Allyn Cooks needed to redeem himself.
He had just watched the man he was guarding, Troy’s Michael Vogler, hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 4.3 seconds left and felt like the sooner he could make things right, the better.
“I had to make up for it,” said Cooks. “I had to. It was only right that I go down there and do something, get an assist, anything.”
Cooks more than made up for his defensive lapse seconds earlier by racing the length of the floor and hitting a running bank-shot at the buzzer to give South Alabama a 69-67 victory over Troy.
The win not only broke a three-game losing streak, but gave head coach Ronnie Arrow his 172nd victory at South Alabama to surpass Cliff Ellis as the winningest coach in school history.
“That was big for him and anything I can do to put a smile on his face is always good,” said Cooks. “I was really excited for him.”
“It was a very good game and I was happy to win it,” said Arrow. “Records are nice but wins are better. If you stay in it long enough, the wins will amount to something. As a coach you look at each game and try to win that one. That’s the main thing that you want done: win that game.”
Just prior to the game-tying trey USA reeled off 10 straight points over two minutes to rally from a seven-point deficit and snatch momentum from the hands of the Trojans. Martino Brock finished the comeback with a 3-pointer and a 3-point play.
The teams traded buckets and Troy took over on its final possession with 40 seconds left in the game. Two attempts to get the Trojans to within one went begging, but Vogler came up big with two key offensive rebounds to keep Troy’s chances alive.
After a timeout, Vogler made his hard work pay off, hitting a turn-around 3-pointer with Cooks in his face.
“They ran that inbounds play two or three times in a row so we knew where they were going with it, we just didn’t know if the point guard was going to shoot it or if they were going to Hazzard,” said Cooks. “Vogler stepped up and made a big play and hit the shot.”
“Vogler was the catalyst of that team, as much as player in the conference,” said Arrow. “So it didn’t surprise me that he had the ball at the end.”
Unfortunately for Vogler and the Trojans, they left just enough time for Cooks to make amends for what he didn’t do on the other end of the floor.
Cooks took the inbounds pass and raced down the floor and released his shot just before the buzzer sounded. It went in off the glass, setting off an arena-wide celebration.
“When I got the ball, I saw the opening and they were slow to get back. I used my speed to my advantage and I thought I could get there. Once I got there, I didn’t know how I could get it in, so I just threw it up.”
Cooks finished the contest with 11 points. He was one of four USA players in double-digits, led by Martino Brock’s 17. Tim Williams tallied 16 points and nine rebounds.
For Arrow it was the third major career milestone he would achieve in the 2009-10 season, following his 600th overall win (counting junior college) and 300th win as a Division I head coach. He enters the 2010-11 campaign with a 177-128 mark in his 12th year. He has taken the Jaguars to three NCAA Tournaments and remains the only USA coach to win an NCAA postseason game.
“That’s nice and it means a lot of hard work by assistant coaches and players,” said Arrow. “But all of that means nothing if you don’t win big games. Winning big games is the ultimate thing. The three milestones are great, but I would rather have the most wins in conference and go to the NCAA Tournament.”
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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