Jags 20-0 Run Tops Off 32 Point Win Over Spring Hill
The South Alabama Jaguars faced two opponents in this game, its longest layoff since opening the season in mid November and a 10 point deficit. But the Jaguars woke up from its holiday slumber and beat the cross town challeger by 32 points in the end.
With 7:30 left in the first half, Marcus Coleman hit his sixth 3-pointer in the half to put the Badgers up 39-29 and give them their final double digit lead of the game. The Jaguar defense would come on strong to end the first half only allowing two field goals in the rest of the first half and cutting the Badger lead down to two at the half.
DeAndre Coleman would give USA their first lead of the game at just over one minute played in the second half, 34-33 and opened up a 39-35 advantage. But the Badgers would keep themselves in the game, bringing the contest to 41-40 still early in the second half. Then the Jaguars, over the next five and a half minutes, would take firm control of the game with a 20-0 run that was capped off with two Domonic Tilford 3-pointers to make the score 61-40 with under 11 minutes left in the game. The Badgers would be outscored in the second half 57-23.
Domonic Tilford would lead the Jaguars in scoring with 19 on 8-17 shooting and going 2-8 from 3-point range. He was followed by Brandon Davis with 13, LaShun Watson with 12, and C. J. Garner with 11. DeAndre Coleman fell one point short of a double double with 9 points and 11 rebounds on the night.
Marcus Coleman lead all players in scoring with 30 on 10-18 shooting all of that from beyond the 3-point arc. His next closes scorer was Jeremy Price with 10.
Jaguars out shot the Badgers 50%-29% from the floor, and 80%-55% from the free throw line while the badgers held the edge from beyond the 3-point arc 35%-25%. Also, the Jaguars held the edge in rebounds 48-29 for the game. USA also led the Badgers in point in the paint 56-12, points off of turnovers 15-6, second chance points 20-5, fast break points 16-10 and scoring from the bench 40-12.
USA will return to Sun Belt Conference play on New Years day when they travel to Florida Atlantic for a 1pm tip-off.
Go Jags!
Lady Jags Roundup
The lady Jags have played six games during the December stretch so far and have gone 5-1 to run their overall record to 10-2 for the season and 2-0 in SBC play.
December 2nd the lady Jags hosted Houston Baptist and won a blow-out 83-48. Shakira Nettles scored a game high 21 points on 8-12 shooting, 5-8 from 3-point range and Vontrice Dennis chipped in with 13 points as the only two Jags to score in double digits. Jessica Starling helped with 10 rebounds for a game high as well.
The Lady Jags out-shot houston Baptist in all three categories Field Goals 42%-37%, 3-point Field Goals 44%-22% and Free Throws 77%-47% and out rebounded the opponents 52-32.
The only loss during the stretch came on December 6th at Southern. Poor first-half shooting was too much for the lady Jags to overcome on the road and lost 62-58. The Jags only hit two field goals in the first 10 minutes of the game and fell behind 18-6 and went into the lockerroom with a 35-26 deficit.
The second half, Deidre Jackson’s hot hand continued and prevent USA from chipping away at their lead but rather pushing it out to 45-31. After Coach Petri called a 30-second time out, the lady Jags intensity returned and cut the lead to 54-51 with 3:43 left in the game. Back to back baskets stretched the lead out to 58-51. Starling hit two free throws with 10.3 seconds left to cut the lead but Southern sealed the game with two free throws of their own.
Jessica Starling lead the game in scoring with 17 points and Shakira Nettles scored 11 for the only two Jags in double digits scoring. The lady Jags were out-scored in all three categories, Field Goals 34%-52%, 3-point Field Goals 23%-38% and Free Throws 53%-56%. But the telling numbers are the shooting stats from the first half where the Jags were horrible shooting 27%-58% FG’s and 20%-50% from 3-point range.
The Jags traveled to Memphis, Tennessee on December 11th and came away with an impressive win 66-49. Both teams came out struggling shooting and only made 4 of their first 17 shots combined. With Memphis up by one with just over eight minutes to go in the first half, the lady jags went on a 14-2 run over five minutes and would go into halftime with a 35-23 lead. USA forced 14 turnovers which lead to 15 points and held a 24-14 point advantage in the paint in the first half.
The lady jags kept the heat on by forcing seven turnovers before the first media timeout of the second half. USA had the lead stretched out to 41-25 with 15 minutes left in the game when Memphis hit back to back shots to get within 12 points of the lady jags, but that would be as close as they would get for the remainder of the game. USA would stretch the lead out to 64-38, a 26 point lead, but held onto a 17 point win.
Ra’Shawna Sippio lead all scorers with 18 points and 12 rebounds and Shakira Nettles tossed in 14 to be the only other lady jag in double digits scoring. The lady jags won three of the big four stats: FG’s 36%-34%, FT’s 80%-69% and rebounds 44-43. Memphis did shoot better from outside the arc 20%-15%.
