LOUISVILLE, Ky. ? Domonic Tilford had to wait longer than most to see his first action of the 2008-09 season after sitting out the University of South Alabama’s first two contests. He wasted no time in making an impact.
The senior needed less than four minutes to record 10 points, finishing the contest with a team-best 17 to help lead the Jaguars to a 93-64 basketball victory over Florida A&M Saturday in the opening round of the Billy Minardi Classic at Freedom Hall. USA (2-1) will play tournament host Louisville ? the third-ranked team in the country ?at 3 p.m. in the championships game, while the Rattlers (0-4) will face Morehead State in the consolation contest at 12:30 p.m.
Tilford connected on two threes in less than a minute, adding a layup and a floating jump shot as the Jags jumped out to a 14-3 advantage and never looked back. Three other Jags joined Tilford in double figures scoring, with DeAndré Coleman posting 14 points, Brandon Davis 12 and Daniel Hayles 11.
Coleman and Charles Tabet recorded nine rebounds each to pace the squad ? it was a career-high total for the latter ? with C.J. Garner chipping in with a team-best four assists.
Nearing the midway point of the first half USA was up 22-13 when it went on an 8-0 run over a one-minute and 44-second span in which Davis and Hayles accounted for half the points each. The advantage would grow to as many as 19 points when a Hayles jumper at 6:22 made the score 34-15, but Brandon Bryant sank two threes in 33 seconds to cut the Rattler deficit to 13.
Bryant finished with 18 points, while Dale Hughes recorded 19 to lead all players. Both players connected on 7-of-14 from the floor.
Coleman made a pair of treys in the final minute of the opening half however ? including one in which the shot clock was about to expire ? to give the Jaguars a 47-30 advantage at the break. USA ended the period with five threes, matching its season-high total entering the game while hitting 62.5 percent from long range in the first stanza.
“I think this was a very important game for us because it’s the first time this year we’ve had our whole team together. Hopefully this was the first step in showing what this team can do,” Jaguar head coach Ronnie Arrow said. “We executed and rebounded the ball well, but the most important thing was our defensive intensity. We scored points off our defense, which is what we’ve been trying to get our guys to do all year.”
USA held the Rattlers to just 34.3 percent shooting overall, finishing with a 57-27 rebounding advantage. The Jaguars would connect on 53.7 percent from the floor, including converting a season-best eight three-pointers, and they were credited with 22 assists on their 36 field goals.
The Jags began the second half by scoring the first 19 points over a six-minute stretch to put the game away, and they would lead by as many as 39 when DeAndrae Ross sank a three with under 13 minutes remaining.
Coleman wasn’t the only USA player to narrowly miss a double-double as Ronald Douglas collected nine points and eight boards, both season-high figures. Davis and LaShun Watson grabbed seven rebounds each ? the latter also posted four assists ? and Bryan Sherrer chipped in with five boards. Ross finished with seven points as all 14 players on the roster collected at least two.
Hughes also paced the Rattlers with four rebounds, with Bryant credited with a team-best three assists. FAMU turned the ball over only six times, collecting seven steals at the other end of the floor.
While the Rattlers matched the Jags with eight three-point field goals, they managed to shoot only 41.7 percent at the foul line as a team.
The win was USA’s 10th in as many tries against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference schools, improving to 3-0 all-time against FAMU in the process.
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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