MONROE, La. — Augustine Rubit scored a career-high 32 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and South Alabama held off a late push by the Warhawks to defeat Louisiana-Monroe 77-72 in Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball.
The win improved the Jaguars to 7-6 overall and 4-1 in Sun Belt play and, combined with Western Kentucky’s loss to Arkansas-Little Rock, moved South Alabama into a tie for first place. Louisiana-Monroe fell to 2-8 overall and 1-3 in the conference.
Rubit’s Career Night
Rubit, a junior forward, missed only one shot from the field and two from the free-throw line. The double-double was his fifth in a row and the 34th of his career.
“He was outstanding,” interim head coach Jeff Price said. “He was a dominant factor in the game. Their posts were undersized and had a hard time with him. I thought he did a nice job of sharing the ball and kicking it out.”
Dre Conner was the only other Jaguar in double figures, scoring a season-best 12 points.
Fast Start
One game after falling behind early and never leading, South Alabama opened with a 23-6 run and led the rest of the way. Rubit scored nine of those 23 points as the Jaguars made 10 of their first 15 shots. South Alabama led by as many as 17 points in the first half.
“The biggest difference early was us defensively creating some offensive opportunities,” Price said. “We did a nice job of getting the ball inside and not taking some jump shots.”
The Jaguars shot a season-best 59.1 percent from the floor, a game after their lowest shooting performance of the season.
Turnovers Keep Warhawks Close
South Alabama tied its season high with 25 turnovers, which Louisiana-Monroe converted into 33 points.
“We hurt ourselves turning the ball over so much and we didn’t need to,” Price said. “It’s not like Monroe is a big pressure team. … We just have to understand the value of the basketball and how important it is.”
The Jaguars led 71-59 with under three and a half minutes to play before the Warhawks went on a 10-2 run to pull within four points with 1:16 left. Conner put back his own miss on the next possession to push the lead to six, and Rubit added a free throw after a missed Louisiana-Monroe 3-pointer.
The Warhawks hit a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left to make it a four-point game again. Freshman Barrington Stevens III then scored at the foul line, and South Alabama forced a turnover before the final buzzer.
“In the last minute we did what we had to do to win the game and made our free throws down the stretch,” Price said. “We got some stops when we had to and got some big rebounds.”
Next Up
South Alabama returns home to host Middle Tennessee on Saturday at the Mitchell Center, with tipoff set for 7:05 p.m. The Blue Raiders are 11-4 overall, 3-1 in the Sun Belt and 3-2 on the road.
