Men’s And Women’s Basketball Fall At Troy
Men’s Basketball
South Alabama men’s basketball team tried to rally late at Troy Thursday night but their rally fell short 79-74 as the Trojans end their five-game losing streak.
Troy’s Hunter Williams scored 21 of his game-high 26 points in the second half by hitting seven three-pointers.
The Jagaurs late rally was came from Troy’s inability to convert from the free-throw line. They used a 9-3 run to cut into the 12-point deficit but still trailed 78-74 with 22.7 seconds left. They would miss a 3-pointer on its next possession and could not get any closer.
Augustine Rubit scored 25 points, his most since his career-high 35 points on December 14 against Ganzaga. Barrington Stevens III and Ken Williams both added 13 points as Stevens set a new career high with six assists. Williams hit on three 3-pointers as well.
Mychal Ammons came down with eight rebounds while.
“We did a great job on Williams in the first half,” South Alabama head coach Matthew Graves said. “The problem is we have to sustain it for 40 minutes—it’s a 40-minute game—and we’ve had different issues like this during the season where we’ve not been able to put together a complete game. A shooter like Williams, all it takes is one to go in. We didn’t switch a ball-screen and he got a ‘3,’ we didn’t trail a stagger (screen) and he got a ‘3,’ and the two that he got that were ridiculous, those are the ones that go in because he’s feeling comfortable.”
“Unfortunately a good offensive effort was wasted again tonight because we didn’t dig down and guard.”
“When you get hit in the mouth with a punch, you have to get back off the deck and go back at them or you can stand there and keep getting punched,” Graves said. “Unfortunately, too many times we get punched and you run out of time. They were giving us opportunities down the stretch with missed free throws, but by that time you’ve really put yourself in a bind.”
The Jaguars will have a week off before returning to action against Arkansas State at the Mitchell Center on February 13 for a 7:05pm.
Women’s Basketball
The South Alabama Women’s basketball team committed 27 turnovers which led to 29 points by the Trojans as the Lady Jaguars fell 78-53 at Troy.
The Jaguars were led by Breanna Hall with 12 points, three assists and three steals. Meghan Dunn added 11 points for her 14th double-digit game of the season. Ronneka Robertson ended with eight points and 10 rebounds as she fell just short of a double-double.
USA shot only 25.8% in the second half and 35.6% for the whole game from the floor.
Troy’s Joanna Harden, the Sun Belt’s leading scorer, led all players with 30 points as she was 11-of-27 from the field and 4-of-11 from long range.
Brittany Webb was injured during the game and miss the remained of it. “(The loss of Webb) changed our whole rotation,” Jaguar head coach Terry Fowler said. “She’s our primary ball-handler and that changed everything. Meghan Dunn had to play the whole game and guard hard. I thought fatigue and frustration set in for us. Those are two tough things to overcome.”
The Lady Jags fall to 7-13 overall and 5-5 in the Sun Belt.
The Lady Jags will have most of a week off before returning to action against Arkansas State on February 12 at the Mitchell Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 11:30am.
20th Ranked USA Softball Mercy-Rule 21th Ranked UAB 8-0 In 5 Innings
Junior Farish Beard struck out 10 against 21st ranked UAB for the Jaguars first win of 2014. | Photo usajaguars.com
Farish Beard led the #20 ranked South Alabama Jaguar Softball team to a mercy rule win over #21 UAB on Thursday night at the newly renovated Jaguar Field. Beard struck out 10 batters while only allowing one hit to lead the Jaguars to the 8-0 win in five innings.
Beard, a Fairhope, AL native, earned her 10th career double-digit strikeout performance of her career and extended her shutout streak to 38 1/3 innings dating back to the 2013 postseason.
The Jaguars first runs came in the first inning on a Blazer error when Kristen McGrath dropped Kaitlyn Griffith’s fly to the right field wall which allowed Julie Moss to score from second base.
Stephanie Pilkington smashed a two-RBI single through the right side of the UAB defense. Blair Johnson got an RBI on a sacrifice fly to center field to score Amanda Herron to give the Jaguars a 4-0 run after two innings.
