebounds but no other Jag scored in double digits for the game. Denver had two double digit scorers: Britteni Rice with 18 and Ketlyn Murdoch with 11.
However the telling stats are from overtime. Denver going 3-6 from the floor, 1-2 from 3-point range and 1-2 from the free throw line while USA went 0-6 from the floor, no attempts from outside the arc and 3-3 on free throws.
On January 31st the Lady Jags hosted UNO in the second half of a double header at the Mitchell Center. The Jags captured their 15th victory of the season in their 68-60 victory.
Shakira Nettles lead all scorers with 23 points on 8-15 shooting from the floor while going 5-9 from 3-point range and 2-2 from the free-throw line. Ra’Shawna Sippio scored 14 with 10 rebounds for her sixth straight double-double. Morriah Smith and Jessica Starling both added 11 points.
UNO’s Jada Frazier scored 17 points, Brittany Helm added 14 and Cookie Johnson chipped in with 11 in the loss.
The lady Jags will host North Texas Wednesday night with tip-off scheduled for 7:05pm at the Mitchell Center.
Come out and support the Jaguars!
Jaguars Break Losing Streak, Down UNO 56-53
This was the fourth consecutive game decided in the final seconds but this time the game went in favor of South Alabama. After having lost three consecutive games on the last possession, it was a huge relief to the Jaguar faithful to be on the winning side of one.
USA lead the entire first half and went into the locker room with a nine point lead. However, in the first five minutes of the second half the Jags would see their lead fizzle away when a trey with 11:38 left in the game would give UNO their first lead of the game.
The game would stay close throughout the rest of the second half with the lead changing hands once more to the Jags and five ties. Jags held the lead at 54-53 with 33 seconds left when a 3-pointer by T.J. Worley missed its mark. DeAndre Coleman gathered in the rebound and UNO was forced to foul. Coleman made both free-throw attempts to cap off the win.
The Jags won even though they shot 30% from the floor compared to 43% for UNO. The Privateers hit 50% of their 3-pointers compared to 44% for the Jags. However, USA went to the free-throw line 24 times making 16 of them compared to UNO’s 13 trips and 7 made shots.
Points in the paint was even with 18 each, pts off turnovers USA 13, UNO 9. Second chance points USA 21 – UNO 7, fast break pts UNO 11 – USA 2, bench scoring USA 16 – UNO 0.
DeAndre Coleman lead the scoring for USA with 16 on 3-8 shooting, making his only 3-point attempt and sinking 9 of 14 free-throw attempts. Brandon Davis came away with a double-double by scoring 13 points on 5-10 shooting and going 3-4 from the free-throw line. He added a career high 16 rebounds, 13 defensive in the game.
Ronald Douglas made his first appearance since Jan. 17. He injured his shoulder during practice and had to sit out to let it heal. He did not score but did come down with four rebounds.
New Orleans T.J.Worley scored 25 points to lead all scorers going 10-19 from the floor, 4-8 from outside the arc and hitting his only free-throw attempt. Kyndall Dykes scored 11 to be the only other UNO player in double digits.
Coach Arrow said after the game, “I think we kept our poise, but the difference in this one was we ran our plays better, we got a couple of easy buckets and when they fouled we made our free-throws.” Arrow also added “Coleman’s second free throw was supposed to be a miss, but we were positioned in the right spots.” as an indicator that this game was meant for them to win.
South Alabama hosts North Texas on Thursday night at the Mitchell Center with tip-off scheduled for 7:05pm.
Come out and support your Jaguars!
Denver Edges USA On Last Second Shot 56-54
This was the third consecutive game where the game was decided in the final seconds and it also marked the third consecutive loss for the Jaguars.
The first half saw Denver shoot 67% from the field and from 3-point range as well as 60% from the free-throw line. While USA struggled only shooting 48% from the field and missing on all six attempts from outside the arc.
Denver had pulled away throughout the first half and went into the locker room with a 37-28 lead.
Defense tightened up for both teams in the second half. Both teams combined to shoot 34% from the floor with both teams suffering long field goal droughts. Denver shot 32% from the floor and only hit one of 11 3-point field goals and 4 of 9 free-throws. USA shot 37% from the field with no attempts at a 3-pointer and hit 12 of 18 free-throws.
