Jags Earn SBC Tournament Spot with 81-76 Win over Arkansas State
The Jaguar men’s basketball team controlled their own post-season destiny as they traveled to Jonesboro, AR. for their Thursday night game against Arkansas State and they held on down the stretch to earn their way in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
The Jags (10-20, 8-11 SBC) saw a 24-point second-half lead slip away in the final minutes but thanks to sophomore Ken Williams leading a late charge, the Jags held on for the 81-76 win.
Over a span of 8:17, the Jags were outscored 29-7 including 15-2 at the end of the run to tie the game at 73-73 with under three minutes left in the game led by Anthony Livingston scoring six of the final 10 points of their run.
Williams answered back with on the next possession with a 3-pointer from the corner to break the tie. After a turnover, Williams added a layup to stretch the Jaguar lead to 78-73 with 2:11 remaining.
ASU (11-17, 6-13 SBC) connected from deep to pull within two with 1:13 left to play, but freshman Taishaun Johnson added a free throw with 38 seconds remaining to extend the lead to three points at 79-76.
Arkansas State’s three-point attempt missed and allowed Williams to grab the rebound. After being fouled, he sank both of his attempts to effectively ice the game.
Williams scored 12 of his 18 points after halftime. Johnson just missed a triple-double with 17 points, nine rebounds and a career-high seven assists. Senior Dionte Ferguson led the team with 20 points while freshman Abdul Lewis added 15 points.
“I can’t begin to say enough about how proud I am of this team and what they’ve accomplished,” South Alabama head coach Matthew Graves said after the game. “They hung tough and made some tough plays in those last couple of minutes to secure the victory.
“This team is starting to grow up. Certainly it’s been frustrating at times, but if you look at us a month or two months ago, we would not have won this game. There’s no question about that. We would have ended up getting beat by six or eight points down the stretch. This team has grown up and they are doing more things consistently. Obviously, we can continue to get better, but I’m really proud of our effort and to have one more home game for our two seniors. We need to be focused and ready to go on Saturday.”
The Jaguars return home to host Troy for their regular season finale on Senior Night. Jags and Trojans tip-off at 4:05PM at the Mitchell Center.
Jags Travel to Arkansas State Needing Win to Secure SBC Tournament Spot
The South Alabama men’s basketball team head into the final two games of the regular season needing a win to put themselves into the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
In their first opportunity Thursday night at Arkansas State, the Jags control their own destiny. Win and they are in. However, all is not lost if they lose but it means they don’t control their own destiny. With a loss at ASU, they would need to return home and defeat Troy at the Mitchell Center on Saturday but would need some help in order to make the tournament.
The Jags (9-20, 7-11 SBC) have lost their last three games against the top three teams in the conference. They have had a week to prepare to exact revenge on the Red Wolves )11-16, 6-12 SBC) who defeated USA in overtime at the Mitchell Center on December 30.
The Red Wolves have won two of their last three games after a five-game losing streak. Both wins came at home against conference co-leaders Louisiana-Monroe and Texas-Arlington. Also the Red Wolves sit just one game behind the Jaguars and also need a win to keep their tournament hopes alive.
ASU’s Anthony Livingston is coming off a 20-point, 13-rebound effort against Texas State and averages a double-double per game for the season. Against the Jags in December he had 16 points and 13 rebounds. He ranks sixth in the conference in scoring with a 15.6 point per game average and ranks second in rebounding with an even 10 rebounds per game.
South Alabama’s Ken Williams ranks seventh in the conference in scoring with a 15.4 point per game average and ranks second in 3-pointers per game. In the previous game against ULM, Williams scored 21 points with four 3-pointers. He has also had nine 20-point outings this season. He also moved up to eighth in school history with 77 3-pointers, the most ever by a USA sophomore.
USA and ASU tip-off at 7:30pm tonight in Jonesboro, AR.
Kaitlyn Griffith Name SBC Player of the Week
Griffith, a senior from Centre, AL, earned SBC Player of the Week honors after batting .467 with nine RBI, four runs scored and two home runs. She also tied a school game record with six RBI against Ball State with two home runs. | Photo: usajaguars.com
Senior Kaitlyn Griffith of the #22 ranked South Alabama softball team was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on Monday. She helped lead the Jaguars to four wins in five games by tallying nine RBI and a .933 slugging percentage.
