BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A 25-2 UAB run to start the second half broke open a competitive game to give the Blazers an 82-58 victory Tuesday night at Bartow Arena.

UAB moves to 3-1 while USA drops to 2-2. The Jags return after the Thanksgiving break to host LSU on Sunday for the Coors Classic. The game will be televised on CSS and starts at 3 p.m.

“It’s a shame; we let it get away,” said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow. “We held the (Jamarr) Sanders kid in check in the first half and then he went crazy in the second. We just have to go back and check; there will be some changes. I thought the guys played hard, but we got down and started taking bad shots. We have to go back and look and correct things that need changing. We have LSU coming up and we’ll be ready for them.”

The Jaguars shook off some early shooting woes to rally back from a 10-point deficit late in the first half. USA went almost five minutes without a point and nearly seven minutes without a field goal, but the Blazers were unable to decisively pull away thanks to a four-minute drought of their own and a five-minute span without a field goal.

The Blazers led by 10 late in the first half but a 12-3 spurt by the Jags to end the half made it a three-point contest going into the break.

From there it was all UAB as the team scored the first 10 points, the final six coming on back-to-back 3-pointers by Jamarr Sanders and Robert Williams.

USA redshirt freshman Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) went to the line and made two foul shots but the Blazers made their next three from the floor, including consecutive trifectas from Sanders, en route to a 15-0 spurt for a 61-35 lead.

South Alabama missed its first eight field goal attempts and committed three turnovers.

“We got into a rut where they scored and we came down and took three or four bad shots,” said Arrow. “The next thing you know, we’re down 12 or 14 points. We just didn’t execute offensively and guarded sporadically in the second half. In the first half we got after it. I’m proud of the guys but we didn’t get it done in the second half.”

Five UAB players reached double-digit scoring, including four starters. Ovie Soko led the group with 19, Cameron Moore had 17 and eight rebounds, and Sanders hit four 3-pointers for 14 points.

Aaron Johnson dished out a game-high 12 assists and Soko rejected five shots.

“(UAB head coach) Mike’s (Davis) done a really good job with that team,” said Arrow. “He does a good job getting them prepared and they buy in and execute and do things they need to do.”

Sophomore Martino Brock (Memphis, Tenn.) paced the Jags with 19 points and eight rebounds. Senior Tim Williams (Pontiac, Mich.) added 15 and Rubit tallied 10.

NOTES: South Alabama has now lost six straight to Conference USA opponents over the last two seasons… UAB has won six in a row over USA and eight consecutive in Birmingham… The Jags haven’t won at UAB since 1988… South Alabama committed two more turnovers than UAB (14-12), but the Blazers converted them into 16 more points (24-8)… UAB shot 13-for-28 from 3-point territory while USA converted just three of its 18 long-range attempts… Brock’s 19 points are a season high.

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).

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