MOBILE, Ala. - In the first game played in Pharr Gymnasium during the year 2022, the University of Mobile Men's Basketball team hosted and defeated No. 11 Stillman College on Thursday, Jan. 6, 68-65. The upset victory for the Rams is just the second game played in the new year and comes just three days after Mobile narrowly fell to No. 1 Loyola (La.) in New Orleans on Jan. 3. Mobile led for the majority of the game to the top-ranked Wolf Pack of Loyola, but lost by one point after missing a buzzer-beating attempt with three seconds left. In addition, the win against Stillman at home on Thursday is the first conference victory of the season for Mobile as the Rams improve their overall record to 6-10 and 1-4 in SSAC play.
The Rams have seen their fair share of tough losses and adversity during the 2021-22 season thus far, but seem to play well against ranked opponents. In addition to Mobile's win over No. 11 Stillman on Thursday night and the Rams' one-point loss to No. 1 Loyola three days prior, Mobile fell to No. 7 Talladega in early December by just four points and lost to an always talented Faulkner University team by one point in Pharr Gymnasium on Nov. 18.
UPSET! How It Happened
Mobile battled Stillman for their first of two regular-season meetings Thursday which saw the Rams send the 11th-ranked Tigers home to Tuscaloosa, Ala. with just their second loss of the season. Mobile controlled the game on the offensive side for the majority of the game, maintaining the lead from just five minutes in to the final six minutes of the game. Stillman struggled with consistency on the offensive side and saw Mobile go into halftime with a 38-28 lead.
At the start of the second half and Mobile up 10 points, the Rams extended their lead as the largest deficit of the night sat at 14 points with 17 minutes left over the Tigers. From there, Stillman began their first offensive run of the night, slowly but surely cutting the deficit following a timeout and switch to a defensive press that seemed to rattle Mobile. Eventually, the Tigers came back from 14 down and took the lead with just under six minutes left to be played. Mobile Head Coach Darnell Archey called several timeouts in the final six minutes to go over strategy as well as keeping his team confident, not frustrated.
After the two teams traded the lead back and forth in the final minutes, Mobile's Joshua Williams tied the game with a lay-in with under a minute left to be played. Williams was fouled on the play and gave the Rams the lead following his made free-throw attempt. From there, Stillman missed a couple of shots in the closing seconds while committing a foul on Mobile's Gary Jefferson, which allowed the Rams two more made free-throws and to eventually come away with the three-point win.
Mobile never allowed Stillman to run away with the lead once the Tigers claimed the lead with six minutes left. Stillman's largest deficit of the night was just three points.
Team Stats/Game Highs
On the night, the Rams shot well from the floor, securing a 48% overall shooting percentage. Mobile shot over 55% in the first half alone and managed a 39% three-point percentage in the game and a 87.5% free-throw percentage, missing just one of eight attempts. Stillman did not shoot over 40% on Thursday and just over 50% from the free-throw line. The Tigers did manage to out-rebound the Rams 39-28, securing 16 offensive boards and 21 points off the second-chance opportunities.
Mobile's Joshua Williams, who leads Mobile in four statistical categories, led all scorers on Thursday with 23 points. Williams also recorded seven rebounds and seven assists in the win, making him three away in each category from a triple-double.
Both Gary Jefferson and Logan Foutz finished with 10 points in the win as Jefferson led Mobile with eight rebounds on the night. Both Foutz and Jefferson, as well as Williams, made important shots late to secure Mobile's win over the No. 11 team in the nation.
Head Coach Reaction
"Once again tonight we played really good team basketball for the first half and to start the second half, but for whatever reason we find ourselves squandering double-digit second half leads," said Darnell Archey, Mobile third-year Head Coach. "I can't say enough of how proud I am of this team tonight because in the past, we have blown leads and cannot overcome it. Tonight the team showed what perseverance and grit is all about, down three with two minutes to play, we went on a 8-3 run to win the game."
Archey's message to his team in the locker room at halftime was simple; to finish. Mobile has seen leads evaporate on the season and have failed to finish the game. Thursday night was no different as the Rams allowed a Stillman comeback. However, Thursday was different in one aspect as Mobile did manage to finish and overcome the Tigers' late comeback.
"Over the holiday break and after our heartbreaking loss to No. 1 Loyola, we talked about putting teams away. Obviously it didn't go perfectly to plan but in the end, the team found a way to win the game and knock off a really good Stillman team," Archey said.
When asked about individual performances on Mobile's roster, Archey mentioned Foutz and Williams' play late. "Logan Foutz made two really big jump shots down the stretch that I thought gave us confidence to get to the final minute of the game. The final minute it was Josh Williams time, I thought he did a phenomenal job of taking what the defense gave him and that was getting to the rim and finishing. His add 1 with 30 seconds or so was such big time play and finish."
Archey concluded by saying, "We are going to celebrate this victory over a ranked team but not for too long because we have another tall task in winning at Blue Mountain on Saturday."
Up Next: Mobile @ Blue Mountain
The Rams will look to build confidence and steam following two well-played basketball games against ranked opponents to kick off the new year. Mobile returns to the court on Saturday, Jan. 8 for a conference matchup against Blue Mountain College in Blue Mountain, Miss. Saturday's game is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CT.
Entering Saturday's game, the Rams have won three-straight over the Toppers and own the series with a 9-7 record. Blue Mountain's last win over Mobile came at home on Jan. 2 of 2020.
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.