The Jags went without a field goal for the final 5:58 of the game. Denver did not convert a shot over a 7:33 span late in the game. But Nate Rohnert hit a lay-up with a mere 5.1 seconds left in the game to break the tie at 54. Denver took a quick timeout so USA set up a quick play to try to tie the game and go into overtime. Coach Arrow said after the game, “The plan was either to go inside to Brandon Davis or Domonic Tilford was going to have the ball. We passed it a little too late.”
Tilford took the shot but it was waved off by the officials. Unsure if he actually got the shot off before the buzzer the officials congregated and talked it over. Eventually going to the game officials to watch a replay of the final shot and determined that, indeed it was too late.
DeAndre Coleman lead all scorers with 17 points on 4-7 shooting and connecting on 9 of 10 free-throws. Brandon Davis added 15 points but was in foul trouble late in the game. Denver had two players in double digits. Nate Rohnert scored 12 and Rob Lewis scored 11.
After the game, Lee Shirvanian talked with Coach Arrow. “I don’t know what to say. I feel bad for the guys. Yeah, we make the key mistakes but we play hard enough to win. We’ve played three games in a row that we’ve lost at the buzzer that we played hard enough to win. It’s got to change…”
Hopefully it will change for the Jags on Saturday when the Mitchell Center will host a double header. The men will take on New Orleans with tip-off set for 2pm and it will also be televised on CSS. The lady Jags also take on New Orleans with tip-off scheduled for about 7:05pm or about 30 minutes after the men’s game concludes.
Jags Fall On The Road With 3-Pointer At Buzzer
Down by one point with time expiring, Randell Daigle put up a despiration shot from 35 feet away. Everyone watched on both sidelines and arena seats as it fell to give the Jaguars their first road loss in the Sun Belt this season.
In the first three-plus minutes of the game, the Jags quickly ran out to a 7-0 lead. The Ragin’ Cajuns would end the scoreless drought by tipping in a missed shot, but would only make one of thier first 11 attempts from the floor.
ULL would counter the Jags early run with a 12-2 run of their own to give them their first lead of the game. The Jags would only lead once more in the first half at 13-12.
USA would get within two points with about four-and-a-half minutes remaining in the first half at 25-23 but would only be able to connect on two more field goals over the rest of the half.
In the first half the Jags committed eight turnovers and forced only three of their own and trailed in free-throw attempts by 13-2. They would go into halftime down nine points 37-28.
Most of the second half was the Jaguars slowly chipping away at the ULL lead. Domonic Tilford would cap off a 7-0 by the Jags with 4:14 left in the second half to put the Jags up 62-59. ULL would hit two jumpers to retake the lead with just under two minutes to go.
USA would turn the ball over three times and ULL would miss four shots from the field in the final three-plus minutes of the game. Domonic Tilford would hit a shot with 2.4 seconds left to give the Jags a 65-64 lead but would watch Daigle’s despiration shot fall at time ran out to give the Win to Louisiana-Lafayette.
DeAndre Coleman would lead all scorers with 26 points on 7-12 shooting, missing his only 3-point attempt but sinking 12-15 free-throw attempts. Coleman also added 14 rebounds with 11 coming on the defensive side. Domonic Tilford would add 16 points for the game to be the only other Jaguar in double digits scoring.
Travis Bureau would pace the Ragin’ Cajuns with 18 points on 5-11 shooting while going 2-8 from outside the arc adn 6-9 from the free-throw line. Chris Gradnigo would add 13 points and Tyren Johnson would score 11 to round out the double digit scorers for ULL.
USA would hold the advantage of scoring in the paint 28-14, pts off turnovers 12-11 but ULL would out score USA 21-5 from the bench.
USA would edge ULL in shooting percentages, 44%-35% from the field, 44%-26% from 3-point range and 77%-74% from the free-throw line. However the percentages work out, ULL had more shooting attempts 58-54 FG, 27-9 3-point and 27-17 free-throw.
USA drops to 11-9 for the season and 4-5 in the Sun Belt while ULL is 7-11 and 4-4 in the Sun Belt.
The Jaguars will finish out their two-game road swing when they visit Denver on Thursday for an 8pm tip-off. The game will be televised regionally on FSN Rocky Mountains.
