Jeff Price won his first game as South Alabama’s interim men’s basketball coach Saturday as the Jaguars beat Arkansas-Little Rock 77-62, taking sole possession of first place in the overall Sun Belt Conference standings.
South Alabama improved to 6-5 overall and 3-0 in the Sun Belt, the only team in the conference with three league wins. Arkansas-Little Rock, which entered the day leading the West Division, fell to 8-6 and 2-1. Western Kentucky is also unbeaten in conference play at 2-0 and was scheduled to play nationally ranked Louisville in a nonconference game Saturday night.
Four Days to Prepare
Price had four days to get ready for the Trojans after Ronnie Arrow’s surprise retirement. Price was Arrow’s assistant from 1989 to 1993 and returned to his staff for the past two seasons.
“I was obviously very pleased with our effort,” Price said. “I thought we came out with good energy after we got over that lull at the beginning of the game. I was really happy with the way we shared the ball. Our assist-to-turnover ratio was really good. We were really good defensively against a pretty good team. … Really pleased with the way we finished the game. I’m trying to get this team to have a little more killer instinct and to know how to put people away. Each time they got close we built it up and it ended up being 15.”
16-0 Run Turns the Game
South Alabama fell behind 7-1 early and trailed 15-13 about 10 minutes into the game. The Jaguars then scored 16 consecutive points to take a 29-15 lead, prompting Arkansas-Little Rock coach Steve Shields to call a timeout.
South Alabama picked up the pace after the opening minutes, contesting shots and pursuing second-chance opportunities, and carried a 39-30 lead into halftime.
The Trojans made several pushes in the second half, including a 12-4 run midway through the period, but got no closer than three points. The Jaguars held a lead of about nine points for much of the half before pulling away for the 15-point win.
Turnovers and Balance
South Alabama got balanced scoring, a favorable assist-to-turnover ratio and pressure defense that forced 21 Arkansas-Little Rock turnovers. The Jaguars’ one weakness was at the free throw line, where they made 17 of 28 attempts (60.7%).
The victory was South Alabama’s most impressive since a 76-71 win over nationally ranked Florida State on Nov. 9.
Rubit Reaches 1,000 Points
Forward Augustine Rubit scored the 1,000th point of his career, becoming the 16th player in school history to reach the milestone.
Price on Arrow
Price said he spoke with Arrow before the game.
“It’s been, as you can imagine, quite a whirlwind the last few days and I have spoken with Ronnie and his spirits are good and he wished us luck. I’m sure I’ll talk to him again after the game,” Price said. “It’s interesting to see how everyone’s going to react. I think everyone’s just sitting and waiting to see how we would react and early in the game we were down 7-1 and it just took a little time.”
“It was like hey, we better get going and time to move on. I thought once we reacted to that and moved on and got into the flow of the game it was good. You just learn in this business you just have to go on to the next chapter and move on. This game will make us realize that we can be a championship caliber team and just keep getting better.”
Up Next
After a break for Christmas, South Alabama returns to action Dec. 29, when Arkansas State visits the Mitchell Center. Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m.
Update: Stevens Scores Career-High 17
Freshman point guard Barrington Stevens, making his second consecutive start, scored a career-high 17 points in the win over Arkansas-Little Rock. Stevens made 3 of 4 attempts from 3-point range and added an assist, a block and a rebound. South Alabama has won both games he has started.
“I always try to be solid, not turn the ball over, and let the game come to me,” Stevens said. “We have people that can score and it’s really great to have those kinds of weapons around me so I can just feed off them.”
Stevens averaged 11.9 points and 3.1 assists as a senior at Allen High School in Allen, Texas, where he set the school’s single-game assists record with 14. He is the second-youngest player on the South Alabama roster, behind Viktor Juricek.
“I just want to run the team and be seen as a good floor general,” Stevens said. “My job is to get my teammates in position to score as well as to break down the defense and get easy buckets for myself and others. If we do that and we get the win, that’s how I know that I’ve done my job. A good point guard is always measured by his winning percentage.”
After the holiday break, South Alabama’s upcoming Sun Belt schedule includes games against Arkansas State, Louisiana-Monroe and Middle Tennessee.
