MOBILE, Ala. — Augustine Rubit posted his 10th double-double of the season and Antoine Allen hit three 3-pointers as South Alabama used a second-half surge to beat Western Kentucky 65-57 on Thursday night at the Mitchell Center.
Rubit finished with 19 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, and Allen also scored 19. The win improved the Jaguars to 10-8 overall and 7-3 in the Sun Belt Conference and gave South Alabama consecutive victories for the first time since Dec. 22. Western Kentucky fell to 11-10 and 5-5.
Sun Belt East Standings
South Alabama remains one game ahead of FIU for second place in the Sun Belt’s Eastern Division and two games behind first-place Middle Tennessee. Western Kentucky is tied with FAU for fourth place in the division.
Second-Half Run Decides It
South Alabama led 28-23 at halftime, but the Hilltoppers rallied early in the second half and took a 33-30 lead with 16:46 remaining.
Neither team led by more than three points until Rubit made two free throws and Allen hit a 3-pointer with 11:10 left. Aleksejs Rostov answered with a layup for Western Kentucky, but Allen hit another 3-pointer to start a 9-0 run that gave the Jaguars their largest lead, 51-39, with 8:36 to play. In all, South Alabama outscored the Hilltoppers 14-2 during the stretch.
“Right around that 12-, 13-minute mark we had a timeout and said, ‘Let’s just get this done guys and finish strong.’ As soon as I said that, it’s like they looked at each other and finished strong,” interim head coach Jeff Price said.
Hilltoppers Close the Gap Late
Western Kentucky climbed back into the game as South Alabama struggled at the free throw line. Brandon Harris hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 60-54 with 53.7 seconds left, and the Jaguars made two of their next four free throw attempts.
Harris was fouled by Javier Carter on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws to make it 62-57 with 38 seconds remaining, Western Kentucky’s closest margin since the 10:09 mark. Allen answered with two free throws, and the South Alabama defense forced two misses to close out the win.
Price Praises Defense, Rubit
“Obviously just a really hard fought game,” Price said. “I thought our guys were tremendous. At a stretch at the 12-minute mark in the second half where we just turned it on and got that thing up to 10 points, mostly based out of the intensity of our defense.”
Price singled out Rubit. “Aug’s huge,” he said. “I’m so pleased with his effort. … He takes a beating and he keeps on ticking. He just has been tremendous.”
Box Score Notes
Rubit added four blocked shots, two steals and two assists. Allen went 3-of-6 from 3-point range and grabbed seven rebounds. Mychal Ammons scored 10 points with seven rebounds.
Carter scored seven points and blocked two shots, extending his streak to 12 straight games with a block. He has 168 career blocks, one behind Reginald Poole for 16th place on the Sun Belt’s career list.
Freddie Goldstein scored three points before leaving in the first half with a shoulder injury. He did not return.
Up Next
South Alabama closes a three-game homestand against FIU on Sunday at the Mitchell Center, with tipoff set for 4:05 p.m.
Pregame Context
South Alabama entered the game after a week off, having last played on Jan. 17, when it beat Louisiana-Monroe 71-56. The Jaguars were 2-1 this season coming off breaks of a week or more, with the lone loss a 63-54 decision against Arkansas State on Dec. 29.
“The break has been good for us,” Price said before the game. “It gave us a chance to regroup and work on some things in practice that we haven’t been able to do, and be able to tweak some things on both ends of the floor.”
Western Kentucky arrived having lost four of its previous five games after an 8-2 start. The Hilltoppers were without leading scorer Jamal Crook, who had been sidelined by an injury since Dec. 16 and was averaging 14.5 points per game. Crook scored 24 points against South Alabama last season in Bowling Green.
T.J. Price led Western Kentucky in scoring at 14.1 points per game entering the game. Harris had been named Sun Belt Player of the Week after averaging 19 points the previous week, including 22 against UALR.
Rubit entered the game ranked second in the Sun Belt in scoring at 19.3 points per game and first in rebounding at 10.9 per game, after scoring 23 points against Louisiana-Monroe for his sixth 20-point game in nine outings.
