Denver Edges USA On Last Second Shot 56-54
This was the third consecutive game where the game was decided in the final seconds and it also marked the third consecutive loss for the Jaguars.
The first half saw Denver shoot 67% from the field and from 3-point range as well as 60% from the free-throw line. While USA struggled only shooting 48% from the field and missing on all six attempts from outside the arc.
Denver had pulled away throughout the first half and went into the locker room with a 37-28 lead.
Defense tightened up for both teams in the second half. Both teams combined to shoot 34% from the floor with both teams suffering long field goal droughts. Denver shot 32% from the floor and only hit one of 11 3-point field goals and 4 of 9 free-throws. USA shot 37% from the field with no attempts at a 3-pointer and hit 12 of 18 free-throws.
The Jags went without a field goal for the final 5:58 of the game. Denver did not convert a shot over a 7:33 span late in the game. But Nate Rohnert hit a lay-up with a mere 5.1 seconds left in the game to break the tie at 54. Denver took a quick timeout so USA set up a quick play to try to tie the game and go into overtime. Coach Arrow said after the game, “The plan was either to go inside to Brandon Davis or Domonic Tilford was going to have the ball. We passed it a little too late.”
Tilford took the shot but it was waved off by the officials. Unsure if he actually got the shot off before the buzzer the officials congregated and talked it over. Eventually going to the game officials to watch a replay of the final shot and determined that, indeed it was too late.
DeAndre Coleman lead all scorers with 17 points on 4-7 shooting and connecting on 9 of 10 free-throws. Brandon Davis added 15 points but was in foul trouble late in the game. Denver had two players in double digits. Nate Rohnert scored 12 and Rob Lewis scored 11.
After the game, Lee Shirvanian talked with Coach Arrow. “I don’t know what to say. I feel bad for the guys. Yeah, we make the key mistakes but we play hard enough to win. We’ve played three games in a row that we’ve lost at the buzzer that we played hard enough to win. It’s got to change…”
Hopefully it will change for the Jags on Saturday when the Mitchell Center will host a double header. The men will take on New Orleans with tip-off set for 2pm and it will also be televised on CSS. The lady Jags also take on New Orleans with tip-off scheduled for about 7:05pm or about 30 minutes after the men’s game concludes.
Jags Fall On The Road With 3-Pointer At Buzzer
Down by one point with time expiring, Randell Daigle put up a despiration shot from 35 feet away. Everyone watched on both sidelines and arena seats as it fell to give the Jaguars their first road loss in the Sun Belt this season.
In the first three-plus minutes of the game, the Jags quickly ran out to a 7-0 lead. The Ragin’ Cajuns would end the scoreless drought by tipping in a missed shot, but would only make one of thier first 11 attempts from the floor.
ULL would counter the Jags early run with a 12-2 run of their own to give them their first lead of the game. The Jags would only lead once more in the first half at 13-12.
USA would get within two points with about four-and-a-half minutes remaining in the first half at 25-23 but would only be able to connect on two more field goals over the rest of the half.
In the first half the Jags committed eight turnovers and forced only three of their own and trailed in free-throw attempts by 13-2. They would go into halftime down nine points 37-28.
Most of the second half was the Jaguars slowly chipping away at the ULL lead. Domonic Tilford would cap off a 7-0 by the Jags with 4:14 left in the second half to put the Jags up 62-59. ULL would hit two jumpers to retake the lead with just under two minutes to go.
USA would turn the ball over three times and ULL would miss four shots from the field in the final three-plus minutes of the game. Domonic Tilford would hit a shot with 2.4 seconds left to give the Jags a 65-64 lead but would watch Daigle’s despiration shot fall at time ran out to give the Win to Louisiana-Lafayette.
DeAndre Coleman would lead all scorers with 26 points on 7-12 shooting, missing his only 3-point attempt but sinking 12-15 free-throw attempts. Coleman also added 14 rebounds with 11 coming on the defensive side. Domonic Tilford would add 16 points for the game to be the only other Jaguar in double digits scoring.
Travis Bureau would pace the Ragin’ Cajuns with 18 points on 5-11 shooting while going 2-8 from outside the arc adn 6-9 from the free-throw line. Chris Gradnigo would add 13 points and Tyren Johnson would score 11 to round out the double digit scorers for ULL.
