Article by: Drayten Nobles, Contributing Writer

It was the debut of South Alabama’s new Mardi Gras Alternate uniforms, and the Jags put on quite the performance, defeating Buffalo 81-69 in the MAC-Sun Belt challenge on Saturday, February 7. A challenge the Sun Belt won with a 14-12 overall record this year.  

As for this particular game, the final score did not quite tell the whole story. The Jags dominated throughout, and it was much needed after the conference loss to App State earlier in the week.

Buffalo won the tip and started this game with a 3-pointer in their opening possession, but this would be the only time Buffalo would lead. South Alabama responded in a big way, a 25-4 run to give the Jags a big early lead. Buffalo would hit a few more threes in the first half, but South Alabama was in firm control, leading the Bulls 40-24 at the half.

The South Alabama momentum would not stop here; it would continue into the second half as well with a 19-6 run out of the break. South Alabama was able to build a 30-point lead at one point in the second half. Up big, South Alabama pulled most of their starters and gave some back-of-the-bench players, such as Maxwell Land and Brian Hawthorne, time on the court.

Against the bench players, Buffalo really turned up the pressure and began hitting some threes. This and some missed opportunities by South allowed the Bulls to cut the lead to just 10 late in the half. South Alabama held on, though, despite the late surge, holding on to win it 81-69.

The Jaguars as a team shot 53% overall and 47.6% from three, one of their best offensive games this season. The Jaguars also did a great job of forcing turnovers and dominating the glass, outrebounding Buffalo 36-34. The Jags were uncharacteristically sloppy, though. South Alabama, which is top 5 in the country in least amount of turnovers, turned it over 10 times against the Bulls.

Individually, it was a huge game for a previously slumping Adam Olsen, who switched his number from 12 to 0 before the game. He led the team with 23 points and 3 steals, shooting 4-7 from three. Jayden Cooper also had another big game, with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Buffalo was led by senior guard Angelo Brizzi, who made 26 points, with 24 of those coming from  3-pointers. Junior guard Ryan Sabol also played an impactful role; he made 23 points, despite just shooting 8-21, along with 8 rebounds and 3 assists.

“To come out of here with a win makes me proud.  We played really well for the majority of the game, and we made some really undisciplined plays, but I’m proud of the segments that we had throughout that game. We just need to build on the consistency,” said South Alabama Head Coach Richie Riley.

With this win, South Alabama improves to 17-7 overall. The Jags will hit the road for their next few games, with three straight games against Southern Miss, Arkansas State, and a makeup game against Marshall. More information on athletics can be found at usajaguars.com.