South Alabama’s men’s basketball team ended its season on March 17 after a 78–67 defeat to Auburn in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament at Neville Arena. The Jaguars, who finished the year with a 21–12 record, led for much of the first half but were overtaken by Auburn’s strong second-half performance.
The game was significant as it marked the conclusion of South Alabama’s postseason run and highlighted both the team’s strengths and challenges. The Jaguars built an early double-digit lead, hitting five three-pointers in the first half and leading for over 17 minutes before taking a 36–30 advantage into halftime.
Auburn quickly erased that deficit after halftime, tying the game just over two minutes into the second period with an 11–2 run. The Tigers continued their momentum from beyond the arc, making back-to-back three-pointers to take their first lead since early in the game. A decisive 10–0 run midway through the second half gave Auburn control, though South Alabama narrowed the gap to six points late in regulation behind efforts from Chaze Harris and Stephen Williams. However, Auburn responded with timely perimeter shooting to secure their win.
Chaze Harris led all scorers with 29 points, eight rebounds, and six assists for South Alabama. Stephen Williams contributed 14 points and nine rebounds, while Jayden Cooper added another 14 points including four three-pointers. Despite outscoring Auburn in the paint (36–14), South Alabama was outrebounded (42–31) and allowed more second-chance points (17–6). The Jaguars shot 45 percent from the field and made seven of twenty attempts from three-point range.
Head Coach Richie Riley said, “What a rewarding season for me, because I got to coach such a special group of guys. If you don’t know much about our program, we have an underdog mentality. Our program is rich in love and culture, and that’s how we’ve been able to fight through everything that’s going on in the new age of college basketball, and I’m proud of that. There are so many guys in our locker room who have stepped up, and I want to thank all of my guys. I’m so blessed to have coached them, and it’s been a really fun year for me.”