USA would hold the advantage of scoring in the paint 28-14, pts off turnovers 12-11 but ULL would out score USA 21-5 from the bench.
USA would edge ULL in shooting percentages, 44%-35% from the field, 44%-26% from 3-point range and 77%-74% from the free-throw line. However the percentages work out, ULL had more shooting attempts 58-54 FG, 27-9 3-point and 27-17 free-throw.
USA drops to 11-9 for the season and 4-5 in the Sun Belt while ULL is 7-11 and 4-4 in the Sun Belt.
The Jaguars will finish out their two-game road swing when they visit Denver on Thursday for an 8pm tip-off. The game will be televised regionally on FSN Rocky Mountains.
Go Jags!
USA Loses On Layup In Finals Seconds Against UALR
A basket in the finals seconds allows University of Arkansas Little Rock to pull out a victory for the Jags at the Mitchell Center. A UALR layup with 15 seconds left ended a game that saw eight lead changes in the second half.
Most of the first half was played pretty tight with the largest UALR lead being six on two occasions before the Jaguars had a rough end to the first half when UALR scored six consecutive points in the finals 70 seconds to take a 34-25 lead into the locker room for halftime. A total of 25 fowls were committed in the first half with both teams visiting the charity stripe 29 times.
USA, over a two minute stretch in the second half, made their first run to get back into the game with an 8-2 run. But then UALR would extend the lead back out to seven with back-to-back shots in a 25 second span.
The Jags would then have a 7-0 run for gain a one point advantage at 44-43. Then over the next four minutes the lead would change hands five times with each teams advantage being one point until a 3-pointer put UALR up by two.
USA would regain the lead at 51-50 when Brandon Davis would convert three points the old fashioned way by making a basket while being fouled and sinking the free throw.
The trojans would pull out to a 59-55 lead in the waning minutes. The Jags would then score four points to tie the game at 59 over a 1:16 stretch. UALR would then have possession of the ball with 40 seconds left. Then Shane Edwards would lay in a basket with 15 seconds left to seal the game for the trojans at 61-59.
Domonic Tilford would lead USA in scoring with 15 on 6-19 shooting and 3-9 from beyond the arc. DeAndre Coleman scored 12 and pulled down 13 rebounds for a second double-double in the last two games. Brandon Davis rounded out the double digit scorers for USA with 11 and 8 rebounds.
The Trojans Shane Edwards lead all scorers with 23 points on 8-11 shooting, 1-2 from 3-point range and sinking all six free throw attempts. Matt Mouzy with 12 points was the only other trojan in double digits scoring.
USA out rebounded UALR 41-29 but were outshot in the game 41%-36% from the floor, 42%-19% from 3-point range. Both teams sank 14 free throws with USA going to the line 24 times, once more than UALR for the contest.
USA took the court without Ronald Douglas who injured his right shoulder in practice on Wednesday. He is expected to miss at least one week. The 6′ 8″ Douglas has averaged 5.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game and leads the team with 39 blocked shots.
The Jaguars fall to 11-8 (4-4 SBC) for the season, 0-4 at the Mitchell Center this season but are 4-0 on the road in the Sun Belt Conference. The Jaguars will start a two game road swing when they travel to Louisiana-Lafayette for a Saturday match-up with tip-off scheduled fro 7:15pm.
GO Jags!
Jaguars Win Another Road SBC Game Against ASU
Jaguars have fared very well on the road in the Sun Belt Conference this season and it continued against Arkansas State with a 74-67 victory in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
The Jaguars would put together the games first run late in the first half when USA held ASU without a field goal over 6:14 outscoring them 9-1 to take the lead at 26-20 with just over two minutes left in the first half. The game would be tied up at 28 in the final 30 seconds of the first half. But LaShun Watson would bank in a long jumper at the buzzer to take the Jags into the locker room with a two point lead.
USA would break open the close game early in the second half with a 16-1 run and would hold on for the remainder of the game for the win.
Domonic Tilford would lead all scorers with 20 on 7-15 shooting and hitting 3-6 from 3-point range and 3-4 from the free-throw line. DeAndre Coleman would score 16 on 4-11 shooting and 8-10 from the free-throw line plus adding 15 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. LaShun Watson would score 11 and added 7 rebounds. Brandon Davis would score 10 to round out the double digit scorers for USA.
