MOBILE, Ala. ? DeAndré Coleman recorded 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds Monday to help lead the University of South Alabama to a 67-58 men’s basketball exhibition victory over West Florida at the Mitchell Center.
Domonic Tilford paced all scorers with 16 points and Brandon Davis added 12 as well as the Jaguars outscored the Argos 12-5 over the final four-plus minutes to pull away. Davis also chipped in with eight boards.
Charles Bouie and Ryan Henry paced UWF with 14 points apiece, with the latter sinking 4-of-6 three-point field goals to help the Argos connect on 50 percent from long range.
The Jags held UWF to just 38.3-percent shooting overall, though, and had a 40-24 advantage on the boards. USA also converted all 23 foul shots as well.
Both teams were charged with 15 turnovers, and the Jaguars shot 40.4 percent from the floor in the contest.
Two free throws from Vitor Boccardo cut the USA lead to just two, 55-53, with 5:12 remaining, but the Jags would force four straight misses from the field before Bouie’s dunk three minutes later made the score 61-55. The Argos’ only other points would come when Nate Johnson hit a three with 13 seconds left in the contest.
LaShun Watson grabbed a miss and made a reverse layup to spark the Jaguars’ stretch run, with Tilford doubling the advantage to eight with just under three minutes left after converting four free throws. Davis added four points in the final 1:46 with a layup on a pass from Tilford and two foul shots, while C.J. Garner gave USA a double-digit lead when he made a pair of free-throw attempts with 1:13 left.
Philip Tabet scored twice in the opening minutes of the second half, tying the contest 39-39 with a layup at 15:36, before the Argos built their biggest lead with a 7-0 spurt over a 71-second stretch. Chris Brown’s trey from the right wing started the run, and he also was credited with an assist on a Boccardo layup.
USA climbed back in it by holding UWF without a point over the next five-and-a-half minutes, however, with Tilford scoring five points in a row on a three and a jump shot ? the second basket knotted the score at 46 with nine-and-a-half minutes to go.
In all, there were 13 ties and eight lead changes on the night.
The Jags led by two at the break as Coleman was credited with 10 points and six rebounds in 17 minutes of action. USA overcame 37.9-percent shooting by making all 12 free-throw attempts, while UWF made 5-of-10 attempts from beyond the arc to offset a 39.1 shooting percentage. Henry was 4-of-5 from long distance to post all of his points in the half.
USA led the final four-plus minutes of the opening period after Tilford gave the Jaguars a 29-28 advantage with a layup. The Argos would tie the score twice prior to the two-minute mark, but Coleman and B.J. Ford put the Jags up four with just over a minute to go. Deondre Boynton cut UWF’s deficit in half with a pair of foul shots 1:09 before the break.
The Jaguars led by three on three occasions earlier in the half, extending to a five-point advantage when Tilford capped a 7-2 run with a three to make the score 25-20 with six-and-a-half minutes left.
UWF responded by scoring six straight points on a Henry three and a three-point play from Boynton in a 44-second span ? the latter gave the Argos a three-point edge with just over five minutes to go, their largest lead of the half.
“They really came out shooting the ball well. In the second half we did a much better job of guarding,” said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow. “We're just not making good decisions with the ball and getting easy buckets. And needless to say, we've got to shoot better than 2-for-13 from the three-point line. That opens it up so much more for our inside guys.”
The Jaguars open the regular season Friday night when they play host to Alcorn State. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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