She batted .467 (7-for-15) in those five games last week with nine RBI, four runs scored, two home runs and a sacrifice fly. She also tied two Jaguar game records in their 14-6 win over 2014 Mid-American Conference Champion Ball State when she has two home runs and a career high six RBI. Griffith’s six RBI in the game was the most since former Jaguar standout Britany Campbell drove in six run against Southeast Louisiana on March 7, 2012.
Griffith also drew a key two-out walk against Nicholls State to load the bases for South Alabama’s go-ahead run.
Through 14 games she has 14 RBI this season and has moved into a tie for fifth in career home runs.
Griffith is the Jaguars second student-athlete to earn weekly conference honors in three voting periods so far this season. Freshman Devin Brown was selected as the SBC Pitcher of the Week on February 9, the first voting period of the season.
South Alabama will host Samford on Wednesday at Jaguar Field with first pitch scheduled for 5pm.
South Alabama Sports – Weekend Update
Baseball
The South Alabama baseball team had a tough weekend in their round-robin tournament by going 0-3 in their three games played.
Friday night USA lost to Maryland 0-8, then to Arkansas Saturday night 0-7 and then to Central Florida 5-7 on Sunday to end the weekend. They will look to get back in the win column on Tuesday in Montgomery against Alabama State.
Softball
The Jaguar softball team finished the weekend 3-1 in four games in the South Alabama Invitational at Jaguar Field.
Tennessee-Chattanooga defeated USA on Friday night 1-3 on left hander Cori Jennings’ who allowed seven hits and four walks. The Jags jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning but left five runners stranded through the final three innings.
The Mocs took control of the game in the top of the fourth inning on Criket Blanco’s two-run shot after a one-out walk put Nicole Osterman on base. In the top of the sixth, Osterman his a solo homer for an insurance run.
Devin Brown took the loss after allowing three runs, all earned, on three hits. She struck out nine with a season-high-tying five walks in 5 1/3 innings. Kalen McGill pitched 1 2/3 innings of relief with one strikeout and one hit.
Emily Messer drew a walk to get on base in the bottom of the first. She advanced to second on an illegal pitch. Chloe Rathburn then singled to drive in Messer.
The Jags threatened in the fifth after Messer drew a one-out walk followed by Amanada Minahan’s single, but a pair of groundouts ended the threat.
On Saturday, the Jags earned run-rule victories in both games they played. USA defeated Ball State 14-6 after a six-run sixth inning.
In the nightcap, the Jags defeated Sam Houston State 8-0 in five innings.
Stephanie Pilkington went 4-of-6 on Saturday with three RBI and three runs scored. Kaitlyn Griffith tied USA records against Ball State after going 3-for-3 with six RBI, three runs scored and a pair of home runs. She added a seventh RBI on the day in the nightcap.
Sophomore Amanda Minahan was 3-of-6 on the day with three runs scored. Amanda Herron had four RBI while Blair Johnson scored three runs.
Freshmen Kalen McGill (4-0) and Devin Brown (5-2) earned the wins on Saturday against the Cardinals and the Bearkats respectively.
On Sunday, USA finished off the weekend tournament with a 5-4 walkoff win against Jacksonville University.
Senior Alyssa Linn lead off the bottom of the ninth inning with a single. She advanced to second on a fielding error. Lowe singled through the left side to score Linn from second base to win the game.
McGill earned the win from the pitchers circle. Pilkington added to her weekend numbers by going 2-of-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Rathburn went 2-of-4 with an RBI and Messer was 1-of-5 with a run scored.
South Alabama (11-3) will face Samford University on Wednesday before departing for Columbia, SC for the 2015 Carolina Classic where the Jags will face Charleston Southern, Tennessee State, Marshall and South Carolina over the weekend.
Men’s Basketball
The Jags could not hold off a late run by Georgia Southern in Stateboro and lost 74-80. A 10-0 run late in the second half turned the game around for the Eagles as they improve to 19-6 overall and 12-4 in SBC play.
