MURFREESBORO, Tenn. ? The University of South Alabama held Middle Tennessee to 36.4% shooting and rallied from a nine-point deficit in the second half in a 63-57 Sun Belt Conference victory Thursday night at the Murphy Center.

The Jaguars improve to 16-11 overall and 9-7 in the Sun Belt. The Blue Raiders fall to 15-12 and 8-7.

USA wins for the third straight game and for the fifth time in its last six outings.

“That was a very, very physical game,” said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow. “Both teams came out and got after it. The difference in the game was we held them to 36 percent and we had nine blocked shots. When you have that many blocked shots from guys getting to the hole, that’s almost like a turnover.”

Freshman C.J. Garner (Silver Spring, Md.) scored 13 of his career-high 15 points in the second half. He converted 7-of-8 at the free throw line and hit 5-of-6 at the stripe in the final 38 seconds.

“C.J. is growing up; he’s not a freshman anymore,” said Arrow. “We call him an advanced freshman, with all the experience that he’s gotten. He ran his team tonight very well.”

Middle Tennessee’s 57 points are tied for the second-fewest by the team this season.

The Jaguars held a decided advantage at the free throw line, shooting 28-of-42 compared to the Blue Raiders’ 5-of-12. USA shot 76.7% (23-30) in the second half after a 41.7% (5-12) performance in the first half.

“We discussed that at halftime,” said Arrow. “You have to make free throws in close games. We just weren’t concentrating and we went back out and concentrated really well. In games like that you’ve got to make the free throws.”

Middle Tennessee held a three-point lead at halftime and stretched it to nine at the 17:06 mark.

South Alabama began its rally with 9:29 to go. Two free throws from Garner began a 12-0 run as the Jags held the Blue Raiders scoreless for 5:19. Middle Tennessee missed nine straight shots and committed three turnovers in that span. MT would get only as close as four the rest of the way.

“We executed really well at the end,” said Arrow. “We shot 48 percent (for the game) but we got two crucial lay-ups after taking time off the clock. The guys executed really well. We got some lay-ups and made our free throws.”

Of South Alabama’s nine blocks, senior Ronald Douglas (Baton Rouge, La.) had five and senior DeAndré Coleman (Stone Mountain, Ga.) had four.

Douglas, Coleman and senior Domonic Tilford (Louisville, Ky.) each had 11 points. Coleman tallied a double-double with 10 rebounds.

For Middle Tennessee, Desmond Yates and Demetrius Green shared team-high honors with 15 points apiece.

The Jaguars return home for their final regular season game at the Mitchell Center, hosting Louisiana-Monroe Saturday 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: Junior LaShun Watson (Greenville, Ga.) was elbowed in the mouth early in the second half. He received five stitches and did not return... Yates, the second leading scorer in the conference coming into Thursday, fouled out with 6:21 left in the game... Coleman’s double-double is his seventh of the season and ninth of his career... He tied his career high in blocks... Davis scored his 900th point in the first half... Davis, the league leader in field goal percentage, missed all three of his attempts... Douglas moved into fifth place in USA history in career blocks with 89.

?USA?