Click here for an archive of "50 Great Moments In Jaguar Athletics"

MOBILE, Ala. – May 3, 2013, will mark the 50th Anniversary of the University of South Alabama.  Throughout the academic year, the USA Department of Athletics will recognize “50 Great Moments In Jaguar Athletics” to honor past teams, coaches and student-athletes for their accomplishments.

June, 1972
After the conclusion of his three-year career as a Jaguar, Andy Denny becomes the school’s first National Basketball Association draft pick when the Buffalo Braves select the Seymour, Ind., native in the eighth round.  Denny — who later was a part of the inaugural USA Athletic Hall of Fame class inducted in 1989 — still ranks in the top 10 in school history with 1,352 points and 545 rebounds, and he remains among the top 10 on the Jaguar career record list in field goals made (524), free throws made (284) and free-throw percentage (85.3%).  As a senior, he led the Jags in scoring with 20.5 points per game as well as with 85 assists.

1986-87
Following a three-week break around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, the Lady Jaguars put together a 16-game win streak en route to a school season-record 24 victories; after tying for first in the Sun Belt Conference regular-season standings with a 5-1 record, USA earned an at-large invitation to make its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.  Senior Orphie Moore paced the team with 18.7 points per game to earn second-team American Women’s Sports Federation All-America honors, while Adrian Vickers added 15.4 points per contest and was named to the AWSF’s Freshman All-America team.  During the record-setting season, the Lady Jags picked up victories over Florida State, Texas A&M, Clemson and Old Dominion.

March 17, 1989
Jeff Hodge scored the last of his game-high 29 points on a three-pointer with four seconds remaining in regulation, lifting the Jaguars to the only NCAA Tournament victory in school history with an 86-84 defeat of Alabama in the first round of the event in Atlanta.  Gabriel Estaba recorded 26 points and seven rebounds, and Junie Lewis contributed a double-double with 15 and a game-high 12 rebounds as USA beat the Southeastern Conference champions.  It capped a season in which the Jags finished 23-9, won the Sun Belt Conference regular-season title with an 11-3 mark and claimed the league tournament championship in Richmond, Va.

March 3, 1998
The top-seeded Jaguars got 18 points from Toby Madison, 14 from Darrian Evans and 10 from Rico Alderson to defeat Southwestern Louisiana, 62-59, on its home floor and claim their second straight Sun Belt Conference tournament title — it was the first time since 1984 that the same school had repeated as champions at the event.  Madison was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player — his 15-foot jumper from the baseline with 40 seconds left in the game broke a 59-59 tie — but it was Jerome Coaxum who blocked a Ragin’ Cajun three-point attempt with three seconds remaining to seal the win.

—USA—