MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama basketball built a 26-point first-half lead and held off a second-half rally for an 86-78 win over Troy on Saturday night at the Mitchell Center, keeping alive the Jaguars’ hopes of reaching the Sun Belt Conference tournament.
Augustine Rubit had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and five Jaguars scored in double figures for the first time this season.
Fast Start Sets the Tone
Ken Williams hit back-to-back 3-pointers to spark a 26-7 South Alabama run to open the game. Williams scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half, going 4-of-6 from 3-point range, and finished one point shy of his career high with four assists.
“What I told our guys was, this is a must win game,” head coach Matthew Graves said. “If you want to compete in New Orleans for a conference championship you have to win tonight. I thought our energy and effort from the opening tip was outstanding.”
Troy scored 54 points in the second half and twice cut the deficit to six, but South Alabama answered each time. After a 12-3 Trojan run during a stretch of nearly six minutes without a Jaguar field goal, South Alabama scored the next five points with 7:29 remaining to restore a double-digit lead.
Rubit Matches School Mark
Rubit shot 8-for-15 from the field with two blocks and a career-high five assists. His 10th double-double of the season was the 52nd of his career, tying Terry Catledge’s school record.
Senior Antoine Allen added 15 points off the bench, and sophomore Barrington Stevens III and junior Mychal Ammons scored 11 points apiece.
“I do think fatigue played a little bit of a factor,” Graves said of Troy’s comeback. “We were on the road Thursday and with the quick turnaround and Aakim’s (Saintil) limited minutes due to foul trouble. I think those guys got tired, but at the same time, Troy has a couple guys that can really shoot the basketball.”
“I thought we were flat,” Troy head coach Phil Cunningham said. “It’s obvious how big of a game this was, but I just sensed that we were flat. But I also sensed at halftime that we could get back in the game because in the last couple minutes of the first half, we made that little run on them.”
South Alabama closes its regular-season road schedule with two games this week, beginning Thursday at 7 p.m. at Louisiana-Monroe.
Softball Sweeps Citrus Classic
The No. 19 South Alabama softball team won all four of its games at the Citrus Classic at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Fla.
The Jaguars opened Friday by beating IPFW 9-0 in six innings and East Carolina 6-1, outscoring the two by a combined 15-1. Blair Johnson went 4-for-6 on the day. Kaitlyn Griffith was 3-for-6, Stephanie Pilkington 3-for-7, Taylor Rodgers 2-for-5 and Amanda Herron 2-for-3. Herron, playing in her first game as a Jaguar, homered and drove in three runs.
On Saturday, South Alabama outlasted Lehigh 15-9. The 15 runs tied for the fifth-most in program history and were the most since the Jaguars scored 16 against Southern Illinois on Feb. 18, 2012. The nine runs allowed were the most since a 12-1 loss to then-No. 3 Alabama on Feb. 11, 2012.
South Alabama outhit Lehigh 16-10. Johnson went 4-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored, tying the school record for hits in a game. Amanda Minahan was 3-for-5, Pilkington and Griffith were each 2-for-4 and Rodgers was 2-for-3.
Holly McKinnon earned her second career win in as many appearances, allowing nine runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and two walks in 4 2/3 innings. Kaleigh Floore walked one batter in relief before Hannah Campbell earned her second save with four strikeouts and two walks over 2 1/3 innings. A scheduled game against Mercer was canceled because of weather.
On Sunday, South Alabama handed No. 17 Georgia its first loss of the season, 3-2. Johnson hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first for a 2-1 lead, and Georgia tied the game in the sixth. In the bottom of the seventh, Minahan lined a two-out shot that Georgia’s Alex Hugo could not field, and Paige Wilson’s throw to first went into the dirt, allowing pinch runner Gwen Jones to score the winning run.
Georgia outhit South Alabama 6-3 but committed two errors and left 10 runners on base. Campbell pitched six innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits with five strikeouts and three walks. Farish Beard earned the win with a hitless inning of relief, striking out two and walking two.
South Alabama is 11-1. The Jaguars play at Nicholls State in Thibodaux, La., on Wednesday before the Gulf Coast Softball Classic in Gulfport, Miss., where they will face Ohio, Nicholls State, UTSA, Baylor and Chattanooga. Georgia fell to 11-1.
Baseball Splits With New Orleans
The South Alabama baseball team split two games with New Orleans, winning 5-0 Friday before losing 4-3 Saturday on a late two-run homer. Sunday’s finale was canceled because of weather.
The Jaguars host Jacksonville State on Tuesday and Wednesday before a weekend series at Arkansas in Fayetteville.
