MOBILE, Ala. - The University of Mobile Men's Basketball team managed to get back into the win column on Tuesday night, Jan. 11 with a 87-81 victory over Spring Hill College in Pharr Gymnasium. It was the 75th meeting in the history between the two crosstown rivals as Mobile currently leads the series with 41 wins and 34 losses following Tuesday's outcome. Following the win, Mobile advanced their overall record to 7-11 on the season. Meanwhile, Spring Hill, members of the NCAA Division II, fell to 1-12 on the year.
The energy in Pharr Gymnasium was electric on Tuesday night as Mobile started the game with an 18-5 run over the Badgers. With students returning from Christmas break this week and special guests in attendance that included WNSP Sports Radio, the city of Mobile's local sports radio station, WKRG News 5, and the University of Mobile RamCorps, a high-impact brass and percussion ensemble, Pharr Gymnasium saw one of its largest crowds of the season thus far. Mobile's hot start to the game kept the energy level up as the Rams continue to feed off the large crowd's noise. However, Spring Hill did eventually manage their own offensive run later in the first half and momentarily took the lead with just over seven minutes left in the half.
Spring Hill's lead was short lived as Mobile managed to regain the lead before the half and take a 46-41 lead to the break. From there, the Badgers kept the Rams in check for the rest of the game, never allowing more than a 12-point deficit, but struggled to close as Mobile never lost the lead in the second half. The Rams eventually defeated Spring Hill by six.
"Love the energy in here," Mobile Head Coach Darnell Archey said at halftime. Archey was happy with how the Rams started the game, especially offensively, but needed his defense to improve in the second half. "Defense needs to be stronger," he concluded his halftime interview. Although allowing just five points in the first few minutes of the game, Spring Hill took advantage of a few moments of lackadaisical defense that Mobile displayed following big made shots for the Rams. Eventually, the defense did step up in the second half and the Rams out-rebounded the larger Spring Hill team, 35-27.
Archey was impressed with several individual performances in the game including those of Logan Foutz, Joshua Williams, and DaMariee Jones. "I was not surprised to see Logan have the game he did tonight," Archey said. "One of our core values of our program is perseverance and he showed that in a big way." Foutz finished with a game-high 25 points in the win, his second-highest scoring total on the year. Archey continued, "He [Foutz] didn't particularly have the best shooting game our last time out vs. Blue Mountain, but he found his way into the gym these past couple of days and earned the right to make shots tonight. I was really proud of his efforts on both ends of the floor along with pumping in 25 points." Foutz shot 7-12 from the floor and was near perfect from deep hitting four of six three-point attempts.
Joshua Williams, Mobile's team-leader in scoring entering Tuesday's game, finished with his first double-double of the season. "Josh has continued his dynamic play from last week with his ability to score the ball, but also dish out a career-high 13 assists," Archey said. "Besides being a stat stuffer, I have been thrilled with his maturity in being a leader for our young team and showing more poise under pressure." Mobile's third-year head coach mentioned credited the platooning between the two young points guards on the roster saying, "Josh, along with PJ King, are doing a phenomenal job of getting guys to the right spots and being good vocal leaders." Williams recorded 20 points in the win and mixed in 13 assists, most of any player in the game, to earn the double-double. Williams was two rebounds shy of Mobile's first triple-double of the year.
On DaMariee Jones, Archey was thrilled with his performance Tuesday night. "What a spectacular performance by the true freshman DaMariee Jones," Archey said. "I knew he had a lot of rebounds, but didn't realize it was 14 total until I saw the stat sheet. We have been struggling in the defensive rebounding department, so for DaMariee to come down with 10 defensive rebounds is huge for us." Jones, the true freshman from Bessemer, Ala., recorded his team-high third double-double of the season, finishing with 18 points and 14 rebounds, being the only player in the game to record double-digit rebound totals. Archey concluded, "He has one of the best motors I've seen and its non-stop. For him to play 38 minutes and still come up with rebounds and timely baskets says a lot about his character and how much he loves to win." In Jones' 38 minutes, he shot 8-11 from the floor and recorded a game-high four steals in the victory.
Overall, Mobile had a nice offensive night, finishing with a team shooting percentage of 58.8%. The Rams made seven three-point attempts in the win, giving them a 53.8% three-point percentage and managed to make 20 of 30 free-throw attempts. Defensively, Mobile forced 17 Spring Hill turnovers, recording seven team steals, and scored 21 points off Badger turnovers.
Coach's Thoughts
"This was my first experience coaching in the Crosstown Showdown and I enjoyed every second of being apart of a rivalry game that means a lot to our UM alumni and the community," Archey said. "To come out on top once again makes it even sweeter. This was our first time playing in three years, so for a lot of the guys playing in the game this was their first time. I hope Spring Hill wants to continue to play every year and build this game back up close to what it once was."
On the atmosphere in Pharr Gymnasium Tuesday night, Archey credited the students. "A big thank you to all the students that came out tonight along with RamCorps", Archey said. "This made the difference in carrying the Rams home to victory over the Badgers. It was nice to have a true home court advantage. All these things matter in helping us win, outsiders might not think so, but having a rowdy student sections matters." RamCorps played a major part in the noise aspect that kept the crowd engaged. "Having Kenn Hughes and RamCorps playing unbelievable music and creating an exciting atmosphere matters. The men's basketball team can't thank you enough for this support," Archey concluded. Currently, RamCorps is on the schedule for one more date later in the season.
Mobile will look to build off their non-division win over their rival Spring Hill as the Rams are scheduled to host Brewton-Parker College in a conference matchup on Thursday, Jan. 13 in Pharr Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT
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.
For more information about the University of Mobile, visit the website at www.umobile.edu or call Enrollment Services at 1.800.WIN.RAMS or 251.442.2222.