South Alabama falls to 9-19 overall and 7-10 in SBC play. The Jags currently are in a tie for sixth place in the conference with Arkansas-Little Rock with Appalachian State one game behind them at 6-10 in SBC play.
Only the top eight teams will participate in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament starting March 12 in New Orleans, LA.
USA has only three more regular season games remaining starting by hosting Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday at the Mitchell Center. ULM is in a three-way tie for first in the conference with a 12-4 record in SBC play.
South Alabama Sports Weekend Preview
Preview of weekend sports for South Alabama athletics. There are plenty of games happening this weekend on campus. Come out and cheer on the Jaguars.
Men’s Basketball
With just four games left in the regular season the Jaguars are sitting in sixth place in the conference standings, which is key as only the top eight are invited to participate in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in New Orleans.
South Alabama (9-18, 7-9 SBC), coming off a 79-51 loss to Georgia State, will face the top two teams and the bottom two teams in the conference standing to finish out the regular season over these next four games. The first opponent is second-place Georgia Southern (18-6, 11-4 SBC) in Stateboro, GA. on Saturday.
Softball
The #22 ranked South Alabama softball team, fresh off of their seventh consecutive win at Nicholls State on Wednesday, will host the 2015 South Alabama Invitational at Jaguar Field this weekend.
The Jags (8-2) will host Chattanooga, Ball State, Sam Houston State and Jacksonville for the weekend. They will face UT-Chatanooga on Friday at 6pm. On Saturday they will face Ball State at 1:30pm then Sam Houston State at 6pm. Then finish out the weekend slate against Jacksonville University at 1:30 on Sunday.
Baseball
The Jags baseball, who are undefeated through their first four games of the season after defeating Auburn 7-4 on Tuesday, will host three top-25 teams over the weekend at Eddie Stanky Field.
The round-robin format tournament will have the Jags, #13 Maryland, #16 Arkansas and #22 Central Florida all play three games in three days.
Arkansas and UCF will start at 2pm on Friday, followed by Maryland and South Alabama at 6:30pm.
On Saturday Maryland will face UCF at 2pm followed by USA and Arkansas at 6:30pm. Maryland and Arkansas will play at 10am on Sunday with USA and UCF starting at 2pm.
USA Sports go 8-1 In Weekend Games
South Alabama had a successful weekend slate of home games this past weekend by going 8-1 in all four sports played on campus this weekend.
Men’s Basketball
The Jaguar men’s basketball team used a fast start to hold on against Texas-Arlington 97-91. USA held a 20-point lead at halftime but the Mavericks outscored the Jags 62-48 in the second half, as the Jags committed 14 of their 20 turnovers in the second half, but were unable to overcome the deficit.
The Jags improve their overall record to 9-17 and their conference record to 7-8. Texas-Arlington fell to 14-10 overall and 8-6 in conference play.
Sophomore Ken Williams led all scorers with a career-high 29 points with a personal best eight rebounds. He connected on six of 10 three-point attempts, five of them made in the first half. He was also 9-of-11 from the free-throw line.
They travel to Georgia State on Thursday to take on the Panthers for a 6pm tip.
Softball
The #24 ranked Lady Jaguars completed a four-game sweep of the Mardi Gras Invitational.
The weekend began on Friday with a 5-4 win over Oklahoma State. The game was decided in the bottom of the seventh when Stephanie Pilkington drew a bases-loaded walk to end the game.
On Saturday, the Jags scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first and third innings then were able to cruise to the 4-1 win over Lipscomb. Freshman Kalen McGill earned her second win of the season (2-0) where the recorded three strikeouts an no walks. She only allowed a single earned run on four hits with her ERA holding at 0.51.
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Jags Defeat Troy on the road 71-67
South Alabama, led by Georgi Boyanov who earned his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds along with four other Jaguars who scored in double-digits, defeated Troy on the road 71-67. Also spoiling the Trojan Athletic Director’s promise of a steak dinner to the team if they defeated the Jaguars.
The win ended a three-game losing streak for the Jaguars and improved their record to 8-17 overall and 6-8 in Sun Belt Conference play. Meanwhile the Trojans fell to 9-14 overall and 4-10 in the conference.