In the top of the third, after a strikeout and a forced groundout, two Blazers got on base with a single up the middle and a hit batter. But Beard would strike out the next batter to end the inning.
Freshman Chloe Rathburn would extend the Jaguar led to seven on a three-run homer to center field in only her second collegiate at-bat to score Moss and Griffith.
Beard struck out all three batters she faced in the top of the fourth inning. In the bottom half, Pilkington got her third RBI on a triple that scored Gwen Jones to give the Jaguars their 8-0 score.
Beard then struck out her 10th batter before forcing a pop-up to third and fielding a grounder up the middle an throwing out the runner at first to earn the Jaguars first win of 2014.
Beard has not lost a decision in her last 36 appearances.
Jaguar head coach Becky Clark spoke about Beard’s performance by saying, “There’s been a lot of distractions going on – the construction, the hype and that kind of stuff – so I thought for her to give us that kind of outing on day one was huge, especially in the cold tonight.”
USA out hit the Blazers 7-1 on the night. UAB’s Lannah Campbell, the twin sister of Jaguar Hannah Campbell, took the loss for the Blazers by giving up seven runs, six earned, and allowing six hits and a walk.
“I think that was about the best way you could possibly start off a season,” Clark said. “I thought the hitters were phenomenal tonight. They were balanced at the plate and waited on pitches they could drive. I thought [the young players] did a great job. They looked like they’ve been playing for us for years.”
The 2014 Mardi Gras invitational will continue through Sunday at Jaguar Field. The Jaguars will face Syracuse at 5;45 this evening.
20th Ranked Jaguar Softball Team Opens Season Tonight Versus #21 UAB
The University of South Alabama softball team will begin their 2014 season with their annual Mardi Gras Invitational to be held that the newly-renovated Jaguar Field beginning today and going through Sunday.
The #20 ranked Jaguars will host #21 ranked UAB to begin the tournament starting at 6pm today. They will then face Syracuse twice and well as McNeese State and Austin Peay through the weekend.
USA returns seven starters from the 2013 team which set records for the most wins and fewest losses with a 48-9 record. They also won their second consecutive Sun Belt Conference Tournament title and hosted their first-ever NCAA Regional.
Senior Hannah Campbell and junior Farish Beard return to the pitchers circle for the Jaguars. They combined for the nation’s third-best ERA at 1.43. Hannah was named first Jaguar to be named an All-American while Farish went a perfect 23-0 last season.
The Jags welcome six new student-athletes following the exit of graduating seniors Brittany Fowler, Britany Campbell, Meghan Collins and Jessica Dobson as well as filling the position left when Haley Fagan transfered to Auburn after last season.
Jaguar head coach Becky Clark enters her eighth season at USA and ninth overall with the university and has led the program from its inception to its first-ever preseason top-25 ranking.
South Alabama and UAB will get underway at 6pm this evening at Jaguar Field.
Go Jags!
Official Football Signing Day List
Here is the list of signees that will be joining the Jaguar Nation. Their names were released today by head coach Joey Jones and his staff.
Dallas Davis is a 6’2″ 195-pound dual-threat quarterback from Panama City, Florida. He is rated as a two-star recruit by 247SportsComposite index and by the 247Sports rankings. He was an honorable mention selection to the All-State team and a first-team All-District last season after throwing for 3,765 yards and 40 touchdowns.
Jeremy Reaves is a 6’0″ 175-pound cornerback from Pensacola Catholic school in Pensacola, Florida. He is listed as running a 4.45 40 and received recruiting interest from Arizona, Florida Atlantic, Mississippi State or Missouri. He was selected as an honorable mention All-State player last season.
Corliss Waitman is listed as a 6’1″ 170-pound punter from Milton Florida. He is rated a three star recruit by 247Sports Composite rankings and is rated a two-star by 247 Sports. He was also offered by Alabama A&M and had interests from Maryland, Memphis and Middle Tennessee State. He was rated as the fifth best punter in the nation by 247Sports.
