MOBILE, Ala. – For the first time since 2008, the South Alabama men's basketball team clinched a share of the Sun Belt Regular season championship Friday night after a 65-42 win over Louisiana in the Mitchell Center. South Alabama improved to 21-10 on the year and 13-5 in Sun Belt play.
South Alabama surged to a 21-4 lead in the first 10 minutes, then responded after the Ragin' Cajuns (11-20, 8-10) cut the lead to six late in the first half. The Jaguars were up 31-20 at halftime and came out strong in the second half, scoring the first 11 points to secure the win.
Elijah Ormiston poured in a monstrous double-double with a D1 career-high of 28 points, shooting 14-for-14 from the free throw line with 10 rebounds, and Barry Dunning scored 15 points with six rebounds, five steals, and three assists. The Jags outrebounded the Ragin Cajuns 37-24, forced 13 turnovers, and held Louisiana to without a double-figure scorer in the contest.
"I've challenged this group all year long to make memories they can talk about when they're my age," said Head Coach Richie Riley. " That's what they've done all season long with how they care about each other and their selfless attitude. They've put themselves in a position to take it tonight. We needed a little bit of help too and we got that, but I always tell them that great things happen when you pour everything you have into something. They've done that every step of the way since we had them in June. They've stuck together and I'm just thankful I got to coach these guys"
South Alabama's 21 regular-season wins are the most under Coach Riley and the highest for the program since the 2008 NCAA tournament team, which finished 25-5 heading into the Sun Belt tournament. The 2020 Jaguars also had a strong regular season, finishing 20-11 and earning the No. 2 seed for the conference tournament, which was ultimately canceled due to the onset of the COVID pandemic.
The Jags (21-10, 13-5) finished tied for first place with JMU, Troy, and Arkansas State after James Madison fell Friday night in an overtime thriller against Texas State. They earned the top tournament seed by winning the tiebreakers against all three. They've now earned a spot in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament.
Up Next
With the victory, the Jaguars secure a bye to the conference semifinals, which are set for Sunday, March 9 at 5 p.m. CT. Now, they only need two more wins at the Pensacola Bay Center to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in 17 years.
