Jags Survive Scare From Dillard To Win 82-73
The South Alabama men’s basketball team survived a scare from Dillard on Tuesday night at the Mitchell Center.
Midway through the second half the Jags needed a 17-3 run to overcome a one-point deficit and to hold off a late game charge to win 82-73. This win snapped a three-game skid by the Jaguars and put them back above .500 for the season at 6-5.
The Jags saw the NAIA Division I Bleu Devils come back from a six-point deficit at halftime and just would not be put away to give the Jaguars a scare. The Bleu Devils were led by Tyrone Williams who scored 35 points, second most ever in Mitchell Center history, by going 15-of-19 from the floor and 2-of-4 from outside the three point arc.
Rubit led the Jags with 21 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double, but he struggled from the free throw line as he went 3-of-10 from the charity stripe. Rubit is one rebound away from 1,000 for his career, he earned his fifth double-double of the season and the 47th of his career the most among active Division I players.
Junior Mychal Ammons chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds while leading the team in assists with three and also blocking two shots. While sophomore Barrington Stevens III added 13 points as the last of the Jaguars to score in double figures.
USA will travel to North Little Rock, Arkansas on Saturday to take on Arkansas. Tipoff is scheduled for 7pm.
Rubit Named SBC Player Of The Week
Augustine Rubit was named the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for his career performance against Gonzaga. Photo by John Adams | usajaguars.com
Senior Augustine Rubit, coming off of a career performance against #16 ranked Gonzaga on Saturday, was named the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the sixth time in his career.
He set a new career high with 35 points with 23 coming in the second half alone. He was 11-for-16 from the floor and made all three of this three-point attempts and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line.
His three 3-pointers were also a new personal best as the 35 points ties for the most by a Sun Belt player so far this season. It is his first 30+ point game of the season and the sixth of his career.
He also earned the national player of the week honor from StatSheet.com with his performance against the Bulldogs.
Rubit has been named the Player of the Week more than any other USA player.
South Alabama Sports Weekend Roundup
Women’s Basketball
Senior Olivia Mohler against Jackson State during the 2012 season.
South Alabama has a familiar face returning, but in a different capacity.
Olivia Mohler, former Jaguar volleyball standout, has returned to South Alabama but will be joining the Jaguar basketball squad.
She decided to play volleyball over basketball at USA and her volleyball eligibility expired after the 2011-2012 season. She was then offered the opportunity to play a season of basketball for the Lady Jaguars but she chose to persue a professional volleyball career overseas. However, when she failed to get her visa in time and had to return home, the opportunity resurfaced when she returned to USA to complete her work for her degree.
On Friday, she joined the lady Jags for her first basketball practice since high school.
First head Jaguar head coach Terry Fowler noticed her 6’2″ height coupled with her athleticism and competitive nature was a perfect fit for the basketball team.
The Lady Jaguars are on a two-game winning streak as they are set to host Ole Miss on Monday night at the Mitchell Center. She may see her first minutes of playing time then with only three practices under her belt.
“When the volleyball didn’t work out (overseas) and I came back, I talked to the coaches again and I decided to give it a shot,” Mohler told AL.com. “I’ve always loved the sport. They had said that I could contribute if I worked hard. I wanted to see if that opportunity was still there and it was. I guess it depends on how hard I work (how quickly she appears in a game). Hopefully, if I continue to work hard the coaches have said I can definitely contribute to the team the rest of the season.
“As far as volleyball and basketball go, as far as the level of play, playing volleyball and basketball is pretty much the same competition-wise, but the sports really don’t have a lot in common. There’s a lot more jumping in volleyball than basketball but the conditioning I’ve been doing is a whole lot different than what I’ve done in past years. … My basketball knowledge, just getting that back, I’ve been telling the coaches I’m working hard to get that back. I’m going to give it everything I’ve got. They are giving me the opportunity to play and I’m going to do everything I can for them. Hopefully my basketball knowledge will come back real quick.”
“I missed it a lot more than I thought I would, actually,” Mohler continued with AL.com. “It was kind of an easier decision to make when I was in high school. My dad and my brother both played basketball in college (at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College) and they were always pushing (me) toward basketball. Every year that I played volleyball I found myself watching (basketball) more and playing it more because I missed it a lot. I guess because it is in the family and it was hard because it was something I didn’t completely stop doing.”