CJ Johnson is a 6’1″ 200-pound Safety/Outside Linebacker from Douglas, Georgia. He played at Colquitt County high school under Rush Propst. Defensive coordinator Travis Pearson came from Colquitt last year to coach linebackers under Kevin Sherrer and Pearson was one of his recruiters. Johnson is rated a three-star recruit by the 247Sports Composite rankings and a two-star by 247 Sports. Johnson is rated as a three-star recruit by ESPN.com at Safety. He was received offers from Arkansas, NC State, Ole Miss, UCF and well as being recruited by Georgia Tech and Mississippi State.
Malcolm Buggs is a 5’10” 183-pound safety from Opelika, Alabama. He is rated as a three-star recruit by 247Sports Composite rankings and ESPN.com and as a two-start by 247Sports. He is listed as running a 4.4 40. He was offered by Georgia Tech and was also recruited by Auburn, Oregon State and Vanderbilt.
Claude Garrett is a 6’3″ 215-pound wide receiver from Wahpeton, North Dakota from the North Dakota State College of Science. He is rated as a two-star recruit by both the 247Sports Composite index and the 247Sports rankings. In addition to USA, he was also recruited by Arkansas State, BYU, Illinois and Kansas. Last season in route to be named to the First-Team All-Midwest Football Conference he hauled in 53 passes for 772 yards and four touchdowns.
Bryson Johnson is a 6’3″ 285-pound defensive tackle from Wahpeton, North Dakota from the North Dakota State College of Science. He is rated as a two-star recruit by both the 247Sports Composite and the 247Sports rankings. He was also offered by Texas State, Tennessee State, Northern Illinois and was recruited by Cincinnati. He was a second-team All-Midwest Conference selection as a sophomore with 59 total tackles.
Marice Fluellen is a 6′ 175-pound cornerback from Dothan, Alabama. He is rated as a two-star recruit by the 247Sports Composite and 247Sports ratings. Also Scout and Rivals both have him as two-star as well. He also received offers from Furman, Memphis and South Dakota State as well as recruiting interest from Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri, Purdue, Southern Miss, Tennessee and Texas State. He finished the season with 47 tackles and nine passes broken up while being rated as one of the top 100 recruits in the state by 247Sports.
Christopher Wilkerson is a 6’2″ 175-pound Safety from Bessemer City High School in Bessemer, Alabama. He is rated as a two-star recruit by 247Sports Composite and 247Sports rankings. In addition to USA, he had interest from Chattanooga, Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State. He is listed as running a 4.5 40. He was ranked among the top 75 recruits in the state by 247Sports.
Noah Fisher is a 6’5″ 245-pound offensive tackle from Decatur, Georgia. Fisher is rated as a two-star by both the 247Sports Composite and 247Sports rankings. He wasn named honorable mention for the All-State team, he was also first-team All-Region and All-County.
Caleb Butler is a 6’4″ 240-pound weak-side defensive end/inside linebacker from Enterprise, Alabama. Butler is a two-star 247Sports Composite index as well as the 247Sports ranking. In addition to USA, Bulter also received offers from Alabama State, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State and UAB. Butler recorded 108 tackles, 11 quarterback hurries and three forced fumbles in his senior season en route to being named to the First-Team All-State selection.
Chason Milner is a 6’4″ 220-pound outer linebacker from Spanish Fort, Alabama. He is rated as a two-star recruity by 247Sports Composite index ranking as well as a 247Sports. He was also offered by Old Dominion, Furman, Tulane and UAB. He also had interest from Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Auburn, Cincinnati, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Lafayette, Minnesota, Northern Illinois and Vanderbilt. Milner was primed for a big senior season before a knee injury sidelined him for most of the season. He helped lead the Toros to back-to-back 5A State championships.
Corbin Finlayson is a 6’4″ 300-pound offensive guard from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He is rated as a two-star recruit by 247Sports Composite index and 247Sports. He was also offered by James Madison.
Joshua Smith is a 6’3″ 200-pound tight end/athlete from Chiefland, Florida. He is rated as a two-star recruit by both 247Sports Composite index and the 247Sports rankings. In only one season at Cascade High School he was an All-Western Conference selection as both a quarterback and defensive back.
