MOBILE, Ala-- The University of Mobile men's basketball team defeated William Carey University 81-77 at Pharr Gym Thursday evening to open up SSAC West Division play.

Mobile (8-5, 1-0) visits conference foe Belhaven University Saturday at 7 pm. The Rams improve to 7-1 at home this season.

Ji Kimbrough led Mobile with 20 points, while Brock Dockery added 16 points and 9 boards, Donte Walker tallied 13 points, and both Christian Salinas and Matthew Turner added 10 points to the cause.

William Carey's Marcus Spann led all scorers with 21 points, including a flawless 11-for-11 effort from the charity stripe.

The Rams out shot William Carey 46% to 35% from the floor and finished 7-of-16 from 3-point range, compared to a 3-of-9 effort from the Crusaders.

In the opening half, William Carey scored first, but then Mobile led the rest of the way, leading by as much as 11 in the period.

William Carey then fought back and grabbed a 55-54 lead with 11:31 left in the game thanks to a 9-1 run. The teams traded leads from there until Mobile took a 66-65 lead with 6:19 left on a 3-ball from Christian Salinas. The Rams never trailed from there. William Carey pulled within 77-76 with 1:39 left, but Spencer Duke answered with a pair of freebies to maintain the lead.