H. AUSTILL PHARR GYMNASIUM | MOBILE, Ala. - The University of Mobile Men's Basketball team managed to defeat Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) for the first time in over a year on Thursday night, Feb. 1, defeating the Toppers 72-65 after suffering three-straight losses to the conference foe. Mobile's last loss to the Toppers came on the road in December of this season where Blue Mountain upset Mobile by 10 points. Additionally, the Toppers ended Mobile's postseason run last year in Montgomery, Ala., ending the 2022-23 season altogether.
However, the newly-ranked 20th team in the NAIA, Mobile, cleared the Blue Mountain hurdle on Thursday night, improving to 17-5 overall this season following a seven-point win. The Rams currently sit third in the SSAC Men's Basketball standings with a 10-4 conference record, while Blue Mountain sits near the bottom of the pack with a 2-11 SSAC record.
During Thursday's win, fans witnessed history as junior Ezra McKenna secured his 1,000th-career point late in the second half. McKenna needed just 27 points to reach 1,000 points in his collegiate career entering Thursday, eventually sealing the deal with a made free throw with less than two minutes to go in regulation. The junior Fort Walton Beach, Fla. native finished Thursday's game with exactly 27 points, putting him at 1,000 on the dot. McKenna becomes the 21st Ram in program history to join the 1,000-point club, joining teammate DaMariee Jones as the two Rams to reach that feat during the 2023-24 season. Jones was honored pregame by head coach Darnell Archey for recently surpassing 1,000 career points during Mobile's latest road trip.
Rams Battle for Win
After a back and forth first half, Mobile came away with a two-point advantage over Blue Mountain through the first 20 minutes. The Rams made 11 shots from the floor, tallying a 45% shooting mark, and added four made free throws to lead 28-26 over the Toppers. Meanwhile, Blue Mountain shot just 35% in the first half.
Following the low-scoring first half, both teams saw offensive sparks in the second half, with the game never becoming one-sided. Despite the Toppers cutting the Mobile lead to just one point several times in the second half, Mobile's lead never vanished as the Rams eventually began tacking on to their lead. With eight minutes left in regulation, Mobile's lead grew to 10 points as the home crowd began smelling victory.
Blue Mountain never lost their fighting mentality, cutting the lead back down to three points with just minutes remaining in the game. However, Ezra McKenna and Joshua Williams came up with several clutch free throws late to put the game away and lead the Rams to a seven-point victory.
McKenna finished Thursday with his 17th double-double this year, scoring the 27 points and adding 14 rebounds. He was lights out shooting all game long, missing just one shot from the floor and finishing with a 9-for-10 shooting performance. He finished a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line and a perfect 3-for-3 from deep for three.
Joshua Williams followed McKenna with 17 points, leading the Rams with four assists. DaMariee Jones tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the year, while Trent Moye scored 11 points. Treylan Smith notched three points from off the bench. Mobile saw just five players score in the victory over the Toppers.
As a team, the Rams finished shooting above 50%, recording a 54.2 shooting percentage on 26 made shots. Blue Mountain won the rebound battle 37-35, but Mobile came away with 15 points off Blue Mountain turnovers and 11 points during second chance opportunities. The Toppers only mustered 15 points on second chance opportunities despite 19 offensive rebounds in the game.
Headed to NOLA
Mobile's big home win propels the Rams to a tough matchup on the road against Loyola University (La.) on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 3. Saturday's game in New Orleans, La. is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. CT start and is the first of two regular season meeting between the two programs. The Wolf Pack have won five of the last six games against Mobile dating back to the 2019-20 season, but saw Mobile victorious last time out on Loyola's home floor in January of last season.
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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 information about the University of Mobile, areas of study, admissions and more, visit umobile.edu, connect with UM on social media @univofmobile, or call Enrollment Services at 1.800.WIN.RAMS or 251.442.2222.