Donald Boone led Arkansas State with 17 points while JeJuan Brown added 14 and Daniel Bryant added 11 to round out the ASU double digit scorers.
USA had 34 attempts and hit 21 from the free-throw line while ASU had 27 attempts and hit 20 of them. USA led scoring in the paint with 34-26, pts off turnovers 24-15 but ASU outscored USA from the bench 38-14.
USA will be in action again on Thursday, January 22nd when they host UALR who leads the Western Division by two games. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05pm at the Mitchell Center.
Jaguars Woes At Home Continue With Loss To Troy
Troy connected on 16 of 30 shots from 3-point range in the Jaguar loss. Kenny Ware lead the way for Troy hitting 6-8 of the 3-pointers and finishing with a career-best 20 points. He was one of five Troy players in double figures. This loss dropped the Jags to 0-3 at home against Sun Belt Conference opponents, which is a stark contrast to last year when USA was 9-0 at home against SBC opponents during the regular season.
Troy opened the game with a 15-6 run in the first three-plus minutes. The Jags then went on a 10-2 run to close the gap to a single point at 17-16 with about 12 minutes left in the first half.
However, Troy would then go on a 20-2 run over the next 5:20 to break the game wide open for the Trojans. Three players combined to make give 3-pointers during the stretch, three of them by Ware. That would make the lead 37-18 when the run was over. But the Jaguars would regroup and held the Trojans without a basket for the last 3:07 of the half while scoring seven points to close the Trojans lead to 47-29 at halftime.
The lead would fluctuate from 16-21 points during the first six minutes of the second half. The Jags would get close to within 18 with 11-38 left but Troy would score the next 11 consecutive points in a 1:42 span to put the game away for the Trojans.
Bryan Sherrer would lead the Jaguars with 14 points on 4-8 shooting and connecting on his only attempt from 3-point range and hitting all five attempts from the free-throw line. Other Jags in double figures scoring were Domonic Tilford with 11 and Ronald Douglas with 10.
Five Trojans scored in double figures. Kenny Ware scored 20 points on 6-10 shooting going 6-8 from outside the arc and hitting both free-throw attempts. He also added six rebounds all on the defensive side. Richard Dekl scored 17, Brandon Hazzard scored 14, Travis Lee scored 11 and Mario Telfair socred 10.
While USA out-scored Troy 28-20 in the paint but Troy would leal all of the other categories: 18-9 pts off T/O, 10-7 2nd chance pts, 13-2 Fast break pts, and bench scoring 46-29.
Troy led the entire game and their largest lead was 33 points at the 8:09 mark in the second half. The Jaguars really need to find some sort of spark at the Mitchell Center. All Jaguar fans need to come out and support Coach Arrow, Coach Pietre and both the Men’s and Women’s teams. Both teams are coming down the stretch and they need a good push to finish out the SBC schedule.
Go Jags!
Jaguar Men Win Big At Louisiana-Monroe
Jaguars win big, 90-57, while both DeAndre Coleman and Brandon Davis come away double-double performances. Coach Arrow decided to try a big starting lineup, using three forwards, with good results.
Brandon Davis hit all seven attempts from the floor in the first half, scoring 19 in the period. After a media time-out with just under 8 minutes to go, the Jags were down 32-38. Davis then scored 7 of the Jaguars 14 points to take the lead going into the locker room up 42-37. While Lawrence Gilbert would score 14 and Jarvis Hill would score 12 going 4-5 from 3-point range in the first half for the Warhawks.
The Jaguars would open the second half with a 13-0 run, which would be a 16-0 run spanning the last 3-point field goal by DeAndrae Ross to end the first half that would put USA up 54-37 with 15:50 to go in the game. USA kept the engine going by pushing the lead out to 65-44 with over 10 minutes to go.
Domonic Tilford would further push the lead out to 30 with a 3-pointer with eight minutes left and the Jags largest lead (37) would come with just under five minutes to play on a Tilford layup, 85-48. Then both teams would cruise to the final score of 90-57, an impressive 33 point victory.
