MOBILE, Ala. --- University of South Alabama senior Bryan Sherrer (Monticello, Ark.) scored a career-high 21 points and the Jaguars came back from a 10-point deficit in the first half to defeat Arkansas-Little Rock 74-71 Wednesday night at the Mitchell Center.

The game was the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams. South Alabama improves to 8-3 overall while UALR drops to 4-7.

“What a great atmosphere and game,” said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow. “I think that was well-representative of the Sun Belt. I thought we really did some good things at the end like finishing and executing plays. For a long time, we limited them to just one shot. Gary [Redus II] and Bryan [Sherrer] made what seemed like all their free throws, and LaShun [Watson] and Martino [Brock] made key buckets. That’s the sign of a good team. We really hit the boards on a much bigger team than us.”

Sherrer tallied 11 of his game-high total from the free throw line on 13 attempts. Junior Gary Redus II (Decatur, Ala.) came off the bench to record 16 points, his first double-digit scoring game since Nov. 26 against Georgia State.

Freshman Martino Brock (Memphis, Tenn.) had 11 points and seven rebounds.

Sherrer carried the team on his back in the first half, accounting for 16 of the team’s 28 points before halftime.

But neither Sherrer nor his teammates were able to dent the net over a five-minute period in the opening 20 minutes. A prolonged shooting drought allowed UALR to put together a 12-0 run for a nine-point lead.

A lay-up from junior Tim Williams (Pontiac, Mich.) ended the streak and a 3-pointer from Redus cut the margin to four, but a 6-0 spurt in 38 seconds gave the Trojans their largest advantage of the game, 29-19, and they went into the half leading 34-28.

The Jaguars finally regained the lead at the 13:50 mark after the break on a dunk by Williams, which was part of an 11-3 run. Redus capped it off with a trifecta.

The Trojans’ Matt Mouzy then hit a jumper before a bucket by USA freshman Javier Carter (Dallas, Texas) and an alley-opp dunk by senior LaShun Watson (Greenville, Ga.) gave the Jags an eight-point bulge.

“We told the guys we wanted to get to the hole,” said Arrow on the difference after halftime. “We were getting to the hole, but the ball just wasn’t going in. We were taking good shots – they were just rolling around and coming out. But they started falling. When you keep working hard, good things will happen.”

South Alabama never relinquished the lead but UALR had a chance to tie with 13 seconds remaining. Solomon Bozeman, the team’s leading scorer with 19, went to the line for two free throws. He missed the first, allowing USA to stay on top by one. Redus finished off his 10-for-10 night at the line with a pair at the other end and a Bozeman 3-pointer missed on the Trojans’ final possession.

UALR placed four in double-figures, led by Bozeman’s 19. Alex Garcia-Mendoza recorded 17 and Ricky Davison and Mike Smith tallied 14 and 10, respectively.

“One of our goals was to do a good job defensively on Mouzy and Bozeman,” said Arrow. “Mouzy only had two points, and he’s a heck of a shooter. I thought we did a really good job on them.”

The Jags, who had been outrebounded by a total of eight in their last two games, pulled down a season-best 47 and held a plus-19 advantage on the boards.

“We’ve been working hard on rebounding and making free throws,” said Arrow. “They’ve been concentrating on it in practice, and it carried over to the game.”

South Alabama completes its four-game homestand Saturday when it hosts the Coors Classic. The Jaguars entertain UAB at 5:30 p.m. in the opener of the doubleheader and Alabama-Kansas State will follow 30 minutes after game one. The games will be televised live on CSS.

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 is now 8-0 when shooting 50% or better in the second half… The team shot 58.3% from the floor Wednesday… Senior Charles Tabet (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) blocked three shots, giving him 13 in his last four games… He entered the season with one career rejection… Sherrer has now reached double-figures in scoring in his last five outings.

—USA—