Nigel Green is a 6′ 185-pound safety from Flowood, Mississippi through Northest Rankin high school and Mississippi Gulf Coast. He is a two-start rating by Scout.com. He finished fourth on the team with 41 total tackles as he helped Mississippi Gulf Coast CC to a ninth place ranking in the final NJCAA rakings.
Carson Sharp is a long snapper from Gulf Breeze High School. Sharp will be a preferred walkon.
Curtis Williams is a 6’5″ 310-pound offensive tackle from Hialeah, Florida. He is not rated by the rating sites but the coaches speak very highly of him and he was kept very quiet until he was signed by the Jaguars. Led his team to a 9-1 record and a seventh place ranking in the final NJCAA rakings.
National Signing Day 2014 Is Here
National Signing Day 2014 is upon us. As the National Letter-of-Intents are faxed in today, Jaguar fans will notice that this class is focused on defense. Particularly they have focused on defensive linemen and defensive backs to fill needs. But they did not turn their backs on offensive players who could also help the team in the future.
The Jaguar offense will have eight starters back on offense, including offensive lineman Melvin Meggs who missed the entire season with a knee injury.
The South Alabama staff like where they stand with this class. They seems to have hit on some very good players, but just like other schools, they may have missed out on some players they were hoping to sign.
Quarterback Kilton Anderson, who verbally committed to the Jaguars a while back, has since flipped and is expected to sign with Fresno State instead. Defensive back Shaq Jones flipped to Louisville and coach Bobby Petrino though he is reportedly still talking to other schools including Georgia. Defensive lineman Jalen Harvey has verbally committed to Syracuse in the past few days.
Hopefully the only surprises that South Alabama has today are good ones by picking up some good student-athletes they may not have expected.
Look to our twitter account for updates throughout the day. This evening we will have a review all of the Jaguar signees that are announced this evening by the University.
Three Jaguars Named To Preseason All-SBC Softball Team
With the Softball season fast approaching, three South Alabama student-athletes were named to the 2014 Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference team as the Jags were predicted to finish 2nd in the conference this season in selections made by Conference coaches.
Senior lefty Hannah Campbell was selected to the team for the second consecutive season at pitcher. Junior outfielder Blair Johnson was also selected for the second time while junior Kaitlyn Griffith was selected for the first time in her Jaguar career. Griffith is moving from second base to shortstop to fill the position vacated by former Jaguar standout Brittany Fowler.
This is the second straight year the Jags have had at least three selected to the list, which ties for the most this season with Western Kentucky.
Campbell was the first Jaguar to have ever been named an All-American last season. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association selected her after a 22-9 season with the second best ERA in the nation at 1.08. She also set a single-season record last year in saves with six and shutouts with 10 while tossing three no-hitters, including a perfect game against Mississippi Valley State in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Mobile Regionals.
Johnson made the preseason list for the second time this season after helping to lead the Jaguars to back-to-back Sun Belt Conference Tournament championships. She led the team in hits (61) for the second straight season while recording 43 runs scored and 38 RBI. She was named to the All-SBC second team in her first collegiate season in 2012 and was named to the first-team last season.
Griffith finished second on the team in home runs with 10. She led the Jags past Troy in last year’s conference tournament. She had a .577 slugging percentage last year and had a .417 on-base percentage. She drew the second-most hit-by-pitches last season with 16 and recorded a .984 fielding percentage. She displayed her defensive prowess against #9 UCLA last season when filling in for an injursed Brittany Fowler, she had five-assists and a two put-outs from the shortstop position.
Griffith was a second-team selection last season and was named to the all-tournament team as well.
USA finished second to regular-season champion Western Kentucky with Louisiana-Lafayette finishing third. The Jags and ULL faced off in the conference tital game.
The #20 ranked Jaguars open the 2014 season on Thursday, February 6 against #21 ranks UAB at Jaguar Field to to begin the Mardi Gras Invitational.