The lady jags then travelled to play Western Illinois on December 13th and came home with a 55-49 victory. It was another tough shooting night that had them use their defense to win the game by forcing 22 turnovers, 10 blocked shots and 11 steals.
USA lead by five at halftime but WIU went on a 13-5 run in the first six plus minutes of the second half to take the lead 29-26 with 13:38 left. After tying the game up, WIU went on a 9-0 run to take their largest lead of the game 38-29. After a timeout, the lady jags made a run of their own going 13-2. Then with 5:53, the defense stifled WIU only allowing two FG’s from that point on with the rest of their points coming from the free throw line.
Jessica Starling lead all scorers with 14 with Shakira Nettles tossing in 12 points of her own. USA only bested WIU in one stats category. They shot 71%-67% from the free throw line, otherwise WIU lead 30%-29% in FG’s, 46%-23% from three-point distance, and 43-40 in rebounding.
On December 17th, the Lady Jags snapped their nine game losing skid to Western Kentucky with a 66-59 win on a career night by Jessica Starling. Starling was 8-13 from the floor which included her 4-8 from three-point range.
USA led by seven at halftime and started the second half with a 11-2 run and by 16:21 left in the game they had pushed out to a 41-25 point lead. Jessica Starling lead USA in scoring with 28 and Ra’Shawna Sippio scored 10 in the game. Arnika Brown from WKU lead all in scoring with 28 and came down with 14 rebounds. USA split the four categories evenly with WKU. The lady Jags shot 39%-30% FG’s and 35%-22% in 3pt FG’s while WKU shot 75%-67% from the free throw line and out rebounded USA 47-43.
The Jags went to 2-0 in the conference on December 20th with their win at Florida International 65-47. The Jags jumped out early building a 13 point lead which it would not surrender for the remainder of the game. Jessica Starling scored 12 and was closely follwed by Brittney Rutledge who had 11. While the stats were less than impressive, they did win all four stats categories by shooting 39%-32% in FG’s, 38%-33% in 3-point FG’s and 63%-60% in FT’s. Also the Jags out rebounded FIU 49-37.
The lady Jags is in the midst of a nine day holiday break. They will be in action again on December 29th at 7:05pm at the Mitchell Center when they take on Ohio.
Men’s Basketball Recap
Since I last wrote about the Jaguars Basketball team they have played four games, so I knew I thought I had better write a recap for this stretch of games.
On Sunday December 7th, the Jaguars hosted Houston Baptist at the Mitchell Center and came away with a blow-out win 93-63 to push their winning streak to four games since the Arkansas lass back just before Thanksgiving. The team was led by Domonic Tilford who scored 19 points and was closely followed by Charles Tabet with 17. DeAndre Coleman lead the team with 12 rebounds, 9 of them were defensive. The team as a whole out rebounded Houston Baptist 49-27 for the game, and out shot them 51% to 37% from the floor, 47% to 41% from 3-point range and 80% to 50% from the free-throw line.
On December 13th, the Jaguars traveled to Starkville, MS to take on the Bulldogs of Mississippi State. The Jags trailed the entire first half but Ronald Douglas and Brandon Davis gave the Jags the lead in the first minute of the second half. The lead would change hands a couple times until the Jags had their last lead of the game at 38-37 before the Bulldogs pulled away with a 15-0 run in the next 3:30 of game time.
Brandon Davis lead the scoring with 19 on 7-19 shooting and falling one rebound shy of a double-double. The next leading scorer would Domonic Tilford with 11 on 4-11 shooting, 3-6 from 3-point range. Mississippi State was led by Jarvis Vardado with 21 on 9-11 shooting in 26 minutes of play. The Jags were out shot in two of the three categories: 36%-54% from the floor and 62%-71% from the free throw line. But they did manage to out shoot the Bulldogs from 3-point range 36%-29%. Also the Jags out rebounded the Bulldogs for the game 39 to 33.
The Jags opened the Sun Belt Conference season hosting Western Kentucky at the Mitchell Center. Domonic Tilford had one of the best nights of his career but could not lift the Jags to a victory over the Hilltoppers in a 66-69 loss. Tilford scored 30 points on 9-16 shooting, going 7-11 from beyond the arc and a perfect 5-5 from the charity stripe. LaShun Watson and DeAndre Coleman both scored 10 points each. Brandon Davis came down with 13 rebounds with 9 of them being defensive.
The Hilltoppers were lead by A.J. Slaughter who scored 21 points on 8-19 shoting and going 2-5 from 3-point range. Orlando Mendez-Valdez scored 20 going 7-11 from the floor and 4-8 from 3-point range. Two other Hilltoppers scored in double digits with Sergio Kerusch earning a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds (13 of them defensive).
