TOUGALOO, Miss. - The University of Mobile Men's Basketball team managed to snap the four-game losing streak the Rams were riding entering Saturday's non-conference game against Tougaloo College, defeating the Bulldogs 83-75 in hostile environment on the road. Tougaloo, a member of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, entered Saturday's matchup with a 8-4 record and were undefeated at home this season while Mobile entered with a 4-7 overall record on the year. Following the win, the Rams now sit at 5-7 on the season and will look to begin a winning streak following the Rams' performance on Saturday.
In the victory, Joshua Williams and Logan Foutz played lights out from off the bench. Williams finished with a game-high 32 points in just 21 minutes of playing time while Foutz recorded 21 points in 31 minutes. Williams shot 11-16 from the floor while shooting a perfect 9-9 from the free-throw line. Foutz went 7-15 from the floor and 3-4 from the free-throw line. No other Ram recorded double-digit point totals in the victory. Both players also managed three rebounds in the win and Williams led Mobile in assists (4) and steals (3).
Mobile Head Coach Darnell Archey talked about the performance of both Williams and Foutz from off the bench following the win. On Williams, Archey said, "Josh was phenomenal today in leading us in points, steals and assists. He scored the ball exceptionally well, but the play of the day was him finding Tadeas Manas for a three-pointer with one minute left to play to seal deal."
On Foutz, Archey stated, "Logan has been hampered with a hip injury that prevented him from playing last week at Reinhardt and most of the night against No. 5 Talladega. We needed every one of his 21 points today. It was great to see Logan back out on the court today and playing with extreme confidence."
Both Williams and Foutz currently lead Mobile in offense through the first 12 games of the season with Williams averaging 15.8 points per game and Foutz averaging 13.8 points per game.
Talking about performances from off the bench, Archey said, "The coaching staff all week has talked about bench energy and getting out of yourself and into the team. This was shown today by the bench scoring 61 of our 83 points. Today's win was a total team effort and the bench was up and cheering for the full 40 minutes. These things matter."
As a team, Mobile shot 55% from the floor, 43% from behind the arch for three, and 82% from the free-throw line. "What we did today at Tougaloo doesn't happen very often," Archey said. "Tougaloo was undefeated at home this year and has only lost one time there in the past three years." Over the course of the last three seasons, the Bulldogs of Tougaloo have managed an impressive 33-1 on their home court.
Archey concluded by saying, "I am so proud of our guys resiliency and grit to win in a tough environment. The growth and maturation process of the team this year is happening right before our eyes. We are the youngest team in the NAIA with 10 of our 13 players being Freshman or Sophomores so for us to go into a place like Tougaloo and get a win will give our young team the confidence that we can compete in arguably the toughest basketball conference in the NAIA, the SSAC."
After the impressive win on Saturday, Mobile will return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 14 for a conference game at home against Dalton State College. Tuesday's game is set for 5:00 p.m. CT as the Rams will look to score the first conference win of the season.
About the University of Mobile
The University of Mobile is a Christ-centered liberal arts and sciences institution with a vision of higher education for a higher purpose, founded to honor God by equipping students for their future professions through rigorous academic preparation and spiritual transformation. Core values are: Christ-Centered, Academically-Focused, Student-Devoted and Distinctively-Driven. The university offers on-campus and online bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in over 75 academic programs. Founded in 1961, the University of Mobile is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist State Convention and is located 10 miles north of Mobile, Alabama on a campus of over 880 acres.
