MOBILE, Ala. ? The University of South Alabama men’s basketball team opened the home season with a 70-55 victory over visiting Morehead State Friday at the Mitchell Center.  Jaguar junior Demetric Bennett led the team with 14 and junior Daon Merritt posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists.  The Jaguars improve to 3-1 on the season, while Morehead State falls to 1-2.

Morehead State scored the opening bucket on a jumper by Cordaryl Callahan, just 30 seconds into the contest.  Senior Leandro Buboltz hit a 3-pointer to give the Jags a 3-2 lead.  USA built a 17-12 lead with 11:03 left on a jumper by Bennett.  The Eagles went on a 6-0 run to take a 20-19 lead with 8:23 to play, but a jumper by sophomore Trajinski Grigsby put the Jags back on top for a lead they would never relinquish.  USA proceeded to go on a 14-4 over the next six minutes to build a 33-24 lead with 2:09 to play in the half.  MSU cut the deficit to six points to end the half at 34-28.

Bennett led the Jags with 12 points at half on 5-of-7 from the floor.  Merritt had five points and six assists and Grigsby had seven points off the bench.  As a team, the Jags shot 43 percent for the half on 14-of-32 from the floor.  USA was 5-of-13 from beyond the arc and 1-of-2 from the line.

Morehead State’s Maze Stallworth led the team with eight points off the bench.  The Eagles were 10-of-27 from the floor and 3-of-9 from beyond the arc.  MSU was 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.

MSU opened the half with a mini 4-0 run to cut the deficit to two points, but the Jags responded with an emphatic dunk by junior Kenny Hooks and a breakaway layup by Merritt, building an eight point lead at 42-34 with 15:50 to play.  MSU head coach Donnie Tyndall was forced to take a timeout as the momentum began to change.  From then on, the Jags took control of the game and built a 55-40 lead over the next five minutes, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by senior Carlos Smith.

A layup by Merritt gave the Jags a 59-40 lead with 9:13 to play after going on a 17-6 run since the 15:50 mark.

For the game, the Jags shot 45 percent on 25-of-55 from the field.  USA was 8-of-21 from beyond the arc and 12-of-18 for the game from the charity stripe, including 11-of-16 in the second half.  MSU finished 21-of-50 from the floor and were just 4-of-12 from beyond the arc and 9-of-13 from the line.

Buboltz had a season-high 11 points for the Jags on 3-of-5 from the field and 4-of-4 from the line.  Merritt dished out a career-high 10 assists and became the first Jaguar since Demetrice Williams to record 10 assists in a game against Louisiana-Lafayette on Jan. 9, 2003.  Merritt’s double-double is the second double-double in as many games.  Sophomore Brandon Davis had 11 points and 10 rebounds against Winston-Salem State.

Stallworth had a game-high 15 points for the Eagles and Shaun Williams had 14 points.  MSU won the battle of the boards, 37-30, but committed 22 turnovers the led to 23 Jaguar points.

USA concludes the homestand on Wednesday as it battles West Florida at 7:05 p.m. in the Mitchell Center.