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MOBILE, Ala. – Redshirt freshman Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) scored a career-high 20 points and added 17 rebounds to lead the University of South Alabama men’s basketball team to an 86-76 victory over Alcorn State Tuesday night at the Mitchell Center.

The Jaguars win their third straight game and get back to .500 at 5-5 overall on the year. The Braves remain winless at 0-9.

“We did some good things and then we just didn’t guard the ball,” USA head coach Ronnie Arrow said after the game. “They shot 42 percent and we want to keep teams to 41 percent. [But] we had 20 assists. We shared the ball really well. We shot the ball well, which is good. You always want to go home for the break on a winning note and that’s what we did. We’ve won three in a row and come back then the all-important conference season starts.”

Rubit now has five double-doubles in 10 games and is averaging 14.8 boards in his last five outings. He shot 8-for-13 from the floor and went a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line, one game after missing eight attempts at the stripe vs. Georgia Southern.

“Aug is just getting better and better,” said Arrow. “He works hard at it. He pays attention. He wants to learn. He didn’t shoot free throws well the other night so he was the first one in the gym shooting free throws the next day. Those are the kind of kids that you want in your program.”

The Jags placed a season-high five players in double-digit scoring. Senior Tim Williams (Pontiac, Mich.) totaled 15, junior Allyn Cooks (Bryan, Texas) came off the bench to pour in 12, and sophomore Martino Brock (Memphis, Tenn.) and senior Gary Redus (Decatur, Ala.) added 12 and 11, respectively.

Williams was credited with a career-high four steals and two blocks, while converting six of his nine attempts from the floor.

Sophomore DeAndré Hersey (Carrollton, Ala.) came off the bench to grab a personal-best 10 boards.

“I think he has been getting better and better,” Arrow said. “He’s got to be able to play for longer than three or four minutes at a time. He’s been working at it and we need him playing. He’s been in this program longer than anybody we’ve got on this team. With the experience that he has, he needs to keep on getting better and better.”

Alcorn State’s Kendrick McDonald led all scorers with 29 points, making three of five from 3-point territory. Marquiz Baker tallied 19 points and Willis Brownlee contributed 13.

The Braves came out of the gates firing, making six of their first 11 from the floor, and led 12-10 at the 14:17 mark of the first half. But they missed their next eight, allowing the Jaguars to go on a 9-0 run.

USA added an 11-3 spurt right before halftime and went into the break on top 40-27.

A 19-4 rally to open the second half put the game beyond doubt and South Alabama led by as many as 28 midway through the final period.

The Jaguars return after Christmas to host Mobile Monday night at 7:05 p.m.

NOTES: South Alabama’s three-game win streak matches the program’s longest since reeling off three straight from Dec. 22, 2009 to Jan. 2, 2010… All three victories have been by double-digits… Cooks tied his season bests of 12 points and five assists… Brock scored all 11 of his points after halftime… The Jaguars used the same starting lineup for the third consecutive game (3-0 record)… Rubit has reached double-digit rebounds in each of his last five games and has at least 12 boards in each of those games… Redus dished out a season-best five assists, one shy of his career high… USA is 5-0 when winning the rebounding battle and outshooting its opponent… South Alabama shot a season-high 88.2 percent (15-17) at the free throw line—the team converted just 50 percent its last time out at Georgia Southern… McKendrick’s 29 points are the most a USA opponent this year—he had 16 in the first half.

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).

—USA—