MULTIPLEX AT CRAMTON BOWL | MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The University of Mobile Men's Basketball team saw the 2023-24 season potentially come to a close on Friday evening, Mar. 1, falling to UT-Southern (Tenn.) 70-54 in the semifinals of the SSAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament in Montgomery, Ala.
Friday's meeting between the No. 1 seed of UT-Southern and the fifth-seeded Rams of Mobile was the first game played between the two programs on the year as Mobile falls to 21-9 on the season following the tough loss. The Rams will now await the NAIA Men's Basketball Selection Show next week in hopes for an at-large bid to this year's national tournament following the defeat.
Slow Start Sets Tone on Friday
Close to six minutes ticked off the clock before the Rams recorded their first points of the game as UT-Southern opened the semifinal contest with a 13-0 run. Mobile Head Coach Darnell Archey was forced to burn a pair of early timeouts due to the slow offensive start on his team's side, with Mobile eventually seeing the first made shot come via a free throw from DaMariee Jones. Mobile's first field goal from the floor came from Ezra McKenna with 12:46 left in the first half after starting the game 0-for-10 as a team. Meanwhile, the Firehawks continued to build on their early run and increased the lead 21-3 through the first media timeout.
Mobile did find a hot streak halfway through the first half, however, and built a run of their own. The Rams put together an 11-0 run with five minutes left before halftime, keeping UT-Southern scoreless for over four and a half minutes in the process. The run allowed Mobile to get back into the ballgame, seeing a 20-point deficit shrink to just nine points.
As the first half began to wind down, a pair of successful free throws on UT-Southern's side snapped the Mobile run. The Firehawks then closed out the final two minutes of the half with a 6-0 run to take a 36-21 lead to the break. Mobile finished the first 20 minutes just 8-for-29 from the field and 0-for-8 from beyond the arch for three. Additionally, the Rams committed eight turnovers.
Looking to shake off the first-half cob webs, Mobile came out of halftime with hopes of controlling the early stages of the final 20 minutes, but were unable to do as UT-Southern eventually extended the lead to a game-high 23 points. The Rams had no answers against the top seed in this year's conference tournament, trailing for the entirety of Friday's game. With just under two minutes left in regulation, Darnell Archey pulled his five starters and allowed reserves to touch the floor in Montgomery. UT-Southern cruised to a 16-point win, shooting north of 43% from the floor in the process.
Mobile finished 19-for-54 from the floor, good for just a 35% shooting percentage. Both DaMariee Jones and Ezra McKenna picked up double-doubles in the losing effort as Jones paced the offense with 16 points. McKenna tallied 14 points, with each player grabbing 11 rebounds. For McKenna, Friday's double-double is his 24th of the season. As a team, the Rams won the rebound battle against the Firehawks, 39-32.
NAIA Men's Basketball Selection Show
The 2023-24 NAIA Men's Basketball Selection Show is scheduled for Thursday, Mar. 7 at 6:00 p.m. CT and will be broadcasted through the NAIA's YouTube and Facebook pages. Mobile will wait until then to see if the 2023-24 season rolls on or if the loss on Friday to UT-Southern ends the Rams' season.
FOLLOW THE RAMS
For complete coverage of University of Mobile Athletics, follow the Rams on social media at /MobileRams (Facebook), @UMobileRams ("X" FKA Twitter), and @umobilerams (Instagram), or visit the official home of the University of Mobile Athletic Department at https://umobilerams.com/.
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.