Welcome back Olivia!
Men’s Basketball
Augustine Rubit was named to the All-SBC First Team and also SBC Preseason Player of the Year. Photo by John Adams | usajaguars.com
Augustine Rubit scored a career-high 35 points but Gonzaga held on for a 68-59 win over the Jaguars in the “Battle in Seattle” on Saturday.
The Bulldogs built up a 22-3 lead over the Jaguars with 9:49 left to play in the opening half, but Augustine Rubit connected on a 3-pointer which sparked the Jaguars to begin clawing their way back into the game.
With 9:39 left in the half, Rubit hits his first three-pointer, then after a Gonzaga dunk Rubit answered with one of his own, then after a turnover by Gary Bell Jr, Rubit hit a second three-pointer. A steal by Rubit on the other end of the court would set up Antoine Allen to nail a three and just like that the Jaguars were within ten points, 24-14 with 8:28 left until halftime.
South Alabama would cut the lead down to seven points with 3:45 left in the half after two free-throws by Rubit made it 30-23, but USA would only only net one basket the rest of the half and would go into the locker room down 41-25.
USA would open the second half on a 10-3 run, which included another 3-pointer by Rubit, to cut the lead to single digits again. But the Jaguars could only get within eight points of the ‘Zags the rest of the way.
Rubit took the team on his back as he was the only Jaguar in double-digits scoring for the game. He had 35 points and seven rebounds to lead the Jags on 11-of-16 shooting while making all 10 of his free-throw attempts. Aakim Saintil was the next closest scorer with eight points. Antoine Allen added six points and six rebounds.
Gonzaga had three to score in double-digits with Bell Jr leading the way with 20 points to go along with six rebounds. Sam Dower Jr. added 12 points and 11 rebounds and Kevin Pangos put in 10 points.
The Jaguars fall to 5-5 on the season as Gonzaga improves to 10-1. The national press calls the ‘zags win “ugly” and “too close for comfort”. Both teams struggled from the field as Gonzaga shot 41% and USA shot 32% for the game.
USA returns home to the Mitchell Center to face Dillard on Tuesday night for a 7:05pm tipoff.
Football
South Alabama receivers coach Jerry Mack is among four candidates for the head coaching position at North Carolina Central. Along with Mack, Winston-Salem head coach Connell Maynor, Southern University head coach Dawson Odoms and Nevada tight ends coach James Spadey are the top four for the position.
Mack is a native of Memphis and began playing at Jackson State before transferring to Arkansas State. As an assistant coach he has had stints at Delta State, Jackson State, Central Arkansas, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Memphis prior to South Alabama. He has also had internships in the NFL with the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills.
We could hear who they decide to hire by Thursday.
27 current and former Student-Athletes Graduate
South Alabama had 27 current and former USA student-athletes graduate Saturday at the Mitchell Center during the schools annual fall graduation ceremony. Among them six where All-Sun Belt Conference honorees and a pair of Player of the Year honorees.
Augustine Rubit was the 2012-2013 Player of the Year, but he was unable to attend due to the game against Gonzaga. Brittany Fowler was the softball Player of the Year also earned her degree.
Nolan Earley, Romelle Jones, Shelby Owen, Eddy Cabrera, Matt Calcagnini, Clifton Crews, Charles Harris, Bryson James, Kenneth Johnson, Alonzo Long, Byron Sneed, Montavious Williams, Drew Cofield, Jeff DeBlieux, Anthony Izzio, Brent Mitchell, Graham Odom, Ashton Krause, Jeff Long, Josh Nelson, Veronica Cherizol, Camille Reynolds, Chris Bockstael, Elina Strauniece were among the student-athletes who earned their degrees on Saturday.
Congratulations Jaguars!!
USA Men’s Basketball Travel To Seattle To Face Gonzaga
South Alabama men’s basketball team is traveling to Seattle to face #16 ranked Gonzaga.
The Jags, 5-4 overall but 0-3 in road games so far this season and coming off of a triple-overtime loss at Rice on a 3-pointer at the buzzer of the third overtime for the win.
