Official Game Statistics
South Alabama vs. Miami (Ohio) Game Notes
Anaheim Classic Official Website
ANAHEIM, Calif. ? Miami’s slow tempo and tough defense held South Alabama’s top scorer to single digits Thursday night as the RedHawks earned a 64-59 victory over the Jaguars in the opening round of the Anaheim Classic. Brandon Davis led the way for USA (2-2) with 13 points, while Daon Merritt added 10.
Demetric Bennett, who entered the game averaging 19.7 points, finished with just eight on three-of-14 shooting from the field. Michael Bramos led three RedHawks in double figures with 28 points, while Tim Pollitz posted a double-double of 15 points and 16 rebounds.
The Jaguars let another comeback attempt fall short. They trailed by as many as 15 points , 57-42, with 5:36 to play before starting a rally. A 13-2 run that ended with seven straight points closed the gap to 59-55 with 28 seconds left. However, Bramos knocked down two free throws with 25 seconds left and Pollitz made three of four at the line in the final 14 ticks to preserve the victory.
Miami (2-0) outscored South Alabama 12-3 over the final 7:12 of the first half, turning a 21-18 deficit into a 30-24 advantage. The Jaguars had led by as many as five points, 17-12, after Daon Merritt hit a jumper with 11:15 left. However, back-to-back three pointers by the RedHawks put them ahead 18-17 less than two minutes later.
USA reclaimed the lead on Demetric Bennett’s first points of the night, then went up three, 21-18, when Brandon Davis followed with a jumper. But Pollitz scored the next nine points to put Miami up for good.
South Alabama outshot the Miami 46.9 percent to 42.6 percent and had three fewer turnovers, but made just eight of 21 from the free throw line in the contest. The RedHawks also held a 40-29 advantage on the boards.
“We just didn’t play together,” Head Coach Ronnie Arrow said. “We don’t get assists because we don’t work together and we don’t stay with the game plan. They are a well-coached, disciplined team and we took too many ?just-for-me’ shots. The positive is that it was another good comeback.”
South Alabama falls into the loser’s bracket where it will face the loser of the Southern California-San Diego matchup Friday at 7 p.m. PST (9 p.m.). The game will be aired live on ESPNU.
