Alabama Ledger www.AlabamaLedger.com SPORTS LEDGER April 2025 E-Edition Read Free Online at www.TheSportsLedger.com Page 6 The PAGE 6 March/April 2025 The Sports Ledger www.TheSportsLedger.com
Auburn A-Day
Auburn University's 2025 A-Day will have a new look this Spring as the Tigers’ annual event will feature free admission and post-practice autograph session inside Jordan-Hare Stadium. Unlike prior years where a score was kept, this year’s A-Day will look more like a traditional practice. Jordan-Hare Stadium gates will open on A-Day at 11 a.m. CT on April 12, 2025 with an alumni flag football game starting. Tiger Walk will be held at 11:30 a.m. starting from the bottom of Donahue Drive by the Wellness Kitchen. A-Day practice will start at noon and end at 1 p.m. The post-practice Fan Day autograph session featuring head coach Hugh Freeze and Auburn players will take place on Pat Dye Field at Jordan-Hare Stadium and will last 90 minutes. It will take the place of a Fan Day in August during fall camp. The Auburn Sports Network will carry the practice on the radio and Auburn Athletics App on A-Day. SEC Network+ will air a 30-minute all-access show with footage from spring practice and A-Day that will debut later in April. Other football-related events on A-Day will include select VIP experiences that will be available for sale. The Auburn baseball team will host LSU in a three- game series beginning on Friday, April 11, at Plainsman Park. The series will start at 6 p.m. on Friday, 6 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. A limited number of Hall of Fame club tickets to the Friday and Sunday baseball games are available along with fewer than 500 general admission tickets for Sunday. Tickets remain for all three games of the Auburn softball series and can be purchased at AubTix.com. The Tigers Softball program will host Georgia in a three-game series at Jane B. Moore Field on A-Day Weekend. Friday’s series opener will start at 5 p.m. with Saturday’s game starting at 3 p.m. The series finale on Sunday will begin at 1 p.m. The full weekend will also feature the Auburn women’s tennis team at home at the Yarbrough Tennis Center on Friday and Sunday. The Tigers host Ole Miss Friday at 5 p.m. and LSU on Sunday at 12 p.m. The City of Auburn Tiger Trail induction ceremony will be held on Saturday at 9 a.m. All are welcome to attend the Tiger Trail induction ceremony with the location to be announced soon. Call the Auburn Chamber at (334) 501-3292 to purchase tickets.
Photo Courtesy of Alabama Athletics
Alabama guard Chris Youngblood (#8) shoots the ball against Duke during the East Region Elite 8 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on Saturday, March 29, 2025. The Crimson Tide closed out the 2025 season with a 85-65 loss to the Blue Devils. Youngblood was one of three Alabama players to reach double digits in the game with 10 points. Grant Nelson also had ten points. Labaron Philon paced the Crimson Tide with 16 points. Duke had four players in double digits. Kon Knueppel had 21 points, Tyrese Proctor scored 17 points, Cooper Flag added 16 points and Khaman Maluach chipped in 14 points. Flag and Maluach both had nine rebounds. The main difference in the game was Duke's' defense. The Blue Devils held Alabama to only 35.4% shooting from 2 point range and 25% on 3 point shots. Duke made 53.6% of their 2 points shots and 46.2 from three point range. Alabama Falls to Duke in Elite 8
Jax State Men Fall To UC Irvine In NIT Tournament
A season that saw State University Men's Basketball Team finish one win shy of its Division I program record came to a close on Sunday, March 23, 2025 in Irvine, CA, as the Gamecocks fell to UC Irvine 66-61 in the NIT Tournament. Jax State (23-13) failed the Jacksonville to net a field goal in the final 3:59 of the contest, with No. 1 UC Irvine (30-6) holding on for its 30th win of the season. Overall, Jax State finished the season as the Conference USA runners- up, just one game shy of an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Gamecocks also earned a dominant 81-64 win over Georgia Tech in the team's first NIT appearance in program history. Against UC Irvin it was a physical contest. Jax State entered the half trailing the
Big West runners-up 36-35. The Gamecocks shot 46.4 percent from the field in the first half, and only trailed by one point despite the Anteaters knocking down three more triples. The two teams traded leads in the early makings of the second half, with Jax State pulling ahead on a Michael Houge putback layup with 14:03 remaining. UC Irvine swiftly regained the lead before Jax State took a 55-53 advantage just out of the under eight media timeout. The Anteaters outscored the Gamecocks 13-6 over the final 5:20 of play to advance to the NIT Quarterfinal round. Jaron Pierre Jr. led Jax State with 15 points, also adding 11 rebounds and four assists. In his final collegiate contest, fifth-year senior Marcellus Brigham Jr. tallied 14 points and six
boards. Brigham has served as a crucial member for the Gamecocks, starring in over 100 career games for the team. Freshman Quel'Ron House also finished with 10 points while Michael Houge added nine rebounds. With the loss, Jax State finished one loss shy of the Division I program record of 24 wins set in 2018-19. The Gamecock team that was picked to finish eighth in the CUSA Preseason Poll finished its year as one of three teams to participate in postseason play. With his second 3-pointer in the game, Jaron Pierre Jr. surpassed Demaree King for the most three pointers in a single season by a Gamecock. Pierre also scored the most points in a single season by any Jax State player, scoring 777 points in 36 games.
Photo Courtesy of CUSA
Jax State's Michael Houge (#6) in 2025 CUSA Championship.
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