MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama went 2-1 in the CBE Classic over the weekend at the Mitchell Center, losing to Southern Miss before beating Wright State and Houston Baptist, as senior Augustine Rubit became the school’s career rebounding leader.
The Jaguars played three games in three days as part of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic. Rubit posted double-doubles in the final two.
Southern Miss 66, South Alabama 59
Southern Miss scored the first three points of Friday night’s opener, but South Alabama took the lead and held it for the rest of the first half. The Jaguars led by as many as 10 at 26-16 with 6:57 left before halftime.
The Golden Eagles answered with an 11-2 run over about three minutes to cut the lead to one, and South Alabama took a six-point lead into the break.
The Jaguars opened the second half on an 8-2 run, and a 3-pointer by senior Antoine Allen made it 53-40 with 10:42 remaining. Southern Miss then scored 13 straight points, half of them at the free-throw line, to tie the game.
Rubit made one of two free throws to put South Alabama back in front, but Southern Miss regained the lead on its next possession and stretched it to four with a 3-pointer with 2:47 to play. The Golden Eagles closed the game on a 26-6 run over the final 10 minutes for a 66-59 win.
Rubit had 17 points, nine of them in the second half, but scored only one point in the final 10 minutes. Allen added 14 points and made 4 of 6 3-point attempts.
South Alabama 74, Wright State 70
South Alabama rebounded Saturday afternoon with a 74-70 win over Wright State behind 23 points and 13 rebounds from Rubit.
Rubit grabbed his 933rd career rebound in the first half, passing Terry Catledge for the most in school history. He finished the game with 940 career rebounds, which also moved him into third place in Sun Belt Conference history.
The performance was the 44th double-double of Rubit’s career and his second of the season.
South Alabama 79, Houston Baptist 59
The Jaguars closed the event Sunday with a 79-59 win over Houston Baptist, opening the second half with a 16-2 run to pull away.
South Alabama’s defense forced Houston Baptist to miss 13 of its first 14 shots of the second half and forced four turnovers in the first eight minutes after halftime.
Freshman Ken Williams started a 10-0 run that Dionte Ferguson capped by scoring five consecutive points. Austin Karazsia added a 3-pointer during the run, and South Alabama led by 29 points with 11:14 left.
Rubit led all players with 17 points and 13 rebounds for his second straight double-double. He scored 14 of his points in the first 12 minutes. Sophomore Barrington Stevens III had a team-high four assists as the Jaguars finished with 12 assists.
South Alabama committed only seven turnovers, its fewest since it also had seven at Denver on Feb. 20, 2011.
Rubit Climbs Record Books
Along with the rebounding record, Rubit moved into third place on South Alabama’s career list for free-throw attempts with 605 during the weekend.
Up Next
South Alabama, in its first season under head coach Matthew Graves, has the rest of the week off before facing former Sun Belt Conference rival Middle Tennessee on Saturday. Tipoff is set for noon, and the game will be televised on CSS.