Gonzaga, 9-1 on the season, are ranked #16 in the coaches poll and #25 in the AP Poll.
The game on Saturday night is being called the “Battle in Seattle” by Gonzaga and coach Graves says it’s accurate. “Statistically, they are one of the top five teams in the country on the offensive end of the floor,” Graves told AL.com about Gonzaga. “They are really skilled and savvy and can hurt you in a lot of different ways. It’s going to put an extreme test on our abilities defensively. First and foremost, to get back in transition; they’re unbelievable in getting the ball up the floor and either getting a quick layup or hitting an open three. And then they’ve got two bigs – 7-1 (Przemek Karnowski) and 6-9 (Sam Dower) – that are very good around the rim and very efficient at scoring the basketball. We’re certainly going to have our hands full there.”
Gonzaga do not rely only on the inside game. Four players average at least 10 points per game and a fifth is only one-tenth of a point away from averaging 10 points per game as well. Defensively teams have to be able to not only guard them in the paint, but also on the perimeter.
Kevin Pangos is leading the Bulldogs by averaging 19.6 points per game, Dower averages 14.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, Gary Bell Jr. adds 13.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, Gerard Coleman adds 10.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per game and Przemek Karnowski adds 9.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. They average 89.4 points per game while allowing only 71.9. They also out rebound opponents 371-319.
The Jaguars are led by Augustine Rubit’s 16.6 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game. Mychal Ammons follows that up with 9 points per game and 8 rebounds per game. Ken “Juice” Williams averages 8.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, Barrington Stevens III averages 8.5 points and 2 rebounds per game, ANtoine Allen averages 8.1 points and 3.0 rebounds per game and Aakim Saintil averages 7.6 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.
USA and Gonzaga tips off in the “Battle in Seattle” on Saturday at 9pm CST. The game will be carried on 105.5FM WNSP and will be on the Root Sports Network for television.
USA Basketball Defeats Spring Hill 91-41
The South Alabama men’s basketball team improved their overall record to 5-3 with a win over in-town NAIA opponent Spring Hill College at the Mitchell Center on Monday night in a 91-41 victory. The Badgers fell to 0-6 on the season.
Augustine Rubit who was recognized in a pregame ceremony for setting the school’s all-time rebounding record in a recent game, finished the game with 18 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes on the floor. His rebounding total moved him into second place all-time in career rebounds in the Sun Belt.
Ken Williams added 13 points and three rebounds while Dionte Ferguson scored nine points and had five rebounds. Actually all but one Jaguar player scored at least two points in the victory.
The Jags will travel to Houston, Texas to face Rice on Saturday, December 7 for a 5pm tipoff.
USA Men’s Basketball Faulter In Second Half Against MTSU
The Jaguar men’s basketball team lost to former Sun Belt Conference rival Middle Tennessee State 65-55 on Saturday. The Blue Raiders held the Jags without a field goal over the final 9:08 and finished on a 16-2 run to down the Jags.
The Jags squandered a first-half lead again this season as they held an eight point advantage at halftime but only shot 12.5% in the second half, one field goal in the final 14:20 and none in the final 9:08 of the game.
This puts the Jags at 4-3 on the season while the Blue Raiders improve to 6-1 on the season.
Middle Tennessee started a 13-0 run at the 5:32 mark with the final 10 points coming from the free throw line. The Jags went 0-for-13 from outside the arc in the second half after shooting 6-of-8 from there in the first half.
Augustine Rubit led all scorers with 15 points but fell short of a double-double with nine rebounds. Freshman Aakim Saintil added 14 points off the bench with a career high five steals. Junior Mychal Ammons added a game-high 10 rebounds.
South Alabama took control of the game in the first half when they had a 14-3 run over a six minute stretch to break a tie and give themselves an 11 points lead.
“I thought we came out and played really hard and focused early on,” said head coach Matthew Graves after the game. “Anytime you play on the road you want to get off to a good start and I thought we did that. We controlled the tempo, we were attacking and making plays that you need in order to get that lead.”
