February 22nd Vanguard Poll Question
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Jags Get Spanked In Bowling Green, KY By WKU 99-69
The Jags played Western Kentucky on Thursday night and came away with a spanking after losing 99-69. This drops the Jags to 15-13 for the season and 7-9 in Sun Belt play. While the Hilltoppers improve to 16-12 and 9-6 in the Sun Belt.
This loss was the the worst for the Jags this season and an all-time worst against the Hilltoppers. Also allowing a season high of 99 points in a game.
Jags at the Hilltoppers traded scores in the beginnings, however the ‘toppers would go on a 29-8 run over the next eight and a half minutes. Then WKU added another 7-0 run later in the first half and went into the locker room with a 53-30 halftime lead.
A.J. Slaughter was the focal point of the first half, scoring 21 points for the Hilltoppers on a 6-of-7 showing from the floor, making all four of his 3-point attempts. Including 5-for-5 from the free throw line. But in the first half, the entire WKU team shot 64% from the field, just over 61% from outside the arc and were perfect from the free-throw line.
In the second half the Jags could not get any closer than 17 points.
Coach Arrow had this to say about the Jags performance, or lack thereof. “We just no-showed,” he said. “That’s the second time this year that’s happened. I was just really disappointed with our effort. We didn’t stop anybody the whole time. We were scoring the first five minutes but we weren’t stopping anybody. Then we just stopped scoring and started going one-on-one. When we do that, bad things are going to happen. We’re limited in depth and we’ve got to learn to take time off the clock and work the clock far better than what we did tonight, especially against a good team like that.”
South Alabama’s Tim Williams had a team high 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting while Gary Redus, Martino Brock and Javier Carter all added 11 points each in the Jag effort.
The Jags will end their road swing of the season as they swing through Tennessee for their game against MTSU on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7pm and the game will be televised on ESPN Plus and ESPN360.com.
Latest News About South Alabama Sports February 16, 2010
Football
Earlier this month, the Jags signed 22 players for their 2010 class. Their process to get to Football Bowl Subdivision play will continue this week as they return to the practice field for Spring workouts.
On Thursday, they will begin working out for 15 practices which includes four full-contact practices and three scrimmages. Their practice period will end on March 10th when they will conclude their spring drill session with a 6pm scrimmage at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Admission and parking will be free. The other 14 workouts will be held at the Jaguars on-campus practice facility near the Football Fieldhouse. All events are open to the public and free.
Head Coach Joey Jones says things will be different from last year. “I expect the first day to be a really good day, as opposed to waiting three to five days to get things going last spring. Last year, we were starting from scratch. Nobody knew terminology or each other, but now we’ve started to build a team. We’ve gone through a summer program, a year and an offseason, so our kids know each other and what to expect from us as coaches. We should be able to pick up from where we were at the end of the season and progress from there.”
The opening week of spring drills will have the Jags out on the practice field for workouts on Thursday at 7:30am and Friday at 7am in only helmets. Then drills on Saturday at 9am with pads but no tackling. Four other full pads practices without full contact are scheduled for February 22, February 24, March 1, and March 8 all will begin around 7am. Their first full-contact practice is scheduled for Tuesday, February 23 at 7:30am with more scheduled for February 25, March 2 and March 4.
The Jags first scrimmage is scheduled for Saturday, February 27 at 9am. Other scrimmages are scheduled on Saturday March 6 at 11am and their final scrimmage on March 10 at 6pm. On Tuesday, March 9 at 9am, the Jags will work out only in pads in preparation for the scrimmage the next day.
Men’s Basketball
Bryan Sherrer went down with a knee injury early in the February 11th game against Florida International. It was announced yesterday by Coach Ronnie Arrow that he tore his lateral meniscus and will miss 2-4 weeks.
Bryan has started the first 26 games of the season and averages just over 10 points per game, which is third best on the team. He also ranks eighth in the nation in free-throw percentage at 90.8%.