The lead changed 12 times over the course of the game, the last with just over seven minutes to go in the game. The Hilltoppers pushed out to the largest lead of the game, 67-61 with just over two minutes left in the game. Domonic Tilford hit a three with from the top of the key with 19 seconds to go to bring the Jags within one point. A.J. Slaugter then ended the scoring with two free throws just two seconds later.
The Jaguars were out-shot in all three categories: Field Goals 44%-48%, 3-point Field Goals 40%-44% and Free Throws 57%-89%. But just like the previous game, the Jags out rebounded the opposition 35-31.
Last night, December 20th, the Jaguars rebounded with 62-57 win over Florida International to even their mark in the Sun Belt Conference at 1-1 and snap a two game losing streak. Tilford followed up the 30 point effort against WKU with a 23 point game against FIU shooting 7-13 from the field and going 2-4 from 3-point range. No other Jaguars scored in double digits. The Jags led in two of the three shooting categories, Field Goals 42%-36% and Free Throw 70%-58%, but FIU out-shot the Jags from outside the arch 53%-50%. Also, FIU out rebounded the Jags 37-34.
USA will have an eight day holiday break for the Christmas Holiday but will return to the Mitchell Center with on December 28th to take on the Spring Hill Badgers with a 2:05pm Sunday afternoon tipoff.
Go Jags!
Jaguars Rally Leads To Overtime Win At Southern Mississippi
The Jaguars improved their record to 5-3 on the season with the overtime victory at Southern Miss. DeAndré Coleman made a layuup with 31 seconds left in the game on Tuesday to put the Jags on top for good. Coleman, in addition to putting USA in front for good, also was the his second double-double in a row. Ronald Douglas blocked a follow-up shot by Craig Craft which Domonic Tilford then made the rebound and was fouled to seal the game with two made free throws.
The Jags were lead by Domonic Tilford who scored 15 on the night. Both DeAndrae Ross and Ronald Douglas scored 13 while DeAndre Coleman came off of the bench to score 12 and collect 12 rebounds. Leading all scores was Jeremy Wise from USM with 7-20 fieldgoals, 4-11 from three and 10-13 free throws for a 28 point night.
USA was down by six points at halftime but came out in the second half with several quick scores to erase whittle that lead down to one point and taking the lead shortly thereafter.
USA lead 57-52 with 6:15 left in the game but USM came back to force overtime by hitting 3 three pointers in the final 3:30 of the game.
The Jags will take the court again on Sunday with an afternoon tip-off against Houston Baptist at the Mitchell Center at 2:05pm.
Go Jags!
Lady Jaguars Win Big Over Houston Baptist
The Lady Jags cruise to a big win over Houston Baptist 83-48 at the Mitchell Center. The Lady Jags improve their record to 6-1 on the season and they will begin a three game road swing starting on Saturday when they visit Southern.
The Jags rolled up the points with Shakira Nettles leading the way with 21, falling one point shy of her career high but hitting on a career best five three pointers. The only other Jag in double figures scoring was Vontrice Dennis.
USA shot 42% from the floor compared to Houston Baptists 37%. USA also out rebounded Houston Baptist 52-32.
Both teams came out cold with USA only making one of their first seven shots but by the 10:42 mark in the first half they held a 22-10 lead.
Lady Jags Lose to George Washington But Bounce Back In Consolation Game
The Lady Jags struggled to find its offense on Friday against George Washington to lose their first game of the season 64-59. Shakira Nettles led the Jags with 16 points and was closely followed by Jessica Starling who scored 15 and Karina Sproal who scored 10.
GW outscored the Jags 34-14 on the inside and were held to 28% field goal percentage.
In the consolation game of the GW Thanksgiving Tournament, the Lady Jags took on Liberty and won 65-61. Liberty has been to 11 of the last 12 NCAA Tournament and marks a nice win against good opposition. Jessica Starling lead the way with 18 points, Shikira Nettles scored 16 and Sarda Peterson scored 11 to round out the players in double digits.
The first half was a close match but USA hit its stride in the second half with the closest point in the game being 47-46 with 7:56 left in the game. The jags pulled away from there to hold on to the win.
The Lady Jags (5-1) will play again on Tuesday against Houston Baptist at 7:05pm at the Mitchell Center.
Jags win Tournament Title
The South Alabama Jaguars beat Maine and UC Davis to win the USA Basketball Classic tournament title. The win over Maine snapped a two game losing streak by the Jags and the win over UC Davis lifted their season record to 4-3.
USA held a 40-20 halftime lead over Maine and led by double digits for the final 30 minutes of the game. Brandon Davis led the Jags in scoring with 18 while Domonic Tilford scored 15 and DeAndré Coleman scored 11 points coming off the bench to help win the game 71-59.
