MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama won its Mobile exhibition 65-55 Tuesday night at the Mitchell Center, holding the University of Mobile to 29.1 percent shooting in Matthew Graves’ first game as the Jaguars’ head coach.
Senior Augustine Rubit, named the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Player of the Year before the game, finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Defense Carries the Night
The Jaguars held the Rams to 18.2 percent shooting from 3-point range and forced 20 turnovers. South Alabama blocked 10 shots as a team, four by Rubit and two by freshman Ken Williams.
The offense was slower to come around. South Alabama scored 23 points in the first half, shooting 24 percent with 12 turnovers, and finished the game with 24 turnovers.
Second-Half Push
The Jaguars opened the second half with a 12-4 run to take their largest lead to that point and nearly doubled their first-half scoring, making 13 of 23 shots after halftime for 56.5 percent.
Mobile answered with an 11-3 run that cut South Alabama’s lead to 42-39 with 9:20 remaining. Junior Mychal Ammons made two free throws to start a 6-0 run that grew into a 13-2 burst and put the game away.
Rubit went 0-for-4 from the floor in the first half and scored 16 of his 18 points after the break. He was 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. Williams, known as “Juice,” added 13 points, two 3-pointers and six rebounds, and Ammons had 12 points and six rebounds.
Senior Antoine Allen did not play because of a violation of team rules.
Graves Reflects on First Game
“I told the guys in the locker room after the game that I was really proud of their effort and if they continue to throw the ball all over the place like that I’m going to lose the rest of my hair,” Graves said. “It’s a learning experience for all of us and the thing I told them I was most proud about was the way they defended.”
Graves said teams that turn the ball over often typically fall behind by double digits, but that his team guarded well from the start. “Right out of the gate I thought we did an excellent job of guarding them and making them take contested shots, so I was really pleased with our defensive effort tonight,” he said.
On his debut on the sideline, Graves said: “Walking up and down the side line it felt really good. It was a dream of mine to do that and making that dream become a reality. We have a great team and a great staff and it was a lot of fun tonight.”
He noted the team is learning a new system and at one point had four freshmen on the floor together. “It’s going to be a growth process for this team,” Graves said.
Rubit, Allen Begin Final Season
The exhibition opened the final season for seniors Rubit and Allen. Rubit, the conference’s preseason Player of the Year, has a chance to become the first four-time All-Sun Belt Conference honoree in school history.
Up Next
South Alabama opens the regular season Friday against Detroit at the Mitchell Center, with tipoff scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