Go Jags!
USA Loses On Layup In Finals Seconds Against UALR
A basket in the finals seconds allows University of Arkansas Little Rock to pull out a victory for the Jags at the Mitchell Center. A UALR layup with 15 seconds left ended a game that saw eight lead changes in the second half.
Most of the first half was played pretty tight with the largest UALR lead being six on two occasions before the Jaguars had a rough end to the first half when UALR scored six consecutive points in the finals 70 seconds to take a 34-25 lead into the locker room for halftime. A total of 25 fowls were committed in the first half with both teams visiting the charity stripe 29 times.
USA, over a two minute stretch in the second half, made their first run to get back into the game with an 8-2 run. But then UALR would extend the lead back out to seven with back-to-back shots in a 25 second span.
The Jags would then have a 7-0 run for gain a one point advantage at 44-43. Then over the next four minutes the lead would change hands five times with each teams advantage being one point until a 3-pointer put UALR up by two.
USA would regain the lead at 51-50 when Brandon Davis would convert three points the old fashioned way by making a basket while being fouled and sinking the free throw.
The trojans would pull out to a 59-55 lead in the waning minutes. The Jags would then score four points to tie the game at 59 over a 1:16 stretch. UALR would then have possession of the ball with 40 seconds left. Then Shane Edwards would lay in a basket with 15 seconds left to seal the game for the trojans at 61-59.
Domonic Tilford would lead USA in scoring with 15 on 6-19 shooting and 3-9 from beyond the arc. DeAndre Coleman scored 12 and pulled down 13 rebounds for a second double-double in the last two games. Brandon Davis rounded out the double digit scorers for USA with 11 and 8 rebounds.
The Trojans Shane Edwards lead all scorers with 23 points on 8-11 shooting, 1-2 from 3-point range and sinking all six free throw attempts. Matt Mouzy with 12 points was the only other trojan in double digits scoring.
USA out rebounded UALR 41-29 but were outshot in the game 41%-36% from the floor, 42%-19% from 3-point range. Both teams sank 14 free throws with USA going to the line 24 times, once more than UALR for the contest.
USA took the court without Ronald Douglas who injured his right shoulder in practice on Wednesday. He is expected to miss at least one week. The 6′ 8″ Douglas has averaged 5.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game and leads the team with 39 blocked shots.
The Jaguars fall to 11-8 (4-4 SBC) for the season, 0-4 at the Mitchell Center this season but are 4-0 on the road in the Sun Belt Conference. The Jaguars will start a two game road swing when they travel to Louisiana-Lafayette for a Saturday match-up with tip-off scheduled fro 7:15pm.
GO Jags!
Jaguars Win Another Road SBC Game Against ASU
Jaguars have fared very well on the road in the Sun Belt Conference this season and it continued against Arkansas State with a 74-67 victory in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
The Jaguars would put together the games first run late in the first half when USA held ASU without a field goal over 6:14 outscoring them 9-1 to take the lead at 26-20 with just over two minutes left in the first half. The game would be tied up at 28 in the final 30 seconds of the first half. But LaShun Watson would bank in a long jumper at the buzzer to take the Jags into the locker room with a two point lead.
USA would break open the close game early in the second half with a 16-1 run and would hold on for the remainder of the game for the win.
Domonic Tilford would lead all scorers with 20 on 7-15 shooting and hitting 3-6 from 3-point range and 3-4 from the free-throw line. DeAndre Coleman would score 16 on 4-11 shooting and 8-10 from the free-throw line plus adding 15 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. LaShun Watson would score 11 and added 7 rebounds. Brandon Davis would score 10 to round out the double digit scorers for USA.
Donald Boone led Arkansas State with 17 points while JeJuan Brown added 14 and Daniel Bryant added 11 to round out the ASU double digit scorers.
USA had 34 attempts and hit 21 from the free-throw line while ASU had 27 attempts and hit 20 of them. USA led scoring in the paint with 34-26, pts off turnovers 24-15 but ASU outscored USA from the bench 38-14.
USA will be in action again on Thursday, January 22nd when they host UALR who leads the Western Division by two games. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05pm at the Mitchell Center.