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USA wins exhibition opener
Jaguars gauge progress with exhibition win
Chris Young scores 23 points in beating EA Sports 83-80
11/10/03
By TOMMY HICKS
Sports Reporter
It doesn't count, not officially anyway. At least not on South Alabama's record for the 2003-04 season. But Sunday's 83-80 victory by the Jaguars' men's basketball team over EA Sports in the first exhibition game of the year certainly counted as a step forward to head coach John Pelphrey.
"I thought this was exactly what we needed," Pelphrey said of the win, secured when Chris Young dropped in a pair of free throws with 8.3 seconds to play and newcomer Seth Miller stole a pass in the final seconds.
What the Jags needed, Pelphrey said, was the opportunity to gauge their progress away from the practice court. EA Sports, a team of former college players, some with professional experience, was the right opponent, Pelphrey added. The situations South Alabama faced in the game -- playing from behind, protecting a lead, having to make plays at the end of the game -- was just the outing the second-year head coach was hoping for.
"Playing a hard-fought game and having to execute some things at the end ... this was perfect," said Pelphrey, who led the Jags to a 14-14 finish last year, doubling the win total of the previous season.
Not that the Jags are perfect, far from it, Pelphrey said. But the outing enabled the players some game-type pressure and experience and allowed the coaching staff a chance to see how those players would react in those situations.
Perhaps the most notable aspect of Sunday's game is the overall view of the team: this year's Jags are more athletic and the bench deeper.
"Coach recruited some great players," said Young, last season's leading scorer. "It feels good to be able to take a breather every once in a while and come back in the game re-energized.
"Practice has been so hard, so physical. But we know each others' plays. This is the first time we've had a chance to go up against somebody else, and it was good for us."
EA Sports defeated Auburn Friday night 83-81 and had previously beaten Penn State. That fact was not lost on Young, who sees the Jags' win as a sign of improvement for the team.
"I think it shows we can compete with anybody in the country," he said. "(EA Sports) beat a Big Ten team and a SEC team and those are big conferences."
EA Sports took an early lead and held it until the 8:20 mark of the first half when Miller canned a 3-point jumper to put the Jags in front 25-24. Justin White added a hook shot and Shane Spencer a pull-up jumper to extend the lead to 29-24. South Alabama held a 41-38 lead at intermission.
EA Sports regained the lead at 52-50, but a Richard Law 3-pointer put the Jags back in front. EA Sports came back to lead again 60-58, but again a South Alabama 3-pointer, this one by Spencer, put the Jags on top again with 11:09 to play. They did not trail again.
The two most exciting moments of the game were when Spencer lofted an ally-oop pass to Michael Phillips, who caught it facing away from the basket and dunked the ball behind his head. The other was at the end, when Young made the free throws and Miller stole the ball to secure the win.
Young finished with 23 points, hitting 5-of-10 3-point shots. Phillips, a junior college transfer from Mobile who played at LeFlore High School, added 21 points, hitting 10-of-14 shots from the floor. Carlos Smith, another newcomer, added 11 points.
Malerick Bedden, who will miss both exhibition games and the first four regular-season games because of academic woes, did not play. Neither did guard Ugo Ezekwe, who is nursing a sore ankle. Larry Thompson, who was redshirted last season because of knee surgery, did play, scoring two points. The South Alabama roster includes six veterans (seven with Thompson) and five newcomers.
South Alabama's next exhibition game is Nov. 17 at the Mitchell Center against Elite Action at 7:05 p.m.
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USA wins exhibition opener
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