Brandon Davis was a perfect 11-11 from the floor and going 8-10 from the free throw line to score a career best 30 points while grabbing 10 rebounds, 7 of them defensive and adding two blocks and two steals for the game. DeAndrae Coleman added 12 points on 6-12 shooting with 11 rebounds, 9 of them defensive. Then to round out the double digits scoring was Domonic Tilford with 22 on 8-11 shooting and going 4-7 from 3-point range and hitting both attempts from the free-throw line.
The Warhawks were lead by Lawrence Gilbert who scored 16 points in the game going 4-7 from the floor and 4-6 from 3-point range and sinking all four shots from the free-throw line. Jarvis Hill was the only other Warhawk to score in double digits with 14 on 3-12 shooting going 1-3 from outside the arc and 7-10 from the charity stripe.
The telling stats for the game were the FG and 3FG percentages for the two teams. USA shot 64% from the floor and 58% from 3-point range compared to Louisiana-Monroe’s 27% from the floor and 48% from outside the arc. The Warhawks went from 10-29 from the floor in the first half to 5-26 in the second half.
Additionally, USA out-rebounded them 38-27 for the game with 29 of the rebounds coming on the defensive side. The Jags claimed all of the other telling stats: Points in the paint 44-8, points of of turn-overs 16-8, second chance points 13-11, fast break points 9-0 and bench scoring 19-15. Plus the Jags held the Warhawks to only 20 points in the second half.
Louisiana-Monroe falls to 5-10 (1-3 in the SBC) while USA improves to 10-6 (3-2 in the SBC).
The Jaguars will return to the court when they host Troy on January 15th with tip-off set for 7:05pm at the Mitchell Center. Come out and support your Jags!
Go Jags!
Tilford Scores 27 To Lead Jags Over FAU
Scoring a game high 27 points, Domonic Tilford lead USA to a wire-to-wire, 74-69 win over Florida Atlantic in southern Florida. While Brandon Davis scored 11 to be the only other player to score in double digits.
USA led the entire first half shooting 54% and going 4-7 from 3-point range on Tilfords 12 first half points. The Jags led 32-22 after Brandon Davis answered a FAU 3-pointer with a dunk with less than five minutes to go in the half, but went scoreless from that point through halftime. Going into the lockerroom at the half they had a slim 32-30 lead.
The Jags hit an early three in the second half to extend their lead to 5 but over the first seven minutes of the second half, FAU would close within 1 point three times. After a quick 7-2 run in just over a minute, the Jags jumped out to a six point lead, 50-44.
Another short run over two minutes saw FAU climb back within 2 points midway through the second half at 52-50. Methodically the Jags would pull out to a nine point lead, 67-58 with 4:40 remaining on the clock. Up by eight with less than four minutes to go FAU would score 6 straight points to close the advantage to two points 69-67 with just over a minute and a half left.
Sherrer sunk two shots from the free throw line, then FAU’s Monroe sunk two foul shots and C. J. Garner hit one of two foul shots to put the Jags up 72-69. To preserve the win, Garner blocks Carderro Nwoji’s attempt at a 3-pointer with four seconds left which lead to him making a layup to end the game.
FAU out rebounded USA 31-22 and hit 19-22 from the free throw stripe. USA out-shot FAU 57%-46% from the field and also outshot them 46%-15% from 3-point range. They were even scoring in the paint, USA held a slight advantage in points off turnovers 12-11. FAU outscored USA in 2nd chance shots 15-7 while USA had 8 fast break points to FAU’s 0. But bench scoring made the biggest difference in the game with USA scoring 22 and FAU could only muster 5 from one player, however that number is a bit misleading since FAU’s roster only lists seven players for the game.
USA will host Middle Tennessee State at the Mitchell Center on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 7:05PM. These two teams were chosen to finish 1-2 in the SBC Eastern Division this season. Additionally, these two teams are the top two point producers thus far in the Sun Belt Conference. Domonic Tilford leads the league with 19.3 points per game and 3.25 3-pointers per game. While Desmond Yates is second in the league with 19 points per game but leads the conference with 62% FG percentage.
Come out and support the Jags in their first home conference game since Western Kentucky on December 18th. GO JAGS! BLEED IT RED!
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!
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!