MOBILE, Ala. ? The University of South Alabama men’s basketball team got a double-double from Brandon Davis Friday, and three other starters scored in double figures as the Jaguars opened the 2008-09 season with an 87-79 non-conference victory over Alcorn State at the Mitchell Center.
USA, which has now won four straight opening-night contests and has never dropped its first game of the year when playing on campus, never trailed against the Braves. Davis posted game-best totals of 21 points and 14 rebounds ? the latter was a career high ?with DeAndré Coleman supplying 14 points and eight boards. Junior-college transfers Bryan Sherrer and LaShun Watson both recorded 13 points in their Jaguar debut as well.
In addition to shooting better than 50 percent from the floor, the Jags held a 51-29 rebounding edge as Ronald Douglas and Daniel Hayles each chipped in with six boards and Watson corralled five. That included connecting on 55 percent in the first half while opening up a lead that stretched to as many as 16 points.
Coleman, who hit 6-of-8 shots, also led the Jaguars with a career-high-tying five assists. Davis and Sherrer handed out four helpers each as USA finished with 21 assists on its 32 field goals.
“A positive note from tonight is that we had 21 assists, which is super. I thought we distributed the ball well, Bryan did a good job of running the team,” USA head coach Ronnie Arrow said. “I also thought that we were strong on the boards, but we need to keep improving.”
While the Jaguars never trailed in the contest, they took control of the game after the Braves cut a double-digit deficit down to four points five minutes before the break.
Up only 38-34 after Troy Jackson sank a three-pointer and a jump shot, Sherrer sparked a 10-0 Jaguar spurt with a pair of free throws. Davis followed with a three-point play, Watson hit a three from the corner 36 seconds later while Sherrer closed out the run? which was completed in a one-minute, nine-second span ? with two more free throws.
Jackson recorded game highs with 24 points and seven assists, although the Jags held him to just one field goal after the break. Jarvis Williams collected 15 points and five rebounds while Anthony Ford was credited with 12 and six, respectively, for the Braves.
ASU connected at a 41.4-percent rate for the contest, but stayed in it by hitting 12-of-26 attempts from beyond the arc.
“Alcorn State did a nice job of using the pick and roll,” said Arrow. “For whatever reason, we are not guarding the three-point line right now. I thought we did get some stops at the end of the game that we hadn’t been getting early, though.”
Leading 57-44 at the half, the Jags extended the lead to as many as 17 points with just over 15 minutes left before the Braves rallied. Sherrer found Coleman for a basket at the midway point that ended an 8-2 run as USA was up 73-64 with 10 minutes to go, but Williams sank a trey and Jackson hit a driving layup in a 33-second span to make the score 77-72 with seven minutes remaining, cutting a 10-point USA advantage in half.
The lead was still five, 81-76, with 5:05 left after Gifford Blakely converted both foul shots, but ASU missed eight straight shots and a pair of free throws allowing the Jags to pull away.
The Jaguars opened the season with a 12-3 run over the first two-and-a-half minutes, hitting 5-of-7 from the floor during that stretch. Davis accounted for half the points with three layups, and both Coleman and Sherrer had layups also. Davis extended the lead to double digits with another lay-in one minute later ? he finished the half with 13 points and eight rebounds ? with the advantage still 10 points eight minutes in when Hayles stole the ball at midcourt and went the length of the court for a slam dunk.
With USA up 26-16 at that point, the Jags held a 22-2 advantage in points in the paint. They would go on to finish with a 40-22 advantage in the category for the game.
The Braves rallied behind the efforts of Jackson, who scored 21 points while connecting on five treys in the opening period. He followed his final three-pointer of the half with a jumper little over a minute later, cutting the ASU deficit to 38-34 with just under five minutes to go.
Behind the efforts of B.J. Ford and DeAndrae Ross, who both scored seven points, and Douglas, who added six, USA also held a 24-11 bench scoring edge.
Four Braves collected multiple steals as ASU was credited with a dozen for the contest, which led to a 19-10 advantage in turnovers forced.
USA returns to action Tuesday when the Jags visit Mississippi, with tip-off scheduled for 7 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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