MONROE, La. --- The University of South Alabama men’s basketball team committed a season-high 23 turnovers and Louisiana at Monroe scored the final four points of the contest in ULM’s 61-58 victory Thursday night at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

The loss is the Jaguars’ third straight and ends a seven-game win streak against ULM. They fall to 11-7 overall and 3-3 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Warhawks improve to 7-11 and 2-5.

“The turnovers were the difference in the game,” said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow. “We held them to 30 percent shooting and you should win games like that. The bottom line is, you can’t beat teams with that many turnovers.”

Despite the miscues the Jags rallied from 10 down to take the lead with two minutes left in the contest.

ULM led 57-48 at the 6:03 mark and USA converted six times at the line in scoring 10 unanswered points. Freshman DeAndré Hersey (Carrollton, Ala.) played a key role, scoring six of his career-high 10 points in a 2:22 span, including a lay-up with 1:59 remaining to give South Alabama the lead (58-57) for the first time since the first half.

“We were getting stops, executing and getting good shots and finishing,” said Arrow. “Plus, we were making our free throws.”

On the Warhawks’ next possession a shot attempt was blocked but an offensive rebound led to a foul and two free throws from Tommie Sykes to put ULM back on top.

The teams traded missed shots, giving USA the ball with 46 seconds remaining. But another turnover from junior Tim Williams (Pontiac, Mich.) led to two more ULM free throws.

“We set it up for him to come off a screen and get it in the lane,” said Arrow about the play. “He didn’t get it in there and then he started dancing with it. That’s not how it was designed.”

 On South Alabama’s final possession, senior Bryan Sherrer (Monticello, Ark.) was forced into an off-balance 3-pointer just before the final buzzer.

“It wasn’t designed for Sherrer and they did a good job of guarding one of the shooters we had open,” said Arrow.

Freshman Martino Brock (Memphis, Tenn.) recorded his third double-double of the season with a team-high 13 points and a career-best 12 rebounds. He added three assists and three steals.

Williams scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half.

“Our chemistry is lacking right now,” said Arrow. “We’re having to play kids that we haven’t played before and we’re not rebounding at crucial situations. We might have outrebounded them but they got some offensive boards and put-backs and we didn’t.”

Dynile Forbes tallied a team-best 14 points and Jarvis Hill came off the bench for 13 points and three assists.

The Jaguars return to the court Saturday when they host Troy 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: Since Arrow tied the school’s all-time wins record at 171, the team has lost three straight… Williams’ streak of five straight games leading the team in scoring was ended… Brock has recorded double-digit scoring in three straight games… USA’s three-game losing streak is the school’s longest in almost a year (Jan. 22-29, 2009)… The 23 turnovers come one game after committing a season-low nine vs. Arkansas State… Junior Gary Redus II (Decatur, Ala.) missed a second-straight game with a knee injury.

—USA—