HATTIESBURG, Miss. - William Carey men's basketball came out blazing and never took its foot off the gas, defeating Mobile 94–72 in a high-energy conference showdown Saturday afternoon.
The fireworks started immediately.
Randarius Hughes drilled a smooth mid-range jumper on the opening possession, and the Crusaders were off to the races.
Javeon Gordon buried a three at the 17:14 mark, and
Jamar Jenkins followed with back-to-back power finishes in the lane to push the early lead to 11–4 and force Mobile onto its heels.
Carey kept piling on the pressure.
Malik Franklin splashed a wing three with 14:14 left, and less than a minute later,
Arzika Seibou stepped into a deep ball to stretch the margin to 17–7. Mobile's turnover woes only fueled the fire as the Crusaders repeatedly turned steals into easy transition points.
Then came the spark that blew the game open.
Troy Dunn ignited the Crusader offense with back-to-back threes, powering a 14–2 explosion that ballooned the lead to 27–12. Mobile briefly trimmed the margin to 32–22 entering the final stretch of the half, but Carey slammed the door again. A quick 6–0 burst—capped by another Franklin dagger from long range—sent the Crusaders into the break with a commanding 43–27 advantage.
Carey wasted zero time reigniting the momentum. Hughes got the second half rolling with a jumper just 16 seconds in, followed by an aggressive driving finish from
Anthony Robinson that stretched the lead to 47-27.
Moments later, Jenkins caught fire from downtown, drilling consecutive threes to blow the game wide open at 55–29. Dunn wasn't finished either, knocking down another triple at the 15:43 mark. A deep ball from
Makeem Roberts pushed the Crusaders past 65 points with more than 13 minutes left, and Seibou added yet another long-range strike shortly after.
From there, Carey cruised. Late threes from
Bennet Wippersteg and Seibou capped a dominant performance, sealing a 94–72 victory.
Six Crusaders scored in double figures, led by Hughes, Jenkins, and Dunn with 13 points each. Roberts, Franklin, and Seibou added 11 apiece to round out a balanced scoring effort.
Carey returns to action on Thursday, February 19, when they host UT-Southern at Clinton Gym. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
