Rams Rally, But Fall At Nationals

KANSAS CITY, Mo—The University of Mobile men’s basketball team fell 67-58 to #16 seed Trevecca Nazarene in the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament Wednesday evening.

Trevecca controlled the opening half of play, hitting 6-of-10 from three-point range to build a 12-point lead at the break. Just 3:33 into the second half, the Trojans had built that lead to 15 points before the Rams caught fire to make a game of it.

Over the next 7:30, the Rams went on an improbable 25-5 run to take a 5 point lead when Robert Jones sank a pair of free throws just minutes following his conversion of an old-fashioned 3-point play to make the game 53-48 in favor of Mobile.

But, following that physically-draining run, the Rams only tallied 2 points over the next 8 and a half minutes, while the Trojans went on a game-clinching 17-2 run thanks to improved free throw shooting.

Heading into thestretch, the Trojans were hitting under 40% from the charity stripe, but they rose to the occasion and hit 60% after Mobile took the 5-point lead.

Josh Helton led all scorers with 24 points and hit an incredible 6-of-9 from downtown to pace the Trojans hot-shooting. Collins Onyando finished with a double-double of 11 points and 10 boards.

Robert Jones led Mobile with a 22-point, 10-rebound effort, while Steve Pellan added 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. The Rams finish the season 22-10 and this was their 9th trip to the National Tournament.

Fans can follow the action at the National Tournament by visiting the NAIA Web Site.