MOBILE, Ala. ? Led by a career performance from Kenny Ware, Troy sank 16-of-30 shots from three-point range en route to a 94-70 Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball victory over the University of South Alabama at the Mitchell Center.

Ware was 6-of-8 from beyond the arc, finishing with a career-best 20 points to lead five Trojans (8-10, 3-3 Sun Belt) in double figures.  He also collected six rebounds.

Richard Delk chipped in with 17 points, seven boards, six assists and three steals, Brandon Hazzard collected 14 points, Travis Lee scored 11 and Mario Telfair had 10.  And, Michael Vogler recorded seven points, six rebounds and eight assists while committing only one turnover.

Troy shot 50.8 percent from the floor and made 14-of-17 at the foul stripe as well.  The Trojans handed out 23 assists against just 10 turnovers, and they were also credited with 11 steals.

Bryan Sherrer posted a career-best 14 points, reaching double figures for the first time since USA’s season-opening victory over Alcorn State on Nov. 14.  Domonic Tilford added 11 points and a team-best four assists, while Ronald Douglas collected 10 points, six boards and three blocked shots for the Jaguars (10-7, 3-3 SBC).

DeAndré Coleman recorded nine points and six rebounds, and Brandon Davis had seven of each.

Although the Jags outscored Troy 28-20 in the paint, they connected on 40.4 percent for the contest while making 5-of-13 threes.

“I thought Troy played very well.  They pushed the ball and shot the ball well,” said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow.  “We didn’t play any defense.  We did not execute well and we didn’t attack their zone, and that’s why we shot 40 percent.  We had 3,800 people show up tonight, but unfortunately we didn’t and I take full blame for it.”

While the Trojans opened the game by jumping out to a 15-6 lead in the first three-plus minutes, the Jaguars responded by scoring 10 of the next 12 points to pull within one, 17-16, with just over 12 minutes left.  LaShun Watson connected on a three-pointer and Sherrer finished a three-point play, while Douglas sank a pair of free throws and Coleman hit a jumper in the paint.

But, Troy answered with a 20-2 spurt over the next five minutes and 20 seconds to break the contest open.  Three players combined to make five three-pointers during the stretch ?Ware accounted for three of those ? while Delk added four points on a pair of baskets.  Ware and Lee hit from beyond the arc 28 seconds apart, with the latter pushing the Trojan advantage to 27-16 with nine-and-a-half minutes remaining.

Ware’s third triple in that span with 7:46 to go made the score 35-18 before Delk closed out the run with just under seven minutes left by connecting on a jump shot.

Ware added his fourth three ? he didn’t miss from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes ? with just over six minutes remaining to extend the Troy lead to 22 points, 42-20, while a Hazzard trey at 3:07 made the score 47-22.

The Jags closed the half by scoring the final seven points, with five coming from Sherrer.

USA would keep its deficit between 16-21 points through the first six minutes of the second half, closing to as close as 15 when a Coleman layup made the score 62-47 with 13:48 to go.  After Douglas made 1-of-2 free throws at 11:38, which left the Jags trailing 68-50, Troy would score 11 straight points in a one-minute, 42-second span to put the game away.

Lee connected on two threes and Delk one in that stretch.

The Jags are back in action Saturday night when they face Arkansas State.  Start time in Jonesboro is slated 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).

?USA?