TROY, Ala. --- Troy overcame a nine-point deficit at halftime to outlast the University of South Alabama men’s basketball team 73-66 in overtime Saturday night at Trojan Arena.

The Jaguars fall to 12-11 on the season and 4-7 in the Sun Belt Conference while Troy improves to 12-10 and 7-4.

“We just didn’t get it done at the end,” said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow. “We made some good decisions and did some good things but at the end we made some bad decisions. We hurried some shots and didn’t do the things we had to do.”

USA got a career-high 28 points from junior Tim Williams (Pontiac, Mich.) which is also the most by a South Alabama player this season. He also grabbed 12 rebounds (tying his career best) for his second double-double of the year. He scored 17 after halftime and 14 of the team’s 27 points in the second half.

The Jags led 30-21 at halftime thanks to a 1-for-9 start from the field by Troy and a scoreless stretch of 5:30 late in the opening period. The two teams combined for just 13 points in the final 9:13.

Troy made up the deficit with a 13-4 run midway through the second half. Neither team led by more than three for the rest of regulation and the two squads traded leads numerous times.

An old-fashioned three-point play by Troy’s Richard Delk with 1:51 remaining in the second half were the final points before overtime. Williams missed a ‘3’ with 22 seconds left and a driving lay-up attempt by the Trojans’ Michael Vogler in the final seconds was blocked by freshman Javier Carter (Dallas, Texas).

Carter scored the first points of the extra frame but Troy answered with six consecutive points for a four-point lead (63-59). USA freshman Martino Brock (Memphis, Tenn.) hit two free throws but two Troy field goals bracketed a South Alabama turnover to give the Trojans an insurmountable six-point advantage.

The Jaguars would cut it to three on two occasions, but Troy went 6-for-6 at the charity stripe to close out the win.

The Trojans made their last 10 shots combined, at both the line and from the floor.

Junior Gary Redus II (Decatur, Ala.) was the only other Jaguar in double-digit points. He came off the bench to record 10 and four assists.

Troy had four players in double-figures, led by Brandon Hazzard with 17 markers. Yamene Coleman notched a double-double with 14 points, 13 boards and Vogler added 15 and seven assists. Richard Delk contributed 10 to the Trojan cause.

The Jaguars return to action Thursday at New Orleans. Tip-off is at 7 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: Williams is the first USA player this season to record at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in the same game… Redus has nine double-digit scoring games, all off the bench… The Jags tied their season high of eight 3-pointers, but only one came after halftime – Williams hit a trey with 27 seconds left in overtime… South Alabama hit a season-low 42.9% from the free throw line… Carter has at least one block in five consecutive games, and two in four of those contests… He had two rejections and two steals vs. Troy.

—USA—