HOT SPRINGS, Ark. -- A.J. Slaughter scored 18 points, and Western Kentucky beat South Alabama 64-56 Tuesday night to win the Sun Belt tournament.
The Hilltoppers (24-8) wasted a 15-point first-half lead and trailed 43-39 in the second. Slaughter put Western Kentucky back ahead 44-43 with a 3-pointer, part of a decisive 14-3 run that assured the Hilltoppers their 21st NCAA tournament berth.
South Alabama (20-13) trailed 27-12 early on and 35-25 at halftime before a big run to start the second half. DeAndre' Coleman led the Jaguars with 27 points.
The Hilltoppers appeared headed for a rout when they scored the game's first 11 oints. Slaughter opened the scoring, and Steffphon Pettigrew added nine straight of his own before South Alabama's early drought finally ended.
Pettigrew and Orlando Mendez-Valdez made 3-pointers to give Western Kentucky a 19-6 advantage, and Slaughter's floater made it 27-12.
Western Kentucky finished the half with 10 offensive rebounds against a South Alabama team that had outrebounded its previous nine opponents. Incredibly, only one South Alabama player was credited with a rebound before intermission. Coleman finished the half with four, and the Jaguars also had seven team rebounds.
South Alabama started the second half on an 18-4 run, and Domonic Tilford's 3-pointer put the Jaguars ahead by four with 12:46 remaining. Western Kentucky answered with seven straight points, and after Coleman's three-point play tied it at 46, the Hilltoppers scored another seven in a row.
Coleman's three-point play with 2:52 remaining cut Western Kentucky's lead to 60-56, but the Jaguars didn't score again.