“In the second half we got lackluster and got on our heels,” Graves continued. “Like I told the guys in the locker room, I think it’s a three-part problem: one, I have to do a better job of putting the players in a place to be successful. Two, I think our guards need to be more in attack mode, not to score the ball but to get others involved, and three, our bigs were stagnant. We stood around and they weren’t as active in the second half as they were in the first half, so we have a lot of things we need to work on.”
“To a certain extent I think they turned the pressure up a little bit but I think it’s really more our fault,” Graves said. “We didn’t attack like we did in the first half and we didn’t continue to go at the rim. We settled for too many contested 3-point shots, which is what we want to give up on our end, but they made the adjustments and did what they needed to do. It’s really disappointing for us.”
“What they did was make a conscious effort to drive the basketball.” Graves said. “They have a veteran team over there and they took advantage of their opportunities. The bottom line is, we need to be tougher. We have to go after every loose ball. I thought we had a couple of guys do some good things and compete but we’ve got to have the whole team do that for an extended period of time.”
The Jags will return to action on Monday night when they host Spring Hill at the Mitchell Center. Tip off is set for 7:05pm.
USA Men’s Basketball Win Two Of Three In CBE Classic Over Weekend
Senior Augustine Rubit prepares to defend a Southern Miss player as they inbound the ball in the Jaguars loss to Southern Miss on Friday.
The South Alabama men’s basketball team played three games in three days for the CBE Classic held at the Mitchell Center. During the course of the weekend, the team went 2-1.
Southern Miss
On Friday night the Jaguars hosted Southern Miss to open their play in the CBE Classic. They started the game very well after USM scored the first three points of the game, but once the Jaguars took the lead, they did not look back for the remainder of the half.
With 6:57 left in the half, the Jags led by their largest margin yet with a 26-16 advantage, but USM would go on an 11-2 run in over a three minute span to cut USA’s lead to one point. They would manage to get the lead out to six points going into the locker room for halftime.
The Jags opened the second half with an 8-2 run then after an Antoine Allen trey, they led 53-40 with 10:42 left in the game. But the Golden Eagles would respond with 13-straight points with half of them coming from the charity stripe, to tie the game.
Rubit would sink one of two free throws on the other end of the court to regain the lead, but it was short as USM’s next trip down the floor they retook the lead, then extended it to four with a three-pointer with 2:47 left to play.
All-in-all, Southern Miss ended the game with a 26-6 run over the final 10-minutes of the game to defeat the Jaguars 66-59.
Augustine Rubit scored nine of his 17 points in the second half but only one point came in the final 10 minutes of play. Allen added 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc.
Wright State
The Jags returned to play on Saturday afternoon against Wright State and pulled out a 74-70 win behind Rubit’s 23 points and 13 rebounds while setting a new school record for career rebounds. He passed Terry Catledge with his 933rd career rebound in the first half and finished the game with 940 when the game ended. That number moves him into third all-time in Sun Belt Conference history as well.
This was Rubit’s 44th double-double of his career and his second of the season.
Houston Baptist
The men’s basketball team opened the second half with a 16-2 run to open up a huge lead to cruise to a 79-59 win over Houston Baptist on Sunday to end their play in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic.
After halftime, the Jaguar defense zeroed in on their opponents and did not allow HBU an opportunity to get back into the game as they forced them to miss 13 of their first 14 shots in the second half and forced four turnovers in the first eight minutes of the half.
Ken Williams started a 10-0 run which was capped off by Dionte Ferguson when he scored five-consecutive points. Austin Karazsia added a triple during the run as well to help the Jags open up a 29 point advantage with 11:14 left in the game.
Augustine Rubit led all players with 17 points and 13 rebounds for back-to-back double-doubles. He scored 14 of those points in the first 12 minutes of play. Barrington Stevens III ended the game with a team-high four assists, part of a 12-assist effort.
The Jags only had seven turnovers the entire game, the fewest since they recorded seven turnovers at Denver on February 20, 2011.
Rubit’s march up the record books continued as he moved into third place in USA career free throw attempts with 605.
South Alabama will have the week off until they host former Sun Belt Conference rival Middle Tennessee State on Saturday. The game will tip off at noon and will be carried on CSS TV.