2014 Sun Belt Conference Softball Preseason Poll (First Place Votes)
UL Lafayette (6)-62 pts
South Alabama (2) -57 pts
WKU (0) -47 pts
Texas State (0) -33 pts
Georgia State (0) -30 pts
Troy (0) -27 pts
UT Arlington (0) -21 pts
UL Monroe (0) -11 pts
USA Falls To Hot Shooting Georgia State In Atlanta
Jaguar seniors Antoine Allen and Augustine Rubit scored 19 and 16 points on Monday night in Atlanta against Georgia State, but was not enough to overcome the hot shooting Panthers 85-65.
The win extended the Panthers school record winning streak to 13 games and improves them to 16-6 overall and a perfect 9-0 in Sun Belt play. The Jags fell to 7-15 overall and only 1-8 in Conference play.
The numbers do not lie, Georgia State converted 65.2% from the floor in the first half and over 72% from outside the arc. Their top three scorers combined to go 10-of-15 from three-point range.
GSU jumped out to a 17 point lead on a 15-2 run midway through the first half. Manny Atkins opened the run with a three in the first of six consecutive possessions with a score for the Panthers. Ryan Harrow scored seven of the 15 points during that run including the final two points.
The Jags kept chipping away at the lead in the second half and held the Panthers without a field goal for 4:39 as Rubit and Allen combined for 14 of the Jaguars 19 points during to begin the half.
A three by Allen would trim the lead down to 57-46 with 9:05 left in the game, but GSU would score eight of the next 10 points and 14 of the next 19 points to take a 20 point lead on USA with 5:26 left in the game.
Allen led the Jags with 19 points as he went 7-of-10 from the field and 4-of-6 from from three-point range. Rubit added 16 points and six rebounds. Ken Williams was the only other Jag to reach double-digits scoring with 10. Barrington Stevens III had a team high five assists to go with his five points.
R.J. Hunter led all scorers with 24 points as he went 7-of-9 from the field and 5-of-6 from long range. Ryan Harrow and Manny Atkins both added 20 points each. Curtis Washington was the only other Panther in double-digits with 10 points.
“Tonight we had a gameplan of not letting certain guys shoot 3s and laying off a couple of others, but unfortunately they were 8-for-11 from the 3s and the Harrow kid, who normally shoots 26 percent from 3, made three out of four and got them in a really good rhythm,” Jaguar head coach Matthew Graves said after the game. “They’re very talented offensively and once they get going they’re hard to stop.”
“I felt like in the second half, we made a nice adjustment defensively and made it tough in that first 10-to-12 minutes,” Graves said. “We kept them off balance and kept attacking, but with a team like this at home, you can only take so many punches. They kept making big shots and big 3-pointers. When a team shoots 63 percent on you, you’re asking for a long night.”
“Our two seniors did what seniors are supposed to do on the road and it was good that they stepped up and shot a good percentage,” Graves stated. “When Antoine takes good shots, he’s more than capable of making them and if he plays within the offense, he can really do some positive things for us.”
“I did think we did a better job of getting Augustine and Mychal (Ammons) the ball down inside. I know it doesn’t show in Mychal’s numbers per se but he got more touches than he normally does and Aug was able to get free early. In the first half he had three turnovers so he has to understand once we get him the ball he’s got to be strong with it and continue to take it up towards the basket.”
“I was really encouraged offensively. We had 14 assists on 26 field goals, which is moving in the right direction, like we did in the last game,” Graves continued. “We had nine turnovers in the first half and finished the game with 12, so we did a better job of taking care of the ball. I’m hoping we’re starting to build some positive momentum on the offensive end of the floor as we move into our game on Thursday.”
South Alabama will travel to Troy on Thursday to face their in-state rival. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30pm and can be heard on 105.5 WNSP and WNSP.com.
South Alabama Sports Weekend Roundup
Football
As National Signing Day approaches on Wednesday, head coach Joey Jones announced that Travis Pearson will be promoted to the defensive coordinator position that was vacated by Kevin Sherrer after he left to take a position at the University of Georgia under defensive coordinator and longtime friend Jeremy Pruitt.
“Travis is a great football coach and a great person,” Jones said. “He was here with us last season and part of a defense I like running, so I think the carryover with his knowledge of our system will be very helpful in maintaining what we’ve done through the next few years. I’m real excited about having him in this role.”
