MONTGOMERY, Ala. – On Wednesday at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex, the Southern Polytechnic State University men's basketball team, the fourth seed from the Eastern Division, dropped a 90-80 decision to the University of Mobile Rams, the No. 5 seed out of the West, in a Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament first-round game.
The contest would up being the final game in the rich history of the Southern Polytechnic program. Since the 1977-78 season, Southern Poly posted an overall record of 800-384 with 15 NAIA national tournament appearances, including one Final Four and three trips to the Sweet 16. Along the way, the Hornets claimed 10 conference regular-season championships, seven conference tournament titles and six NAIA district crowns.
In its last contest ever, SPSU scored the first six points but seven lead changes followed. Mobile led 39-34 at halftime and was on top the entire second half, establishing its largest advantage at 69-54 with 10:04 left. Eight minutes later, Southern Poly pulled to within four points, 82-78, but the Rams were able to expand its lead down the stretch.
The Hornets ended at 40.8 percent (29-of-71) from the field, including 40.0 percent (12-of-30) from behind the three-point arc while the Rams shot 42.9 percent (27-of-63) and 14.3 percent (2-of-14), respectively. At the free throw line, Mobile was 34-of-49 (69.4 percent), compared to just 10-of-24 (41.7 percent) for SPSU. Southern Poly, which was outrebounded 52-34, was called for 30 fouls to the Rams' 19.
Marcus Dortch poured in a game-high 30 points for the Hornets while CJ McElrath had 18. Chris Key finished with 17 points and six rebounds while Chris Kingsberry came off the bench to score 11 points. Freshman Philip Reeves grabbed seven boards in a reserve role while Ricky Fuller dished out a season-best five assists.
SPSU concludes its 2013-14 campaign at 13-18 overall while Mobile is 14-15 and moves on to the SSAC Tournament quarterfinal round on Thursday to play the West's top seed, the William Carey University Crusaders, who are ranked third nationally in NAIA Division I.