Boyanov recorded 12 points and six rebounds after halftime. He also had a steal with 13 seconds left to help close the door on the Trojans. Sophomore Taishaun Johnson shared game-high honors with 17 points. Dionte Ferguson added 14 points and seven rebounds and sophomore Ken Williams added 13 points an a career-high six assists.
The Trojans took a three point lead around midway through the second half on an 8-0 run, but the Jaguars answered right back with a 10-1 run of their own. Johnson started it with a layup to start the run, then hit back-to-back 3-pointers with 8:01 left in the game to put the Jaguars up 56-50.
But the Trojan would not go away, they scored the next four points to cut the Jaguar lead down to two points, but again the Jaguars would answer by scoring eight of the next 10 points while holding Troy to one field goal over the next six minute stretch.
The closest the Trojans would get in the last five-and-a-half minutes would be four points.
The Jags clamped down in the second half defensively, after the Trojans converted 60% of their 3-point shots in the first half, the Jags held them to 33.3% in the second half.
“There’s no question we needed this win to get back on track and get refocused,” head coach Matthew Graves said. “Anytime you can win a game on the road in league play, it’s a great thing. I thought our guys continued to battle throughout the game. It was a very well-played game, both teams made some runs and neither team really jumped out to a big lead. We were very fortunate that we made a lot of the right plays at the end of the game and came out with the victory.”
“You have to give credit to our players and to Coach (Darnell) Archey,” Graves continued. “He did an outstanding job with the scouting report and the defensive scheme, calling out their actions. Our players did an excellent job of following through with that. We had three days to prepare for them; when we have three days to prepare for somebody and our guys stay locked in and focused, that’s a recipe for success. Our scouting and preparation were top-notch this week.”
All five of Troy’s starters scored in double-digits with Kelton Ford sharing the game-high mark with 17 points and Wesley Person adding 14.
South Alabama will host Texas-Arlington at home on Saturday with a 4:05pm tipoff.
Freshman Devin Brown earns Conference Pitcher of the Week honors
Freshman pitcher Devin Brown earned her first collegiate win in a one-hit shutout in her first appearance and earned her first save, both during the 2015 Sand Dollar Classic. | Photo: usajaguars.com
South Alabama softball freshman pitcher Devin Brown was named the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday. This was the season’s first voting period.
During the Sand Dollar Classic in Gulf Shores, Brown went 2-1 with 29 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings. She recorded a one-hit shutout in her first collegiate start on Friday against Liberty as the Jags won 8-0 by the run-rule.
She has a 0.43 ERA to lead the team after allowed just three runs, and only one of them earned, on eight hits and five walks. She held opposing batters to a .143 batting average. She earned her first career save against McNeese State as she struck out both batters she faced to finish off a 5-1 Jaguar victory after coming in in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded.
Additionally, she struck out 11 against Houston on Sunday while only allowing one earned run as the Jaguars snatched the 3-2 win in the bottom of the seventh after coming-from-behind.
Jaguars Recruiting Effort Pays Off With Strong Signing Class
The 2015 South Alabama Jaguar Football Recruiting Class is a very good one. This could easily be the most talented recruiting class that Coach Jones and his staff has landed in the programs six years of existence.
The Jaguars class was ranked 3rd in the conference after a late addition bumped them up a spot. But that rating only includes the JUCO and High School student-athletes in the class, it does not include the UAB transfers. Head coach Joey Jones said at his signing day social that he has no doubt in his mind that USA has the best signing class in the conference overall.
Two things you will notice about this signing class: 1) the secondary players are tall with three of the five who signed are over six feet tall, and 2) great size.
Roy Albritton, 6’2″ 310-pound defensive lineman from Pensacola HS. He played in both the Max Emfinger All-American Bowl and the Pensacola Subway All-Star Game.
Dami Ayoola, 5’10” 200-pound running back from Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. via Arizona Western CC. He helped his team go 11-1 and finish 5th in the NJCAA poll.
