Alabama

South Alabama basketball fall to NAIA opponent Mobile, 83-74

Published

1 year ago

November 7, 2023

South Alabama basketball fall to NAIA opponent Mobile, 83-74

Monday’s game vs. South Alabama was technically an exhibition for the University of Mobile, but someone forgot to tell the Rams that.

The Rams, an NAIA team, led by as many as 27 points on their way to an 83-74 victory over their cross-town Division I counterpart Jaguars at the Mitchell Center. The loss was the first-ever to Mobile for South Alabama, which was 9-0 all-time in the series before Monday and won 97-59 against the same program last year.

“They outplayed us for 40 minutes, and it wasn’t even close,” sixth-year South Alabama coach Richie Riley said. “… It was bad. It’s the worst one I’ve been a part of in my career, to be honest with you. And it’s my responsibility as the head coach. I’ve got to get us to play better. I give (Mobile) credit, they did a nice job. But that was hands-down the worst any of our teams have played since I’ve been here and that’s on us.”

Mobile (3-1) bested South Alabama (0-1) in every phase of the game, shooting 60% from the field, including 69% in the first half. The Jaguars, meanwhile, shot just 21% in the first half — 35.5% in the game — and were outrebounded 39-33 overall.

Mobile — ranked No. 22 in the latest NAIA poll — scored the game’s first five points, and was up by double-digits less than five minutes into the game. South Alabama got back in it briefly with a 15-0 run in the second half, but never trailed by fewer than seven in the final 35 minutes of game time.

“We just couldn’t guard anybody,” South Alabama’s Judah Brown said. “They shot 60% from the field, 70% in the first half, which is just completely unacceptable. We have to look ourselves in the mirror and address — a lot.”

Brown led South Alabama with 21 points, 16 in the second half. Isiah Gaiter added 14 and Samuel Tabe 12 for the Jaguars, who made just 7 of 28 3-point attempts.

Pooh Frazier, a Mobile native and Vigor High School graduate, led the Rams with a game-high 23 points. Three other Mobile players scored in double-figures, with Ezra McKenna adding 17, Treylan Smith 15 and Damariee Jones posting a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

“It means a lot,” said Mobile coach Darnell Archey, a South Alabama assistant under coach Matthew Graves from 2013-18. “It means a lot for me, because I coached here for five years, but it really means a lot to these guys. You know, when you’re the NAIA program in town, a lot of people look down at you in a sense. We don’t get to play in this type of environment a lot, so I told them to make the most of the moment. And those guys truly did that tonight.”

It was a stunning defeat for South Alabama, which reached the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship game last season. The Jaguars returned two starters and just one other key contributor from last year’s team, but was picked to finish sixth in the Sun Belt by league coaches.

But the Jaguars never got it together until it was too late on Monday, rarely getting off an uncontested shot and allowing the Rams to take the ball to the rim repeatedly in the early-going. Mobile scored 48 points in the paint, an extraordinary amount for a team playing up three levels in competition.

“It certainly should be a wake-up call, but we’ve got to get better,” Riley said. “… Not only is it a wake-up call, but it’s like an emergency call. Because it’s not like our schedule gets easier, and that’s not a knock on (Mobile). They’ve got a good team, but it’s not like our schedule gets easier. We’ve got to play way, way, way better.”

South Alabama returns to action on Saturday, playing at Buffalo at 1 p.m. as part of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. The Jaguars also travel to Tuscaloosa to face defending SEC champion Alabama next Tuesday.

Mobile hosts arch-rival Spring Hill at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

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Alabama

2024 Alabama High School Back and Lineman of the Year Finalists

Published

6 hours ago

December 25, 2024

Press Room

2024 Alabama High School Back and Lineman of the Year Finalists

Winners, Super All-State and Mr. Football to be revealed Jan. 28 at a luncheon banquet at the Montgomery Renaissance.

Class 7A

Back of the year
Anquon Fegans, Thompson
Trent Seaborn, Thompson
Daylyn Upshaw, Central-Phenix City

Lineman of the year
Malik Autry, Opelika
Zion Grady, Enterprise
Jared Smith, Thompson

Class 6A

Back of the year
Corey Barber, Spain Park
KJ Lacey, Saraland
Na’eem Offord, Parker

Lineman of the year
Keenan Britt, Oxford
Jourdin Crawford, Parker
Anthony Jones, St. Paul’s

Class 5A

Back of the year
Conner Nelson, Leeds
Cam Phinizee, Russellville
Jotavion Pierce, Catholic-Montgomery

Lineman of the year
Jabarrius Garrar, Vigor
Kentonio Kelly Jr., Vigor
Ellis McGaskin, Williamson

Class 4A

Back of the year
EJ Crowell, Jackson
Landon Duckworth, Jackson
Gunner Rivers, St. Michael

Lineman of the year
Tristan Brown, Cherokee Co.
Tae Diamond, Cherokee Co.
AJ Rice, Madison Academy

Class 3A

Back of the year
Caden Chandler, Mars Hill Bible
Kadyn Mitchell, Houston Academy
Rollie Pinto, Piedmont

Lineman of the year
Myles Johnson, T.R. Miller
Billy Neill, Bayside Academy
Tucker Wilks, Fyffe

Class 2A

Back of the year
Chris Clemons, Winston Co.
Luke Gilbert, Pisgah
Preston Lancaster, Tuscaloosa Aca.

