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).