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.
Jags Fall To ASU 74-62
The South Alabama men’s basketball team fought back from a 16-point deficit against Arkansas State but could not overtake the Red Wolves Thursday night and fall on the road 74-62.
The Jags fall to 11-9 on the season and 8-4 overall in Sun Belt play as their season-best three-game winning streak was snapped. ASU improves to 13-8 overall for the season and 7-5 in Sun Belt play. The Jags hold onto second place in the Eastern Division and is currently tied for second place overall in the Sun Belt Conference standings. The Jags now trail Middle Tennessee by three games and lead FIU by two games in the Eastern Division. UALR leads the Western Division by one game over ASU.
Arkansas State’s Rakeem Dickerson scored 18 points, all of them in the second half and 14 of them from the foul line. Trey Finn also scored 18 and three steals for the Red Wolves.
Augustine Rubit led South Alabama with 18 points, while going 12-for-12 from the foul line. He also finished with nine rebounds, two short of a double-double, and two blocks. Javier Carter scored 11 points (10 in the first half) off the bench to tie a season high while added three blocks and two steals.
It was nearly 15 minutes into the game before the Jags got their first offensive rebound of the game.
The Jags trailed the entire second half but worked hard to battle back with runs of 6-0 and 7-0 to close within two points each time. However ASU would respond each time with runs of 7-0 and 8-0 of their own.
“It was an extremely physical game,” interim head coach Jeff Price said after the game. “It was hard-fought and intense on both ends. We put them on the line a lot. We got to the free throw line too but it’s hard to battle 43 free throws. We just couldn’t get a flow to the game because the flow stopped so much with the fouls. We were bending but we weren’t breaking. We kept fighting back but every time we had a chance to get over the hump we just couldn’t do it.”
“We just couldn’t make baskets when we needed to,” Price continued. “We were getting stops and then all of the sudden we’d foul and they’d make free throws. We missed a couple of easy shots we should have made. It’s hard to play on the road in this type of environment against a good basketball team. We just have to keep plugging away.”
Arkansas State went 30-of-43 from the free throw line with Dickerson going 14-of-16 and Finn went 8-of-10. Arkansas State opened up a 16 point advantage around midway through the first half, however a Jagaur run of 16-5 would cut the Red Wolves lead to 35-29 at halftime.
The Jags will face Arkansas-Little Rock on Saturday for a 7pm tipoff before returning home for another three-game homestand. The game can be heard on 105.5 WNSP and WNSP.com on Saturday.
Jags Look To Extend Three Game Win Streak At ASU
The South Alabama Jaguars men’s basketball team will try to extend their three game winning streak when they face Arkansas State tonight in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The Jags completed a three-game sweep at home with wins over Louisiana-Monroe, Western Kentucky and Florida International.
The Jags enter the game with an 11-8 record overall and an 8-3 record in Sun Belt play. Arkansas State holds a 12-8 record overall and a 6-5 record in Sun Belt play.
Arkansas State has won two of their last three games coming off of a 63-38 rout of Florida Atlantic on Saturday. ASU holds a 9-2 record at home. The Jags have won their last three games including a 60-58 win over Florida International last Saturday. The Jags are 5-3 on the road.
Augustine Rubit leads the Jags in scoring and rebounding averaging 19.1 points per game and 10.9 rebounds per game. Mychal Ammons is next with 10.9 points per game average and 7.2 rebounds per game average. The Jags will be without Freddie Goldstein for the second consecutive game after he suffered a broken colarbone against Western Kentucky.
The Jags are 45th in the nation in blocked shots with 4.8 blocks per game with Javier Carter leading the Jags with 38 blocks this season.
Ed Townsel is leading the way for the Red Wolves with an average of 14.8 points per game. Brandon Peterson is the only other Red Wolf that averages double-digits scoring with 11.4 points per game. Peterson also added an average of 9.6 rebounds per game and 23 blocks on the season.
The Jags and the Red WOlves are set to tip off at 7:05pm in Jonesboro, Arkansas. THe game can be heard on 105.5FM WNSP and WNSP.com.
Roberson Arrested As Suspect In Burglary
Xavier Roberson photo by John Adams | usajaguars.com
KLTV in Tyler, Texas reports that former South Alabama basketball player Xavier Roberson has been charged for a home burglary that took place on Christmas eve.
Roberson was suspended indefinitely in December by interim head coach Jeff Price for breaking then unidentified team and University rules.
Roberson, according to the report, was identified as one of the suspects and was arrested by the Humble, Texas police department on January 21 then transferred to Tyler, Texas on January 24.
The KLTV posts states that the Tyler Police responded to a burglary alarm on December 24 at a residence. Upon arrival, they discovered that a burglary had occurred. Dispatch received a call from a person who gave a vehicle description for a suspect. Another police officer saw the vehicle and attempted to stop them. The suspects threw stolen jewelry from the vehicle as they managed to get away. One of the suspects was identified as Roberson later.
He is being held on $300,000 bond as the police are still trying to identify two other suspects.
This is a very sad development for a gifted student-athlete.
The full report can be seen here.