This will be a big loss for the Jags as the Sun Belt Conference tournament begins in just about two and a half weeks in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The tournament is the only hope the Jags have to make the NCAA Tournament this season after losing two key players for the rest of the season back in January.
Martino Brock, a freshman, was named the Sun Belt Conference’s Men’s Basketball Player of the Week on Monday. This was his first honor of his collegiant career.
His contributions over the last week lead the Jags to two wins by averaging 18.5 points and 12.5 rebounds. He also recorded two double-doubles. He ranks second on the team in two categories, with a season average of 12.3 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game.
Women’s Basketball
After starting off strong (9-0) in the Sun Belt, the Lady Jags have cooled off with two 3 game losing streaks recently. They are now sitting at 4th place (of six) with a 9-6 record in the Sun Belt eastern division and in 6th place overall in the SBC.
Arkansas-Little Rock and Middle Tennessee State are leading their divisions, both with 13-1 records in the Sun Belt. UALR has the overall edge for the season with a record of 20-5 to MTSU’s 18-5.
However, it just came to our attention that Tashley Gaines has been dismissed from the team. She was the Jags leading rebounder and their third leading scorer. It is unknown why she was dismissed from the team at this time as no official announcement has surfaced.
Two Jags Score Double-Double’s As Jags Down Louisiana-Lafayette
Junior Tim Williams and Freshman Martino Brock both scored double-doubles as the Jags battle from behind to beat the Ragin’ Cajuns 67-65 last night in the Mitchell Center. The win puts the Jags at 15-12 for the season and 7-8 in the Sun Belt while the Cajuns fall to 11-14 overall and 8-6 in the Sun Belt.
The Jags came out and got a very early lead, but the Cajuns would overtake them and keep the lead well into the second half. At halftime, the Jags were down 35-25 after shrinking the Cajun lead but allowed them to pull back away in the final minutes of the half.
The second half saw many momentum swings. Back-to-back three-pointers from Brock and Williams to quickly cut the Cajun lead to four, 35-31 before a long delay by the officials while they reviewed an altercation between the Cajuns and Tabet that forced Tabet to leave the game for medical attention for a cut.
After the stoppage, the red hot Jags cooled off and the ULL scored the next five points. Then the Jags answered with a 9-2 run. But once again the momentum would shift and the Cajuns’ Tyren Johnson would score seven consecutive points all by himself.
Brock and Williams would take the momentum back for South Alabama by scoring seven points between them before Johnson converted a three-point play. But Tim Williams nailed a clutch trey with 7:22 left in the game to cut the Cajun lead to two points, 52-50.
Finally Allyn Cooks would give the Jags the lead again with a lay-up, 55-54. He would then cap off the 8-0 run with a three-pointer, pushing the Jags out to a 58-54 lead. But then Johnson would score the next four points to tie the game at 58.
Four Jaguar free-throws would break the tie in favor of South Alabama, 62-58. But once again, Johnson would be a thorn in the Jaguars side scoring five consecutive points of the Cajuns seven to regain the lead 65-62.
With some of the crowd thinking that the Jags were going to let this one slip away, Tim Williams would sink two free-throws to put the Jags down by one with seconds to go. After a turnover, Brock would come away with the rebound after a missed three by Williams and lay it in for a 66-65 lead with 23 seconds remaining.
Randell Daigle of the Cajuns would miss a jumper with 13 seconds remaining and Brock would come away with the rebound and would be fouled. Brock hit one of his two shots for the Jags winning score, 67-65. Daigle would miss a desperation three with two seconds remaining to end the game.
Coach Arrow after the game. “To win close games, you’ve got to have guys that will make plays. Tim made some big jump shots and made his free throws, and Martino had a big rebound and a put-back. We took care of the ball for the most part and we got stops.”
The Jags tied their season high in 3-pointers with nine and went 7-for-11 from 3-point range after halftime.
The Jags will take their final road swing next week as they travel to Western Kentucky on Thursday for a 7pm matchup. Then on Saturday they travel to Middle Tennessee for another 7pm matchup.
