DENVER, Colo. ? Down 16-2 to start the game did not stop the South Alabama Jaguars from posting another come-from-behind victory at Denver Saturday night, 70-64. The Jags won their fourth consecutive game coming from as many as 14 points down and won their season-high sixth in a row. Junior Daon Merritt had a South Alabama career-high 22 points and junior Ernest Little posted his second consecutive double-double. With the win, USA improves to 13-7 overall and 7-2 in conference play and leads the Eastern Division by one-half game over Western Kentucky.
“This has been a very difficult place for us to play and we are very fortunate to come a way with a win,” Jaguar head coach John Pelphrey said. “We started terrible and we found a way to come back and win. I give a lot of credit to our guys for hanging in there and coming back. This feels like two wins.”
It was the Jaguars' first win at Denver since 2001 and first win in Denver for Pelphrey.
Denver (3-16, 2-7 SBC) came out of the gates on fire, making six of its first 10 shots for a 16-2 lead with 12:36 to play. Little, who had the Jags’ first bucket just 20 seconds in, ended the 14-0 run by the Pioneers with just over 12 minutes left in the half.
From that moment on, the game changed as USA settled down and began to claw its way back. A 3-pointer by junior Demetric Bennett at the 12:06 mark started a 19-9 run by the Jags over the next seven minutes culminating in a 3-pointer by Merritt to cut the deficit to 27-23 with 5:29 left in the half. USA cut it to two on a dunk by Bennett with just over two minutes left in the half.
Denver held a 35-32 lead at the half as freshman Philip Tabet scored a layup off missed free throw with under a minute to play in the half.
For the half, Bennett led the team with 11 points on 4 of 7 from the field and 2 of 3 from downtown. The Jags shot just 37 percent on 12 of 32 from the field and 5 of 15 from beyond the arc. Antonio Porch paced the Pioneers with 11 points, including three 3-pointers and DU had six 3-pointers in the half.
Just like in the previous three games, it was a tale of two halves for the Jaguars. USA opened the half scoring the first four points to take the lead for the first time in the game on a Merritt layup with 17:26 to play, 36-35. Denver regained the lead moments later, but it was short lived as senior Carlos Smith knocked down to put the Jags back up two.
The Pioneers would tie it two more times, but USA always would have the answer. A 5-0 run by the Jags pushed the lead to 47-42 with just under 11 minutes to play. USA would hold two more five-point advantages and Denver would get within one point, but could never get over the hump.
Things did get interesting down the stretch as DU cut it to three twice in the final 30 seconds, but solid free throw shooting by USA put the game away. The Jags, made 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute of the game to seal the win.
For the game, Merritt had a game-high 22 points along with five rebounds and seven steals. He was a perfect 9 of 9 from the charity stripe and 4 of 4 in the final two minutes. Little had his second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Bennett had his team-leading 15th game in double figures with 16 points. As a team, USA shot 41 percent from the field on 25 of 60 and was 6 of 22 from 3-point land. The Jags were 14 of 18 from the charity stripe.
Denver had 20 points from DaShawn Walker and 14 from Antonio Porch. The Pioneers, who started hot, really cooled off to 37.3 percent for the game on 22 of 59. DU was 8 of 28 from downtown and 12 of 15 from the line. USA dominated the battle of the boards, 44-32.
USA returns home for two games beginning Thursday at 7:05 p.m. against conference newcomer Louisiana-Monroe. The Jags won both meetings between the two teams last year.