De’Themeus “Bull” Barge, 5’9″ 220-pound linebacker from Colquitt County HS in Georgia. He was rated a three-star athlete from 247Sports.com. He helped his team go 15-0 en route to the state 6A championship.
Cameron Blankenship, 6’5″ 285-pound offensive lineman from Alexander City, AL via UAB. He was a three-year letterwinner for the Blazers and started all 11 games he appeared in as a sophomore at Dodge City CC in Kansas.
James Bynes, a 6’3″ 230-pound tight end from Miami, FL., by way of Dodge City CC. He caught 30 passes for 269 yards in all 11 games as a sophomore at Dodge City C.
Austin Chipoletti, 5’11” 190-pound quarterback from Jacksonville, FL. by way of UAB. Chipoletti completed 172-of-302 attempts for 1,650 yards and eight touchdowns with 142 yards and two touchdowns on the ground in 2013 for Weber State.
Cody Clements, 6’2″ 200-pound quarterback from Whittier, CA. via UAB. In his first and only season with the Blazers, Clements finished 4th in Conference USA in pass efficiency rating (145.6) as he wetn 183-of-275 for 2,227 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Tavon Cox, 6’3 195-pound linebacker from Kissimme, FL., Haines City HS. Cox was rated a three-star prospect by Scout.com, ESPN.com and 247Sports.com. He had 71 tackles and four sacks his senior season.
Lee Dufour, 6’4″ 285-pound offensive lineman from Saraland, AL. by way of UAB. Defour was going to redshirt his freshman season but played in the last three games of the season to help the Blazers earn bowl eligibility for the first time in 10 years.
Gerald Everett, 6’4″ 215-pound tight end from Decatur, GA. by way of UAB. He cause 17 passes for 292 yards in his only season with the Blazers. He started one game but saw action in all 12 games.
Sean Grayer, 6’2″ 240-pound defensive end/outside linebacker from Glay HS in Green Cove Springs, FL. He recorded 81 stops and fourced five fumbles in his senior season as he was selected to the first-team All-District and second-team All-State teams.
Kalen Jackson, 6’1″ 200-pound linebacker from Magee, MS. by way of UAB. Jackson started the first two games for the Blazers but suffered a season-ending injury. Against Troy he had five tackles and a fumble recovery.
Quinton Lane, 6’1″ 185-pound cornerback from Ackerman, MS. by way of Itawamba CC. He recorded 25 total tackles, 20 solo, with a team-high eight passes broken up as a sophomore.
Nigel Lawrence, 5’11” 175-pound defensive back from Smiths Stateion HS in Alabama. He was rated a three-star athlete by 247Sports.com and among the top 35 players in the state. He had 91 stops his senior year of school.
JarMarkus Sims, 6’1″ 210-pound safety from Dothan HS in Alabama. He was rated a three-star athlete by 247Sports and was rated as the second-best safety in the state of Alabama by ESPN.com. He was also selected First-Team All-State.
Troy Thingstad, 6’5″ 275-pound offensive lineman from St. Paul’s Episcopal School in Mobile. He was rated a three-star athlete by Scout.com, ESPN.com and 247Sports.com. He was also named to the first-team All-State team as a senior after helping his team with the 5A state championship.
Jalen Thompson, a 6′ 170-pound cornerback from St. Paul’s Eposcopal School in Mobile. He was rated a three-star althlete by Rivals.com, Scout.com, ESPN.com and 247Sports.com. He was also rated the second-best cornerback in the state of Alabama by Scout and ESPN.
Tyree Turner, 6′ 265-pound defensive lineman from StockBridge GA. HS. He was selected to the All-Region team twice, including last season after helping his team to the semifinals of the 5A state playoffs and to an 11-3 record overall.
D.J. Vinson, 5’10” 180-pound running back from Pinson, AL. by way of UAB. He finished second on the team with 670 yards and nine touchdowns on 166 attempts last season. He also added 65 yards on 15 catches and a touchdown as well.
Rashaan Watson, 5’10” 180-pound cornerback from Pinellas Park HS in Largo, FL. He was a first-team All-District, All-County and All-Conference selection in 2014 after helping his team go 8-3 and qualifying for the 7A state playoffs.