Jags Top The Golden Panthers At Home
South Alabama found a way to finish a game, unfortunately it was against one of the worst teams in the Sun Belt Conference. They came out on top in overtime by a score of 69-65. This improves the Jags record to 14-12 for the season and 6-8 in the Sun Belt. Meanwhile, Florida International falls to 7-20 for the season and 4-10 in the Sun Belt.
Senior Bryan Sherrer left the game early in the first half with a knee injury and did not return. With the problems the Jags have with their depth chart this season, this could have spelled doom for the game. However, Freshman Martino Brock was the one to lead the Jags by coming away with team-highs in points with 18 and rebounds with 12.
Yet again this season the Jags had a double digit lead in a game but would squander it late in the second half. They had the lead for almost 17 minutes in the second half but FIU would ride a 9-3 run into the lead for the first time in the game.
The two teams traded free throws before Brock tied the game at 60 in the waning moments of the game. FIU would attempt to win it in regulation but Gary Redus would block the shot.
FIU would score first in overtime with two free-throws but Redus would tie the game for the last time with a lay-up. It was Brock then, who would put South Alabama ahead for the final time with two free-throws. Then DeAndre Hersey would grab a missed shot by Brock and jam it home with a mere 40 seconds left to give the Jags a four point lead.
The Jags held FIU to 0-for-8 from the floor in overtime and 33.3% for the game. South Alabama didn’t do much better though, only shooting 33.8% for the game.
Coach Arrow on the Jaguars finish: “At the end of this game, we got some stops that we haven’t been getting in other games. We made our free throws, for the most part, and didn’t turn the ball over. That’s entirely different than what we’ve been doing in these other games where we’ve gone down to the wire. It was completely reversed tonight. We got some big buckets by different players and won the game.”
Coach Arrow also spoke about his teams strategy for the game. “We tried to spread it and get it to the hole. When Bryan went out, we had people playing in positions they haven’t played before. We had to go to our spread offense and try to get to the hole and pitch to the open man. We’re probably going to have to do more of that now with Bryan being out. We have some key guys who are out, and it’s given other guys opportunities that they need to take advantage of.”
The Jags final game of this homestand will be on Saturday against Louisiana-Lafayette with tip-off scheduled for 7:05pm.
Jags Split Two Games Last Week To End Four Game Losing Streak
The Jags split their two games last week to finally snap their four game losing streak.
The Jags traveled to play the University of New Orleans Privateers on Thursday in quite a sad environment. UNO announced that they are dropping from Division-I play to Division-III at the conclusion of this season. They had an estimated 150 in attendance with about 20 Jags fans in attendance. However, there were around 50 in attendance for the half time dance group.
It was a low scoring game with the Jags winning 59-51. South Alabama out rebounded UNO 40-23. The Jags took the game in hand late in the first half with a 17-4 run and went into the locker room with a 33-23 lead.
However, the second half opened with UNO going on a 14-2 run with four 3-pointers to regain the lead 37-35. Once again, the Jags took the game in hand with a 13-0 run. UNO would close to within six points twice, however the Jags would hold onto the victory.
Gary Redus and Tim Williams both scored 16 points against the Privateers with Williams getting his second straight double-double.
Coach Arrow had this to say after the game. “I’m just real happy for the guys. We’ve been working and we’ve had some situations that haven’t worked out for us. The things that we haven’t been doing late in games we did tonight. We didn’t turn the ball over late and made our free throws late. Those are the things we were doing earlier in the year when we were beating teams.”
On Saturday, the Jags had the lead by 16 points in the first half but allowed MTSU to tie the game up late in the first half. Actually, the Jags squandered two leads in the game to fall to 13-12 on the season and 5-8 in the Sun Belt Conference in the 80-68 loss.
Early in the game, the Jags built on the momentum of winning against UNO two nights earlier by starting off sizzling with a 14-2 lead. Shortly thereafter they had a 22-6 lead after a Martino Brock dunk.