USA Defeates William Carey 76-53
South Alabama Men’s Basketball team used a strong defensive effort to defeat William Carey 76-53 Monday night at the Mitchell Center. Four Jaguars, including two freshmen, scored in double-figures while holding William Carey to 35.1% shooting for the game.
William Carey ended the first half with a 7-2 run to narrow the Jaguar lead to 38-28 heading into halftime but the Jaguars defense opened the second half by only allowing one field goal in the first 5:43 of the second half and only went 8-of-29 (27.6%) overall in the second half.
William Carey came into the game ranked #10 in the NAIA preseason poll and averaging 92 points in the first two games of the season.
Senior Augustine Rubit earned his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds but struggling from the free throw line by going 2-of-12. The team as a whole only shot 14-of-30 from the charity stripe.
Freshmen T.J. Johnson and Ken Williams set career highs with 12 and 11 points respectively. Johnson came off the bend to shoot 5-of-7 from the floor and a perfect 2-of-2 from outside the 3-point arc. Williams went 4-of-6 from the floor and 3-of-4 from outside the arc. Williams came into the game shooting 1-of-14 from outside the arc.
Sophomore Barrington Stevens III scored all 10 points in the second half by going 4-of-4 in field goal attempts while adding three assists.
USA saw their lead fall into single digits only once in the second half as the Crusaders continued to fight to stay in the game. However a 12-3 run put the Jags up by 18 points. Junior Dionte Ferguson began the run with a dunk then freshman Austin Karazsia added four straight as part of an eight-point unanswered run by the Jags.
A 13-5 run near the finale of the game put the Jags up by 25 points with a minute left.
“I thought we did a good job of playing with a lot of intensity early on,” South Alabama head coach Matthew Graves said after the game. “We came out and really defended well early. One of our goals was to really improve in our transition defense and for the most part we did that tonight. So that was certainly a step in the right direction from the game with Texas to now.”
“We just need to continue to put together more of a full 40 minutes of action,” he continued. “We still have lulls in our game and part of that is having a young team and part of that is learning a new system. At the same time, the focus is each and every possession, you have to play it like it’s your last possession and we’re getting better at that but we still have a long ways to go.”
When asked about the teams free throw shooting Graves dismissed it, saying he was not concerned about it. He pointed out that against Texas they shot 80% as a team. Graves explained, “It’s one of those things that happens, you don’t want it to happen.”
Rubit’s march up the history books continues. He moved into fifth place in Sun Belt Conference history with 923 rebounds and stands 10 shy of fourth and 11 shy of third. He also only became the eighth player in school history to make 500 field goals. With his two blocked shots, he passes Ronald Douglas for fifth in school history.
The Jaguars will host the CBE Classic this weekend. The Jags will start against Southern Miss at 7:05pm in the Mitchell Center.
Texas Rallies Past USA In Second Half To Win 84-77
South Alabama men’s basketball team led by as many as 17 over the Texas Longhorns, but they outscored the Jags 53-32 in the second half including a 20-5 run at the end of the game to defeat the Jags 84-77 Tuesday night.
Jaguar senior Augustine Rubit scored a team-high 22 points, including the first nine of the game and his first two 3-pointers of his career. He also came down with a team-high of eight rebounds.
Fellow senior Antoine Allen nailed four first-half 3-pointers to tie his personal best. Mychal Ammons also had four three-pointers to add 16 points of his own.
The game was a tale of two halves. The first half was all Jaguars after they allowed Texas to score the first two points of the game, they would score the next six, including one of Rubit’s two triples. They would rush out to a 15-6 lead.
With 5:30 left till halftime, UT would cut the deficit to four points, but the Jags would respond with a 13-1 run to give the Jags a healthy 42-26 lead.
The second half was all Texas. The Longhorns trailed 72-64 with 7:30 left to play as Holmes started a 9-0 run to take their first lead since the opening shot of the game.
After a three to regain the lead, Texas tied it back up at 75-all. Ammons would give USA their final lead of the game with a layup, but the final points of the game would all go to Texas. They would make two free-throws then force a stop and convert it into a fast-break layup.