Jeffrey Whatley, 6’1″ 265-pound defensive end from Dale County HS in Midland City AL. He was selected to the first-team All-State team his final two seasons and helped his team to the 3A state championship game as a senior with 105 total stops along the way.
Curtis Williams, 6’4″ 285-pound offensive lineman from Miami, FL. by way of ASA CC in New York. He was a second-team All-Northeast Football Conference selection in 2013 as he helped his team to a 7th place finish in the final NJCAA rankings.
Tyrone Williams, 6’2″ 200-pound wide receiver from Kiln, MS via Mississippi Gulf Coast CC. He was a first-team All-MACJC selection as a sophomore after leading his team with 46 catches for 812 yards and 12 touchdowns.
De’Arius Young, 6’7″ 310-pound offensive lineman from Cincinnati, OH by way of San Bernadino Valley, CA. CC. He was named to the first-team All-Region and All-Mountain Conference as a sophomore as his team averaged 413 yards and 36.2 points per game.
Alex “Speedy” Byers, 6’2″ 175-pound wide receiver from Antelope Valley College in California. He had 23 catches for 398 yards and six touchdowns in 10 games. He also returned 14 kicks for 496 yards and three touchdowns. He has three years to play two at USA.
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2015 National Signing Day is here
Today is National Signing Day. This is the first day that football recruits can finally officially sign their National Letter-Of-Intent to join football programs around the nation.
Recruiting a never-ending job. Most of the recruits were probably evaluated as many as two years ago or more. Through all that time coaches have kept tabs on them, offered them, talked to them, visited them and re-evaluated them time and time again to ensure they have targeted players to fill the needs of the team.
Similarly, recruits are looking at schools who have offered them to see if they feel like its a good fit for them. They have coaches, family and friends in their ear almost every day telling them where they should go or where they shouldn’t go. Which leads to some interesting National Signing Day’s.
Each year fans and coaches eagerly wait for signatures to come in from the recruits because, until that signature is in, who knows where recruits will actually sign.
There are writers and analysts who make their living just by analyzing recruiting. Whole websites have started based on recruiting. It’s become big business and cause for speculation. Diehard fans read recruiting analysis daily. Some send tweets to recruits endlessly congratulating them for choosing their school or villifying them for shunning their school for another school or a rival institution.
It can get quite sickening to see supposed grown-ups tweeting such things to teenagers to be honest.
While this list is not a guarantee as to who will sign with South Alabama, these are prospects who have verbally committed to the Jaguars. It’s always likely that some of them will suddenly choose to sign with someone else and be replaced with names not on this list who have done the same thing to another school.
Current players who have already signed LOI’s with the Jaguars:
- Dami Ayoola RB Arizona Western College
- James Bynes TE Dodge City CC
- Quinton Lane CB Itawamba CC
- Tyrone Williams WR Mississippi Gulf Coast CC.
This list of commits have given their verbals to South Alabama and seem to be fairly solid at some point.
- Jalen Thompson CB St. Paul’s Episcopal (Mobile, AL)
- Roy Albritton DT Pensacola FL.
- Ryan Alexander TE Holy Trinity (Hicksville, NY)
- Bull Barge OLB Colquitt Count GA.
- Zach Davis OT Lauderdale County AL.
- DeSean Grayer OLB Clay (Green Cove Springs, FL.)
- Nigel Lawrence S Smiths Station AL.
- Uvakeious McGhee WDE Jefferson Davis (Montgomery, AL.)
- Gavin Patterson K Bradley-Bourbannais (Bradley, IL.)
- Jervohnte Riles WR Jones County JC (Ellsville, MS.)
- JaMarkus Sims OLB Dothan AL.
- Nelson Santiago OT Oakleaf (Orange Park, FL.)
- Troy Thingstad OT St. Paul’s Episcopal (Mobile, AL.)
- Tyree Turner DT Stockbridge GA.
- Rashaan Watson CB Pinellas Park (Largo, FL.)
- Jerrery Whatley WDE Dale County Christian (Ozark, AL.)
- Curtis Williams OT ASA College (Brooklyn, NY)
Check back this evening for a recap of who signed with South Alabama and a review of the 2015 signing class.