Official Game Stats
MOBILE, Ala. -- Ronald Douglas scored a career-high 23 points on 10-of-11 shooting and Demetric Bennett added 20 points as South Alabama pulled away from a pesky Florida Atlantic squad, 91-74, Saturday night at the Mitchell Center. The win was the 14th straight at home for the Jaguars, who improved to 21-5 overall and 13-2 in league play.
Domonic Tilford reached double figures for South as well with 17 points, but it was Daniel Hayles that provided the biggest spark. The junior dished out a career-high eight assists, made five steals and grabbed four rebounds to go along with his eight points. Carderro Nwoji tallied 17 points and six assists to lead Florida Atlantic (12-15, 6-8).
"Early on they were hitting bombs, but our press got us back in the game," Head Coach Ronnie Arrow said. "Ronald had a great game and Daniel had it going in so many ways. This is the time of year when you put everything (injuries) aside and just play the game. Tonight was a team effort."
South Alabama trailed by as many as eight points in the early going as Florida Atlantic hit seven of its first eight shots in building a 17-9 lead by the 16-minute mark. But Bennett and Douglas combined for the next seven points to pull the Jaguars back to within one, 17-16 with 14:27 to play. With the Owls up 20-17, USA used an 8-0 run to open a five-point advantage, but FAU clawed back to retake the lead at 33-32. The teams traded baskets before South Alabama went ahead for good. Douglas got a tip-in at the 5:25 mark to make the score 36-35 in favor of the home team, then Daon Merritt hit a jumper for a three-point advantage. South held a similar margin, 41-38, at the break.
The Jaguars gained some breathing room midway through the second half when Brandon Davis scored four straight inside points to stretch a 51-47 lead to eight at 55-47. Soon after, Daniel Hayles hit all three free throws after an outside foul to start an 8-0 run that pushed the lead to double figures for the first time, 65-52, with 9:27 remaining.
FAU quickly answered with six straight points to close to within seven at 67-60, but South Alabama put up its own 6-0 run, the first four by Tilford, as the lead returned to 13, 73-60, and was never in single digits again. The game turned into a rout in the final two minutes as South used an 8-0 run to lead by as many as 19 with 16 seconds left.
With the win, South Alabama improves to 14-0 in the Mitchell Center this season, moving the home winning streak to tied for third-longest in school history. The Jaguars also won 14 during the 1987-88 and 1988-89 seasons, while the school record of 19 dates back to 1974.
Even before Saturday's game started, South Alabama had clinched a top-three seed and first-round bye for the conference tournament, but the Jaguars guaranteed an East Division title fight Thursday night at Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers won 71-66 at Middle Tennessee earlier in the day to keep their half-game lead over the Jags.
Tipoff for Thursday's nationally-televised contest is set for 7 p.m. Fox College Sports Atlantic will air the game on cable systems across the country, while UTV Channel 44 will carry the game over-the-air in the Mobile area.
