MOBILE, Ala. -- South Alabama put all the pieces together Sunday afternoon, bolting to an early lead and never looking back in a 71-33 win over Denver Sunday afternoon at the Mitchell Center. Demetric Bennett scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the opening period to lead the Jaguars.
The win was the 13th straight -- one shy of the school record set in 1980-81 -- for the Jaguars, who also won 13 a year ago. The run is currently fourth-longest in the nation behind Memphis, Kansas and Drake.
Daon Merritt and Domonic Tilford also reached double figures with 12 and 10 points, repsectively, while Brandon Davis grabbed 10 rebounds to go along with his eight points. Nate Rohnert tallied 10 points to lead Denver (8-11, 4-4).
South Alabama (17-3, 9-0) bolted a 41-14 halftime lead after shooting 62.5 percent in the opening period -- the second-best 20-minute span of the year. But it wasn's just offense as the Pioneers shot just 28.9 percent for the game and tallied the fewest points against the Jags since New Orleans won the Sun Belt Conference championship 22-20 on Feb. 26, 1978 in the pre-shot-clock era. The total was also the lowest ever allowed by a Ronnie Arrow-coached team, counting four-year schools only.
The Jaguars scored the first four points of the game, the quickly used an 8-0 to turn a 6-4 advantage into double digits for the first time, 14-4 with 13:22 remaining. After Denver closed to within 16-10, Bennett hit a three to start a 29-4 run that extended through halftime. South Alabama outscored the Pioneers 13-0 over the final 3:02 of the half, then started the second half with four straight points to gain the longest offensive run of the year -- 17 points.
At one point, South Alabama led by 44, 70-26, when DeAndre Coleman tipped in a missed shot at the 4:56 mark. The lead was the biggest of the season fo the Jaguars, who led West Florida by 34 in the season opener Nov. 10.
The final shooting percentages reflected the score -- USA hit 52.2 percent from the floor, while Denver was limited to 28.9 percent, the worst effort against the Jags all season. South also held a 37-21 advantage on the boards.
"Tonight was one of our best efforts of the season," Head Coach Ronnie Arrow said. "They do a good job of running their Princeton offense and can make anyone look bad, but I don't think we gave up more than a couple of back-door layups. This was one of the best defensive efforts I have seen in my coaching career."
South Alabama now takes its act on the road for a pair of games next weekend. The Jags face defending Sun Belt Conference Champions North Texas Thursday night in Denton, then head to Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday for a nationally-televised game against the Warhawks.