“First and foremost, I thought our team was well prepared,” USA head coach Matthew Graves said. “Our coaching staff did an excellent job of having our guys ready. We came out and attacked well versus their zone early. We did shoot a lot of 3s, but at the same time, when we went back and talked about it at halftime, they were good shots. We’ve got an undersized ballclub, but we have five starters that are all capable of making 3s.”
“In the second half, when Texas switched to their man-to-man defense, I was really disappointed with our ability to attack them. I thought once we had them spread out a little bit, we ended up driving the ball too much and we didn’t make the extra pass like we did in the first half. We had 10 assists in the first half and two in the second half. Against a man-versus-zone, it really shouldn’t be like that.”
“You have to credit Texas,” Graves said. “We had them down early and it’s a credit to them and their coaching staff that their players didn’t hang their heads and they came back and fought. Unfortunately we were on the wrong end tonight.”
Rubit moved into sixth place in school history with 1,421 points as he passed Demetric Bennett. He is also tied for sixth place in career blocks with 95 and is one shy of third place in career free throws made with 423.
South Alabama returns home to face Southern Miss on Monday, November 18 at the Mitchell Center as part of the CBE Classic. Tip off of that game is scheduled for 7:05pm.
Jaguar Men’s Basketball Defeat Detroit 74-58
The South Alabama Men’s basketball team opened their 2013-2014 season with a win 74-58 win over Detroit to give head basketball coach Matthew Graves the first victory in his head coaching career.
Junior Mychal Ammons earned his sixth career double-double with a career best 14 rebounds to go with 13 points and two blocks while making his only three-point attempt of the game. This is the 22nd consecutive season that the Jags have won their home opener.
Senior Antoine Allen scored 11 of his team high 17 points in the first half and went 4-of-5 from 3-point range in the game. Freshman Aakim Saintil came off the bench to add 12 points and 2 assists.
The Jaguar defense held Detroit to just 28.9% shooting for the game and 25.6% in the second half. Also, the Jags held Detroit to 1-for-14 shooting from outside the three-point line.
Detroit briefly had a lead after a Juwan Howard Jr. three-pointer put them up 3-2, but the Jags regained the lead on the next possession and never surrendered it.
Midway through the first half, Saintil led a 14-3 run that gave the Jags their largest lead of the game. He added nine of the 14 points in a four-minute stretch.
The lead grew to 22 points in the second half after a 13-2 run with scores from six different Jaguars.
USA committed only 15 turnovers in the game after committing 24 against Mobile in an exhibition game on Tuesday.
Augustine Rubit just missed another double-double as he finished with nine points and 12 rebounds. However he did record his 52nd career double-digit rebounding performance to break a tie with Terry Catlidge for first place in school history. He also moves into seventh place in career rebounds in Sun Belt Conference history with 903, he is only nine shy of sixth place. He is also seven points away from sixth place in USA history.
“First and foremost, I was really proud of our team’s effort,” Graves said in the postgame press conference. “I thought they came out right from the start and played aggressive. They shared the basketball and I was so happy to see us go from taking a good shot to taking a great shot. We did a great job sharing the ball. In the first half, I think we had eight assists on 13 field goals, which is outstanding. Defensively, we did a great job rebounding the basketball, especially from our guards’ standpoint. Our guards had over half of our defensive rebounds so in our two areas of emphasis in the first half we did a great job with both.”
“I would be remiss not to mention our defensive effort,” Graves said. “This is the second game in a row that we held a team under 30 percent field goal percentage. And if we continue to do that night in and night out it’s not going to matter what we shoot. We’re going to put ourselves in a great situation.”
“I thought they responded really well and part of that was the film session that we had on Wednesday,” Graves said. “Mobile did an outstanding job of preparing us for what we were going to see tonight. Our freshmen really listened and learned and we have to continue getting our post guys to handle the ball a little bit better. It’s new for them. We want them to play out on the perimeter and when they play out on the perimeter, it allows our guards better angles to drive and kick and make those extra passes. So I think our bigs will continue to get more comfortable handling the ball. I think ultimately our guards at the end there need to understand time and score and shot selection a little more. I think that will come with those young guys.”
The Jaguars will be hit the road to take on Texas. The game will be aired on the Longhorn Network with tip-off scheduled for 7pm on Tuesday, November 12.