Official Game Statistics
MOBILE, Ala. -- Demetric Bennett scored 17 points and the South Alabama defense held Western Kentucky to 37.5 percent shooting from the floor as the Jags earned a hard-fought 65-61 victory Saturday night at the Mitchell Center. The win was the eighth straight for USA, which improved to 12-3 overall and 4-0 in league play.
The contest between the teams projected to finish 1-2 in the Sun Belt Conference's East Division was a battle throughout as the biggest lead for each team was just six points. Western Kentucky held a 17-11 lead with 8:50 left in the first half for its advantage, while the Jaguars reached their largest margin for the first time at 51-45 after Brandon Davis ended a 6-0 run with a dunk with 5:34 remaining.
"This is a tribue to our guys for getting after Western Kentucky," Head Coach Ronnie Arrow said. "We had three goals tonight and we accomplished two-and-a-half of them -- holding them under 41 percent shooting, having less than 14 turnovers (12) and winning the battle of the boards (tied at 36). Our post men get better every practice and in every game. Tonight, we executed in the last four minutes, when it was crunch time."
The teams were tied at 29 at halftime despite a 35.7 percent shooting effort by the Hilltoppers (10-5, 2-1). First-team all-conference pick Courtney Lee scored 10 of his game-high 20 points in the period, which featured six ties and six lead changes. Davis led the way for the the Jaguars with 11 of his 13 points coming in the first 20 minutes.
South Alabama opened the second half with the first four points, but WKU rallied to even the game at 35 on a Lee jumper with 15:32 left. The Jaguars scored the next five points on a three by Bennett and a tip-in by Ronald Douglas, but the Hilltoppers used the same formula by Lee and Tyrone Rogers to even the game at 40. The teams repeated the 5-0 runs again for a 45-40 USA lead and a 45-45 tie.
But that's where the Jaguars pulled ahead. Merritt hit two free throws with 7:17 to play before DeAndre Coleman grabbed one of his 11 rebounds and layed it in for a four-point advantage. Davis' dunk culminuted the run and the Jaguars never trailed again.
Western Kentucky closed to within one, 54-53 with 3:57 left, but Douglas scored the next five points -- on two layups and a free throw -- to push the lead back to 59-53 with 2:16 to pmade a dunk on the next possession, then hit the first of two free throws to stretch the lead back to four. South Alabama had a chance to stretch the lead further, but the Jaguars made just four of eight free throws over the remaining time.
Douglas finished the game with 15 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in just 17 minutes of action.
South Alabama now has a full week off to prepare for a trip to West Division rival New Orleans next Saturday. Tip-off at the Human Performance Center is set for 7 p.m.
