MOBILE, Ala. ? Facing its longest layoff since opening the season in the middle of November, the University of South Alabama men’s basketball team needed a spark midway through its first game following Christmas after falling behind by as many as 10 points.
With seven seniors on the roster, plenty of choices were available to Jaguar head coach Ronnie Arrow. In the end, though, freshman C.J. Garner was the individual who would end up igniting the Jags.
Garner scored a career-high 11 points, adding three rebounds and three assists, in leading USA to an 88-56 victory over Spring Hill Sunday at the Mitchell Center. He would make all four attempts from the floor as well as 3-of-4 foul shots, and he committed only one turnover in 29 minutes.
Three other Jags finished in double figures scoring as USA improved to 8-5 with its second win in a row. Domonic Tilford recorded 19 points, Brandon Davis added 13 and LaShun Watson 12. DeAndré Coleman paced all players with 11 rebounds, and both Davis and Watson grabbed six apiece, to help the Jaguars outrebound SHC 48-29.
USA also committed a season-low five turnovers while making 50 percent from the floor and 20-of-25 (80 percent) at the free-throw line.
Marcus Coleman paced the Badgers with 30 points, making 10-of-18 shots from three-point range. The game was one of three exhibition contests for SHC and did not count towards the school’s final win-loss total.
“I thought Spring Hill really came ready to play,” Arrow stated. “The difference in the game in the first and second half was when we brought C.J. in. He picked up our defense with his energy, which led to us playing better offensively as well.”
The Jaguars broke open a 41-40 contest early in the second half with a 20-0 spurt over a five-and-a-half minute stretch. Davis connected on a layup and completed a three-point play in a 31-second span, then Watson made the score 49-40 with a trey from in front of the Jag bench. The lead reached double figures when Watson tipped in a missed shot with 13:17 to go.
The run ended with Tilford following two Coleman baskets with a pair of threes, the second of which made the score 61-40 with just under 11 minutes remaining.
The Badgers would make only 8-of-34 (23.5 percent) from the field in the second half while being outscored 57-23. They would end the game connecting on an opponent-low 28.8 percent overall.
USA shot 58.3 percent from the floor after the break, also hitting 12-of-13 (92.3 percent) at the foul line.
Coleman chipped in with nine points and three assists, while Ronald Douglas would finish with eight points and four rebounds. Philip Tabet collected a career-best eight points ? going 3-of-3 from the field while making both foul shots ? and eight rebounds, falling one shy of matching a personal high in that category as well, with his brother Charles supplying four points and four boards.
The Jaguars were trailing by 10, 39-29, when Coleman nailed his sixth trey of the first half with seven-and-a-half minutes to go to give the Badgers their final double-digit advantage. But, USA would limit SHC to two Chris Dees, Jr., field goals the rest of the half in cutting the deficit to two at the break.
Douglas started the rally with a layup with six-and-a-half minutes remaining, and DeAndrae Ross followed with a basket from the right corner one minute later. After trading scores, Garner drove for a layup with two-and-a-half minutes left to make the score 31-27.
He would close out the scoring prior to the intermission with a steal that led to a layup, finishing the half with a team-best nine points.
It would end up being a 20-6 run over a nine-minute, 45-second stretch that would catapult USA back into the contest after it scored eight of the first 10 points in the second stanza. Coleman gave the Jaguars their first lead, 34-33, just over a minute after the break when he followed 1-of-2 free throws from Douglas with a layup. When Douglas completed a three-point play with 17:45 to go, USA led 39-35.
While the Jags limited SHC to 34.4-percent shooting before the half, the Badgers led at the break after making 7-of-17 (41.2 percent) from beyond the arc ? USA, on the other hand, sank 1-of-9 three-point attempts over the opening 20 minutes. Coleman was 6-of-10 from long range in scoring 18 first-half points.
He staked the Badgers to an early advantage while making his first four three-point attempts. Coleman opened the scoring with a trey from the left wing less than a minute into the contest, then doubled SHC’s lead with another 11 seconds later after Antonio Burch recorded a steal on the inbounds pass. When he connected on the last of the quartet from the right wing with 15 minutes to go the Badgers were up 12-3.
The Jags were within six four minutes later after Douglas converted a pair of free throws to make the score 18-12, and it was still a six-point contest midway through the half after Coleman and Watson traded threes 15 seconds apart.
Jeremy Price was the only other Badger to score in double digits with 10 points, and he also handed out three assists. Owen McNally paced SHC with eight boards, while Dees, Jr., recorded eight points and six rebounds off the bench. Burch was credited with four assists and did not turn the ball over.
USA returns to Sun Belt Conference action with a 1 p.m. start at Florida Atlantic on New Year’s Day.
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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