However, the Jags would cool off and MTSU would warm up by answering with a 20-4 run to tie the game at 26. The Blue Raiders would take a 34-33 lead into half time.
The second half opened with the two teams trading the lead several times before the Jags opened up a seven point lead, 58-51 with 11:26 left in the second half. The lead came about as a result of five consecutive points from Brock.
However, the Jags would have another late half letdown. The blue raiders would score 20 of the next 25 points including 10 consecutive when they trailed the Jags 63-61.
MTSU would convert a turnover into a 3-pointer followed by a jumper from the field on their next possession and took the lead at 68-63 with 5:54 left in the game.
The Jags would commit three of their 15 turnovers in a span of four possessions and also missed four consecutive shots as the game slipped from their grasp.
Tim Williams scored a team high of 16 points in the game, with 11 of them after halftime. Bryan Sherrer had 14 and Gary Redus added 13.
After the game, Coach Arrow spoke about the loss. “This game was pretty much an exact replica, with the exception of New Orleans, of our last five or six games. We had at least a 10-point lead in the first half again and we haven’t been able to put the game away. They had kids that delivered and gave them big shots when they needed it.” Coach Arrow continued, “It’s frustrating for the players and it’s frustrating for us. It’s frustrating for our fans. We just have to find a way to come back.”
The Jags will continue their three game home stand against Florida International on Thursday with tip-off scheduled for 7:05pm at the Mitchell Center.
Go Jags!
Jags Fall At Troy 73-66
The Jags fall for the fourth straight game, this time at Troy in overtime 73-66. This drops the Jags to 12-11 on the season and 4-7 in the Sun Belt Conference.
Again it was a tale of two halves. The first half saw the Jags play very well and take a 30-21 lead in the locker room. But the second half saw them struggle once again.
The Jags halftime lead was thanks in part to a 1 of 9 start by Troy from the field and a scoreless stretch of 5:30 late in the first half. Both teams combined for a mere 13 points in the final 9:13 of the first half as well.
The second half saw Troy make up their nine point halftime deficit with a 13-4 run about midway through the second half. From that point on during regulation, neither team would lead by more than three points.
An old fashioned three point play from Troy with 1:51 left in the second half would mark the end of the scoring during regulation play. Tim Williams missed a game winning three point shot with 22 seconds left as well as Troy’s Michael Vogler had his game winning lay-up blocked by South Alabama’s Javier Carter in the final seconds.
In overtime, the Jags scored the first points however Troy would answer with six consecutive points to gain a four point lead 63-59. Martino Brock would sink two free throws but then Troy would answer with two field goals for a six point lead for the Trojans.
The Jags would cut the lead to three on two occasions but their lead was too much as the Trojans went 6-for-6 from the free throw stripe to close out the game.
Tim Williams scored a career high 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to tie his career best and get his second double-double of the season. Gary Redus was the only other Jag to score in double digits with 10.
South Alabama won the rebounding game this time coming away with 43 while the Trojans came down with 35. But the Jags had 17 turnovers to the Trojans 12.
A frustrated Coach Arrow had this to say after the game. “We just didn’t get it done at the end,” he said. “We made some good decisions and did some good things but at the end we made some bad decisions. We hurried some shots and didn’t do the things we had to do.”
The Jags next game is Thursday when they travel to New Orleans for a 7pm tip off against the Privateers.
Jags Fall For 3rd Straight Game 70-59 To Florida Atlantic
The Jags dropped their third straight game on Thursday night to fall to 12-10 on the season and 4-6 in the Sun Belt. The Jags have gone from near the top of the Sun Belt’s Eastern Division to next to last (ahead of Florida International).
Since losing Hersey and Sims for the season due to grades and Redus to an injury, the Jags have struggled. Redus is back, but probably won’t be 100% for a couple of games though.
The Jags were dominant in the first half by jumping out to a 16-6 lead while FAU missed their first seven attempts from 3-point range. But then a 20-5 run by the Owls would put them in control of the game.
