MOBILE, Ala. – The South Alabama men's basketball team tied for the largest margin of victory in program history and matched the most points in a game in the Richie Riley era in a 106-41 trouncing of the University of Mobile Monday night in the Mitchell Center. South improved to 9-4 with the victory to close non-conference play, while Mobile dropped to 9-4 this season.
The Jags led from start to finish in this one, compiling three crushing scoring runs, including a first-half run of 13-0 and a second-half run of 18-0 before closing the game with a 14-0 spurt. They collected a season-high 23 assists and 16 steals while only committing three turnovers. The Jags tied for the largest margin previously set on January 6, 2018, in a 99-34 win over Trinity Baptist.
USA shot 56.2 percent from the floor, and Judah Brown led the way with a career-high 24 points, shooting 7-of-9 from behind the arc. Barry Dunning Jr. continued his recent surge and set a new career high, finishing with 18 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Dylan Fasoyiro had a strong outing, scoring 16 points with four steals, three rebounds, and two assists, while Elijah Ormiston earned a new season-high with 12 points and three rebounds on a perfect 2-for-2 from downtown.
Sun Belt leading scorer Myles Corey fell shy of double figures, earning nine points, but he also contributed four assists and three rebounds.
"Good team win," head coach Richie Riley said. " I told our guys I appreciate their maturity level and understanding of what happened 419 days ago. They came in here, and they popped us. We watched that game. I wanted our guys to see it — our new guys, and then I wanted our guys that were here to see it. They understood the pain we went through and came out tonight and played the right way. We played with toughness, force, and urgency and were incredibly unselfish.
" Our guys genuinely care," said Riley. "They genuinely care about each other and don't want to let each other down. They don't want to let South Alabama down. They don't want to let the program down."
The Jaguars took a decisive 15-point lead at the 9:11 mark in the first half off of Brown's fourth first-half three-pointer and never looked back from there, leading 51-21 into halftime before extending their advantage to 51 points at the 9:11 mark in the second half coasting to victory.
Notes
- South Alabama forced 22 total Rams turnovers and only allowed Mobile to score 15 field goals the entire night.
- The Jags tied for the largest margin previously set on January 6, 2018, in a 99-34 win over Trinity Baptist.
- This is the fourth 100-point game of Richie Riley's tenure and the first one since a 102-41 win over Spring Hill.
- Brown fell one three-pointer short of tying the most three-pointers made in a single game in program history.
- JJ Wheat recorded seven assists and swiped four steals.
- Wheat has now logged five or more assists five times this season.
- South scored 52 points in the paint, along with 52 points from the bench, including 41 points off turnovers.
- South Alabama grabbed a monstrous season-high of 15 offensive rebounds, leading to 24 points off second-chance opportunities.
Up Next
The Jags move on to conference play and look ahead to their first Sun Belt road trip of the season to take on Georgia State on Thursday, Jan.2 at 6 p.m. CT, before heading to Statesboro to battle Georgia Southern on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 2 p.m. CT. Both games will be streamed on ESPN +.
FOLLOW THE JAGS
For complete coverage of South Alabama men's basketball, follow the Jags on social media @SouthAlabamaMBB (Twitter), /SouthAlabamaJaguars (Facebook), @southalabamambb (Instagram), or visit the official home of South Alabama athletics at usajaguars.com
