MOBILE, Ala. – Faulkner had an opportunity to win the outright SSAC regular season championship and an automatic bid to the NAIA national tournament Saturday before losing its regular season finale to Mobile 86-83.
The Rams successfully turned Faulkner miscues into points at an efficient rate as they built a 67-57 lead with 4:46 remaining due in large part to a 23-8 margin in points off turnovers. The Eagles struggled to execute against the Mobile defense, as they made just four of their first 16 shots from beyond the arc before finishing the day at an 8 for 23 clip.
Faulkner led by as many as seven in the first half and started the second on an 8-0 run to take a 37-36 lead. A
Gabriel Rivera three and a pair of
Gideon Harris layups highlighted the spurt and appeared to have the ship righted for the Eagles. However, the Rams responded with an 18-4 run of their own that completely changed the game and lifted Mobile to a 54-41 advantage with 14:27 to play.
Faulkner's last best chance started at the 3:52 mark when it trailed by 12. Rivera converted a layup before Aahmod Scarbrough answered with a jumper on the other end. K.J. Rogers then knocked down a three and a pair of free throws before Rivera drained a long-range shot of his own. The 10-2 run cut the deficit to 73-69 with 1:51 to play. Mobile made a trio of free throws to run the lead back seven with 1:17 to go.
Faulkner lengthened the game by continually putting Mobile on the line over the final minute of play. A Rivera three with 17 seconds left cut the Faulkner deficit to 82-80. Two more Ram free throws pushed it back to 84-80 before Rogers made another three with 10 seconds to play, cutting it to 84-83. After Scarbrough hit two free throws with seven seconds left, Faulkner had one final shot while facing a three-point deficit. The Eagles got the ball in to Rogers, who ran it up the right sideline and made a dribble hand-off to Kamal Green, who attempted a deep three. Zion Hunter stretched out to block the shot and secure the Mobile upset.
Rogers had 18 points in the final 4:27 of the game while he and Rivera combined for all of the Faulkner scoring in the stretch. Rogers and Rivera finished with 21 points apiece while the latter added 12 rebounds.
Tanner Vogel had 11 points and
Francois-Dony Baba added 13.
Faulkner (20-8, 14-4) finishes second in the SSAC West regular season standings and will head to the SSAC tournament as the No. 2 seed from the West. The Eagles match up with Brewton-Parker for a 10:45 a.m. tip Thursday at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex in Montgomery.