Lineman of the year
JJ Faulk, Highland Home
Clete O’Bryant, Coosa Christian
Grayson Gulde, Vincent

Class 1A

Back of the year
Alvin Henderson, Elba
Ziquayvion Jackson, McKenzie
Jaquez Wilkes, Wadley

Lineman of the year
Fred Curry, Georgiana
Hayes Farrell, Donoho
Tim Parnell, Leroy

AISA

Back of the year
Julian Curry, Wilcox Academy
Gerrell Perry, Banks Academy
Luke Tarver, Chambers Academy

Lineman of the year
Jackson Boykin, South Choctaw Academy
Ashton Yelder, Lowndes Academy
Asher Young, Fort Dale Academy

The Alabama Sports Writers Association is a professional organization for sports writers and editors throughout the state, or any person involved in disseminating sports information or publicity in Alabama including but not limited to sports information personnel, publicists of professional organizations or facilities, or publicists of non-profit organizations sponsoring or governing sporting events. The ASWA is a non-profit organization.

The ASWA prep committee’s primary responsibilities include conducting regular top-10 rankings of a variety of high school sports, and select all-state teams in those sports as well. The committee will determine the winner of a variety of annual awards including the annual Mr. Football winner, and the Jimmy Smothers Courage Award. For more information, check out: ASWA

See Also 2024 Alabama High School All-State Football Selections

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Alabama

3 former Alabama high school stars return to NFL rosters

Published

14 hours ago

December 25, 2024

Press Room

3 former Alabama high school stars return to NFL rosters

Three Alabama high school alumni will wake up on Christmas morning on NFL rosters after starting Christmas eve out of the league.

On Tuesday, the Buffalo Bills signed linebacker Nicholas Morrow (Huntsville High School) to their active roster, the Atlanta Falcons signed linebacker Rashaan Evans (Auburn High School, Alabama) to their practice squad and the Miami Dolphins signed defensive tackle Neil Farrell Jr. (Murphy High School) to their practice squad.

Each of the players rejoined a team they had played for this season.

An eight-year veteran with 105 NFL regular-season games and 58 starts in his career, Morrow played in 11 games for Buffalo before the Bills released him on Dec. 7.

A seven-year veteran with 87 NFL regular-season games and 68 starts in his career, Evans played in two games for Atlanta before being waived on Saturday. This is the third time the Falcons have signed Evans for their practice squad this season. He joined the team on Oct. 1, was released on Oct. 12, re-signed on Oct. 21 and moved up to the active roster on Nov. 1.

A three-year veteran with 19 NFL regular-season games in his career, Farrell played in seven games for Miami before being waived on Saturday. Farrell joined the Dolphins’ practice squad on Sept. 26 and moved up to the active roster on Nov. 11.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.

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Alabama

How to Watch the ReliaQuest Bowl: No. 11 Alabama vs. Michigan

Published

24 hours ago

December 24, 2024

Press Room

How to Watch the ReliaQuest Bowl: No. 11 Alabama vs. Michigan

Alabama and Michigan played in a bowl game on the first day of 2024 and will play in another on the final day of 2024, there’s just not as much as statke this time. The Crimson Tide and Wolverines are becoming familiar postseason foes, meeting in a bowl game for the third time in the last six seasons with this year’s matchup in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, Florida.

Both teams will be without several players because of injuries and the transfer portal, but it will be another game between two of the most storied programs in college football history. Alabama and Michigan both had disappointing seasons relative to their standards but are coming off wins over bitter rivals in the final game of the regular season.

Here’s what you need to know about the seaon finale in Year 1 for Kalen DeBoer at Alabama:

Who: Alabama (9-3, 5-3 SEC) vs. Michigan (7-5, 5-4 Big Ten)

What: ReliaQuest Bowl

When: Tuesday, Dec. 31, 11 a.m. CT

Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

TV: ESPN

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Tyler Watts).

Sirius XM: Away 191, Home 372

Series: Tied, 3-3

Last meeting: The two teams met last postseason in the Rose Bowl as the semifinal for the College Football Playoff. Michigan won 27-20 in overtime and went on to win the national championship. Alabama led for almost the whole fourth quarter, but let Michigan go on a 75-yard drive in the final few minutes of regulation to tie the game up. The Wolverines got the ball first in overtime and were in the end zone two plays later. Jalen Milroe was stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 3 to give Michigan the win.

Last time out, Alabama: Alabama handled business in the Iron Bowl against Auburn with a 28-14 victory despite turning the ball over four times. Milroe had 256 yards through the air and another 104 on the ground with three more rushing touchdowns.

Last time out, Michigan: The Wolverines had one of the biggest upsets of the college football season, knocking off bitter rival No. 2 Ohio State on the road. Michigan stifled the Buckeye offense on the way to the 13-10 win. Dominic Zvada hit the game-winning field goal with 45 seconds left for the Wolverines.

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