MONROE, La. ? For the first time this year, University of South Alabama head men’s basketball coach Ronnie Arrow went with a big starting lineup that included three forwards. He got big results out of the change.
Brandon Davis and DeAndré Coleman both recorded double-doubles Thursday as the Jaguars bounced back from a 15-point home defeat five days ago to defeat Louisiana-Monroe 90-57 in a Sun Belt Conference contest at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
Davis scored a career-best 30 points, making all 11 attempts from the field as well as 8-of-10 at the foul line, adding 10 boards, while Coleman collected 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Each recorded two blocked shots as well, with Coleman handing out three assists and Davis leading the team with a pair of steals.
It was the third double-double this season for both, and it marked the first time since USA (10-6, 3-2 Sun Belt) opened league action at Troy on Dec. 20 last year that two players have accomplished the feat in the same game ? Coleman and Ronald Douglas each had 10 or more points and rebounds in a 84-73 victory over the Trojans that day.
Domonic Tilford posted 22 points and a game-best five assists, as he finished 8-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-7 from three-point range. DeAndrae Ross made 2-of-3 from beyond the arc in recording eight points, C.J. Garner scored six and LaShun Watson chipped in with four points and four assists while turning the ball over once in his first career appearance off the bench.
USA is now off for a week before returning to action with a 7:05 p.m. tip against Troy Thursday, Jan. 15, at the Mitchell Center.
The Warhawks fell to 5-10, 1-3 in the SBC despite getting 16 points and seven boards from Lawrence Gilbert.
USA opened the second half with a 13-0 run, which gave it 16 straight points after Ross ended the first period with a trey in the final minute. Davis hit three free throws, with the second two at 17:47 putting the Jaguars ahead by double digits for the first time, 47-37. Coleman drove for a layup, Tilford hit the first of four threes after the break and Davis closed out the spurt at 15:50 when he laid the ball in when Garner found him open underneath the basket, putting the Jags ahead 54-37.
The Jaguars would convert 19-of-28 (67.9 percent) from the floor in the second half, finishing the contest connecting at a season-best 64.3-percent clip. That included making 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) from long distance.
On the other end of the floor ULM managed to make only 5-of-26 (19.2 percent ) from the floor after the break, ending up shooting 27.3 percent overall.
“The biggest factor was our defense. Our zone was good, our man-to-man was good, our press was good ? we just got after them,” said Arrow. “Our big guys also got back on the boards, we had gone two games where we were outrebounded, so that was really good.”
Davis was 7-of-7 from the floor in the first 20 minutes ? he had 19 points at the break ? in helping the Jags shoot 60.7 percent from the floor. With USA down four, 32-28, following the under-eight minute time-out, he scored seven of the team’s 15 points going into the half to help the Jaguars take a 42-37 advantage to the locker room. His jumper in the lane with just over five minutes left tied the contest 32-32, and he gave USA its first lead since the 13-and-a-half minute mark when he added another basket in the paint 38 seconds later.
Davis would also connect on 3-of-4 free throws at the end of the period.
Watson started the closing spurt by driving for a layup with six-and-a-half minutes to go, and he later added a jumper at 3:20 that put USA up 38-34. Ross closed out the scoring in the half when Watson found him open for a three from the right wing with 39 seconds to go.
Gilbert scored 14 points and Jarvis Hill added 12 for the Warhawks prior to the intermission, with the former connecting on 4-of-5 from beyond the three-point arc in the opening period. That included making a pair from long distance just over a minute apart to put ULM up 27-23 with eight-and-a-half minutes remaining. Kenny Averette followed with another three at 7:41 to give the Warhawks their largest lead, 30-25.
ULM was 6-of-12 from three-point range and also hit 11-of-12 at the free-throw line in the opening 20 minutes, a half that saw 10 ties and eight lead changes.
But, in the second half the duo of Gilbert and Hill each collected two points. The latter ? who handed out a team-high three assists ? shot just 3-of-12 from the floor overall.
Coleman would extend the Jaguar advantage to 21, 65-44, with just under 11 minutes to go, while Tilford pushed the edge to 30 when he sank a three from the top of the key with eight minutes left. USA’s largest lead would be 37 points, 85-48, with just under five minutes remaining when Tilford drove for a layup.
The Jags outrebounded the Warhawks 38-27, handed out 18 assists while being charged with 10 turnovers and blocked seven shots. The held a 44-8 advantage in scoring in the paint, also doubling up ULM 16-8 in points off turnovers.
“Our defense ignites our offense. When you get steals, you get pumped up and you end up with layups,” Arrow stated. “That’s what we’ve been trying to sell our guys on. Our guards really contributed to that, and that’s what they have to do for us. Now, we just have to bottle that.”
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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