In the Jags win over UC Davis, DeAndré Coleman had his first double-double of the season by scoring a career-high 19 points and came down with 11 rebounds. Tilford scored 17 and Brandon Davis scored 11 and were named to the all-tournament team. Coleman also received the tournaments MVP award.
This 72-69 win marks the first tournament title for the Jags since 1991.
South Alabama will play next in Hattiesburg when they take on Southern Mississippi on Tueday with tip off scheduled fro 7pm.
Go Jags!
Jags Lose A Heartbreaker To Arkansas 79-77
After leading at halftime 45-55 the Jags lead for 14:57 second of the second half but gave it up for the most crucial 3 seconds of the game. Domonic Tilford came out in the first half with the hot hand and ends the game with 23 to lead the Jags in scoring. Brandon Davis scored 18 and LaShun Watson scored 10 to mark the only other Jags in double digits.
USA had a chance to push the lead out to three points with 19.6 seconds left but Daniel Hayles missed both shots leaving the door open for the Razorbacks last second shot. USA was 17-25 from the foul line for the night. While USA hit on a higher percentage of foul shots, 68% to 61%, if two more had fallen for USA the game would have been tied.
Arkansas shot 55% from the three-point arc, making 12 of 22. In all of the Jaguars losses, this has been a common theme. But combine that with sloppy play in the final minutes of the game and you will typically find the recipe for a loss.
Arkansas was lead by Courtney Fortson with 25 and closely trailed by Stefan Welsh who scored 24 on the night. The largest contributor from the bench was Rotnei Clark with 12, otherwise the rest of the players, both starters and from the bench, combined for a total of 18 points.
It was an emotional game with the return of Coach Pelphrey to the Mitchell Center for the first time since his departure for Arkansas. However, the crowd was unusually quiet since the USA Outlaws were not in attendence en mass as usual. Also for the Coors Classic, the students were not crowded together as per what is usual for a typical USA home game. This factor may have worked to Arkansas’ advantage since they had a young team playing a more experienced squad.
USA will have to shake off this loss quickly because they will take the court again on Friday when Maine, Tulane and UC Davis come to town for the USA Basketball Classic at the Mitchell Center. Tulane and UC Davis will play at 5pm and the Jags will play Maine 30 minutes after that game finishes. The Tournament will wrap up on Saturday with the consolation game starting at 5pm and the championship game (hopefully with USA playing) starting 30 minutes after it ends.
Go Jags!
Lady Jags Push Record To 4-0 With Win Over Mercer
The Lady Jags won 96-82 Monday night to run their record to 4-0 for the season. Six Jaguars scored in double digits: Jessica Starling with 19, Shaniece Brunner with 18, Karina Sproal with 13, Morriah Smith with 11 and both Cylenthia Kennon and Shakira Nettles both had 10.
The Lady Jags also set a new Mitchell Center record with 14 three-pointers and the most by USA since the previous school record of 16 at Troy in 2006. The 96 points scored is also a season best and two points shy of tying the record at the Mitchell Center.
USA shot 59% from the floor for the game and shot 71% in the second half.
Around the 15 minute mark in the first half, USA distanced themselves from Mercer with a 16-2 run over the course of five minutes and went into halftime with a 47-35 lead.
USA then started the second half with another run scoring 16-3 in the first four minutes and were up 65-40 with over 15 minutes to go.
The rest of the half saw some rough play by the Jags but Mercer could only get within 12 points down the stretch.
The Lady Jags will be in action again on Friday when they travel to Washington D.C. for the George Washington Thanksgiving Classic. They will open the tournament playing the host, George Washington Colonials at 4pm.
GO JAGS!
#3 Louisville Defeats Jags In Championship Game
Brandon Davis and Domonic Tilford scored 16 points each while Davis had a game best 12 rebounds in the loss. While Samardo Samuels scored 24 points with 9-10 shooting from the field, 6-7 shooting from the charity stripe, three assists and three blocks. Three other Cardinal starters scored in double digits in the win. But, it wasn’t until a 14-2 second half run midway through before Louisville broke the game open.
At halftime, the Jags were down 39-27 and had only committed four more turnovers than the Cardinals but committed 13 to the Cards two in the second half.
The Jags held the Cardinals to only 44% shooting and out rebounded them 41-38 for the game, but only shot 36% and commited 24 turnovers (12 of them were steals).
Coach Arrow was quoted saying, “You could be looking at this year’s national champions. Coach Pitino has assembled a group of guys where they can go 10 or 11 deep and not miss a beat.”
The Jag will play again when the Razorbacks of Arkansas, and former USA Coach John Pelphrey, visit the Mitchell Center for what is sure to be an emotionally charged game in the annual Coors Classic. Tip-off is scheduled for 8pm and it will be broadcast regionally on Comcast Sports Southeast.
Go Jags! BLEED IT RED!