Rams Open GCAC Play With Win

HATTIESBURG, Miss-- The University of Mobile men's basketball team used the three-pointer to open up Gulf Coast Athletic Conference play with a 79-70 victory over William Carey University Thursday evening.

Mobile (6-5, 1-0) trailed in the first half, but got hot shooting from Marcus Yeager in the final period to walk out of William Carey with the victory.

The Crusaders opened the game with a 13-5 lead in the first 6:50 of play thanks to 9 points from Kyle LaMonte, but Mobile answered with an 11-2 run to take a 1-point lead at the 10:34 mark on a put-back from Steve Pellan. From that point, the teams battled back and forth until a late 6-0 spurt sent the home team into the break with a 36-33 edge.

William Carey out shot Mobile 55% to 48% in the opening frame, but the Rams rebounded in the second half and hit 52% from the field, thanks in large part to explosive shooting from Marcus Yeager.

After taking a tenuous 3-point lead 9 minutes into the second half, the Rams got back-to-back-to-back three-pointers from Yeager to take a 12-point lead with 8:35 remaining. The senior added two more three's in the half to finish with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from behind the arc.

In the end, Mobile hit its free throws and held on for the 79-70 victory. After Yeager's 18 points, Walter Fitzgerald and Robert Jones added 14 points, and Steve Pellan finished with 10 points. Mobile next plays at Tougaloo Saturday, January 5th at 7:00 pm.