MOBILE, Ala. --- A.J. Slaughter hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:19 left in overtime to lift Western Kentucky to a 67-64 win over the University of South Alabama men’s basketball team Thursday night at the Mitchell Center.

The Hilltoppers win their fourth straight and go to 9-4 overall and 2-0 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Jaguars have their three-game win streak halted and drop to 11-5 and 3-1.

“As a coach, it just goes through your mind in close games what you could’ve done,” said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow. “We just won a game like that on the road. It was a great game and we knew it would be a great game. The bottom line is it’s just a shame we didn’t win. We’ve got to show a lot of character and come back and get ready for Arkansas State.”

Slaughter’s ‘3’ capped off a game-high tying 18-point effort on the night and Steffphon Pettigrew added 16 points.

Those two combined for WKU’s last 18 points, including five in the final minute as the Hilltoppers answered each Jaguar basket and send the game into overtime.

South Alabama senior LaShun Watson (Greenville, Ga.) hit a 3-pointer with 57 seconds left in regulation to break a 57-57 tie. Slaughter answered with a trey of his own 18 seconds later.

Junior Tim Williams (Pontiac, Mich.) put the Jags back on top on their next possession with a lay-up but Pettigrew responded with a lay-up with five ticks on the clock to tie the score at 62-62. A Williams 3-point attempt at the buzzer was short.

The two teams combined for just two field goals in the extra frame. Senior Bryan Sherrer (Monticello, Ark.) broke the tie 1:32 in but Slaughter responded with a trifecta at the 1:19 mark to put the ‘Toppers ahead for good.

After a missed 3-pointer by Watson, Pettigrew hit two shots at the line and a last-ditch effort by Williams to tie missed.

“They’ve got two guys that we knew they were going to (in crunch time),” said Arrow. “Slaughter hit that '3' to tie it up with about a minute to go in regulation, and we were right there to stop them and he delivered. In overtime, they went to Pettigrew and he made that lay up.”

The game featured 12 ties and 18 lead changes. The largest lead by either team was just six points by WKU in the first half.

Williams led the South Alabama offense with 18 points and added three assists. Freshman Martino Brock (Memphis, Tenn.) posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Cooks tallied 13 points. Watson tied his career high with nine rebounds.

WKU’s Jeremy Evans notched a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards.

“I want to thank every one of those people that came out tonight,” said Arrow. “I know that there’s another game going on right after our game, but I appreciate the ones that were here, the true fans. That’s what makes it tough for (WKU) to be here and our guys played hard. I’d like to thank all of our fans that came out.”

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: Brock’s double-double is his second of the season and first since the Rice game on Nov. 14… Junior Gary Redus II (Decatur, Ala.) left the game with a right knee injury at the 1:10 mark of the second half… USA is 5-2 in its last seven home overtime games… The last home game to go an extra period was a 92-88 loss to Troy on Feb. 24, 2007… The Jags went 8:07 spanning the first and second halves without a field goal… The two teams did not score a point after halftime until the 16:33 mark on a Brock alley-oop dunk.

—USA—