MOBILE, Ala. --- A 17-0 University of South Alabama run in the first half gave the Jaguars an insurmountable lead en route to a 70-51 victory over the University of Mobile in men’s basketball action Wednesday at the Mitchell Center.

South Alabama wins its fourth straight game to improve to 7-2 on the season. The contest was an exhibition for Mobile (5-1).

The game was the first-ever meeting between the two Mobile schools.

“Mobile really showed up wanting to win,” said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow. “They played very hard. Physically, they whipped us on the boards. We were able to do what we did tonight because we held them to 29 percent shooting. We work very hard on defense, but we just didn’t rebound. They were hungrier, meaner and wanted it more on the boards.”

Mobile won the battle of the boards 37-35 and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds to South Alabama’s five.

The Rams, a member of NAIA Division I, never led but trailed 14-13 at the 13:50 mark of the first half on a lay-up by Robert Golston.

Those were Mobile’s last points for awhile as USA reeled off 17 straight over a 9:29 stretch and by the time Ji Kimbrough hit a 3-pointer with 4:21 left in the half, the Jags led 31-16.

“We work very hard on (defense),” said Arrow. “We work on getting into people and making them force shots.”

Senior Bryan Sherrer (Monticello, Ark.) started the run with a lay-up but the Rams’ defense did its part, holding the Jaguars without a field goal for over five minutes. USA junior Tim Williams (Pontiac, Mich.) scored six straight points, the final three on a trey and Sherrer capped off the run with a triple of his own.

The lead shot up from eight to 18 as the pair combined for 10 points in just 1:22.

By halftime, South Alabama led 38-23, shooting 50% from the floor compared to 27.3% for Mobile.

The advantage stretched to 24 early in the final period and USA went ahead by as many as 26 points. The Rams put together a 12-0 run late in the game to pull within 14 but the Jags scored the final five points of the contest.

Mobile shot just 29.7% from the floor, the lowest by any Jaguar opponent this season.

South Alabama’s triumvirate of Williams, Sherrer and senior LaShun Watson (Greenville, Ga.) scored 13 points each. Freshman Martino Brock (Memphis, Tenn.) just missed out on a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds while adding three assists and three steals.

Mobile’s duo of Kimbrough and Donte Walker posted game-high totals of 15 points apiece.

South Alabama continues its four-game homestand Saturday, hosting Southern Miss at 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).

NOTES: South Alabama shot 58.8% from the floor in the second half and has now shot 50% or better from the floor after halftime in all seven wins… Sherrer and Brock combined to score 16 of the team’s first 18 points… Senior Charles Tabet (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) had three blocks, tying a career high, which gives him six in the last two games… USA had two offensive rebounds in the first four minutes of the game but did not get another one until the 16:40 mark of the second half.

—USA—