“He’s in the same boat that Kevin Sherrer was in,” Jones continued. “Kevin hadn’t been a defensive coordinator at the collegiate level, he hadn’t “coached” in college, but I knew he was a great football coach. And I know Travis Pearson is a great football coach. The players love him, they have a high level of respect for Coach Pearson and so do I.”
In his first season as part of the USA defensive staff, Pearson helped the Jaguar defense finish second in the Sun Belt Conference in passing yards (224.6 ypg), total defense (384.3 ypg) and scoring defense (25.2 ppg). While coaching the linebackers, he helped Enrique Williams earn second-team all-conference honors after the senior led the team with 105 total tackles, with 7.5 of them being tackles for loss. He also helped Maleki Harris post a career-high 63 tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss and seven passes broken up.
The Jags look to improve on their 6-6 overall record and 4-3 record in Sun Belt play last season. They lost five games by seven points or less, four of them came by a total of five points.
Coach Jones has three positions to fill on his staff: a defensive assistant to potentially coach the secondary if Pearson continues his work with the linebackers, a quarterbacks coach to fill Bryant Vincent’s position as he left for the offensive coordinator position at UAB, and a wide receivers coach to fill Jerry Mack’s position who left the staff for a head coaching position at North Carolina Central University.
Men’s Basketball
South Alabama rallied from a deficit of as much as 12 points to take the lead late in the game against Arkansas-Little Rock on Saturday. But it was not enough to get the win as the Jags fell 62-58.
Early in the second half, the Jags were down 32-22 before a three-pointer by Ken Williams which was followed by a three-pointer by Augustine Rubit after a Trojan turnover would cut the lead to four points with 16:44 left in the game.
A short time later Antoine Allen and Ken Williams would combine for back-to-back three-pointers cutting the lead to 38-36. A layup by Josh Hagins would seperate the two 3-pointers from another by Antoine Allen that would further cut the Trojan lead to one point at 40-39 with 13:24 left.
USA would take their first lead of the game a short time later when Allen would sink both free throws with 12:51 left in the game.
The Jags would take a 54-51 with 3:18 left in the game on an Antoine Allen layup, but Hagins sparked a 6-0 rally to retake the lead over the Jaguars.
USA was forced to foul late in the game and would get within one-point on a Mychal Ammons dunk with 15.7 left in the game. UALR would make one of two at the free throw line to set up the Jaguars final possession of the game.
A floater by Allen in the lane would only hit the front of the rim, just short of it’s mark. Hagins would add on the final two points of the game with 0.9 seconds left for the final score 62-58.
Antoine Allen and Augustine Rubit both scored 14 points to lead the Jaguars in scoring. Rubit would finish just short of a double-double with nine rebounds. Ken Williams was the only other Jaguar in double figures scoring with 10.
With the loss, the Jags fall to 7-14 overall and 1-7 in conference play. UALR speeps the season series as they improved to 12-10 overall and 7-3 in conference play.
The Jags travel to Atlanta to play Georgia State in a game that was rescheduled from Thursday due to weather.
Currently the Jags are in the basement of the Sun Belt Conference standings at 10th place. The Sun Belt Conference Tournament will feature the top 8 teams, which is still within the Jaguars grasp. Texas State, currently the 8th place team, is 6-15 overall and 2-6 in Conference play. Troy is in 9th place with an overall record of 7-14 and a conference record of 2-7.
Women’s Basketball
The lady Jaguars held on the defeat UALR 61-56 on Saturday. Meghan Dunn scored eight of the final 12 points for the Jaguars to hold on for the win.
Dunn finished with 17 points and her eighth double-figure game of the season. She was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe and 5-of-12 from the floor while also adding four assists.
Breanna Hall led the Jags with 19 points as she finished just two points shy of tying her career high. She has hit double-figures in her last four games and hit 10-of-11 free throws.
The entire team went 22-of-26 from the free throw line.
The Lady Jaguars improved to 7-12 overall and 5-4 in Sun Belt play. UALR fell to 10-10 overall and 5-5 in conference play.
USA will travel to in-state rival Troy on Thursday for a 5:15pm tipoff.