The Jags had kept up with the Owls during the game but when they were tied 53-53 with 5:09 left in the game after two free throws from Philip Tabet. But then the Owls went on a 13-0 run over 3:38 to seal the game. South Alabama went without a field goal for 9:10 late in the second half, missing 10 straight shots. The Jags defense held the Owls to only 39.7% for the game but could only manage to shoot 32.8% themselves. Plus, once again they were out rebounded 47-38.
Tim Williams was the only Jag to score in double figures managing 14 points and Philip Tabet set a new career high by pulling in 10 rebounds in the game.
Coach Arrow had this to say after the game. “They had big shots and they executed. He [Mike Jarvis] has done a phenomenal job with a young bunch, of getting them to buy into patience on offense. They get after you on defense. We’re not doing enough late. Every game we have lost is at the end and we just don’t execute. We were shooting 46 and 52 percent from the field, now the last two games we’re shooting in the thirties. It’s just poor shot selection.”
The Jags will try to break their losing streak when they play at 11-10 (6-4) Troy on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 7pm.
Jags Fall To Denver 71-48
Jags lost for the fifth time in the last six games on Saturday, falling at Denver 71-48. What did in the Jags was 14 three pointers and only four turnovers by the Pioneers. This puts the Jaguars at 12-9 for the season and 4-5 in the Sun Belt.
The Jags entered the game ranked second in the Sun Belt and 32nd nationally in 3-point defense. While the Pioneers was ranked second in the league in both 3-point percentage and 3-pointers per game.
In a low scoring half, the Pioneers went into the locker room with a 29-20 lead.
For the game, the Jags show 37.5% with season lows in both field goals (15), field goal attempts (40) and assists (5).
Coach Arrow was very displeased with the Jags performance. “We didn’t show up tonight,” he said. “We don’t have the manpower to do the things we were doing early in the year, but they have a really good bunch and they’ll pick you apart. If you don’t come ready to play, they’ll pick you apart and shoot the heck out of it from the 3’s. The number one thing we put on the board (in the locker room) was ‘Guard the 3-point line.’ Fourteen out of 28 is not what I’d call guarding the 3-point line.”
He further commented, “Our continuity is just really bad right now. We have kids playing out of position because of injury. Our continuity isn’t anywhere close to what it was. We just have to get back home and start doing the things we were doing earlier in the year.”
The Jags will return home to face Florida Atlantic on Thursday night with a 7:05pm in the Mitchell Center.
Also it has been confirmed that Raymond Sims has been deemed ineligible for the rest of this season by the NCAA.
Jags Fall To UNT, Lose Watson For Season
The Jags fell again to North Texas on Thursday night 86-78 and fall to 12-8 overall and 4-4 in the Sun Belt. The Jags were out rebounded 48-31 in the game.
Why are the Jags having such problems now when they were doing so well early on? Simple, they have been without three players. Raymond Sims and LaShun Watson have been gone. Sims was suspended for ten games for breaking team rules and might possibly miss the rest of the season due to academic ineligibility. LaShun Watson will definitely miss the rest of the season due to being named academically ineligible by the NCAA. Also the Jags have been without Gary Redus due to an injury. So they have gone from 12 scholarship players to nine.
Compound the loss of those three players and the lack of inside production by the Tabet brothers and you have a recipe for problems. The other teams know they are short handed and have a lack on the inside so they have been playing them hard. Really hard. That is why the Jags have been keeping it close early in the game but fading late.
Redus should be able to return soon, which will help alot. But if Sims can get his act in gear and is also academically eligible (some rumors going around that he might not be) the Jags will be in much better shape.
What can be done in the mean time? The Tabet brothers have got to work harder to get rebounds and be an inside force. Phillips needs to be able to come in and make some shots.
We, the fans, need to come out to the Mitchell Center and help these guys out. They are getting knocked around and run up and down the court but are staying in the game down to the end. They need the Jaguar Nation to come out and be that 6th man. They need us to help push them those last minutes in the game, to give them that edge to beat their opponents.
Go Jags!! Bleed it Red!!