HOT SPRINGS, Ark. --- A 24-6 Troy run in the first half proved to be insurmountable as the Trojans held on for a 67-55 victory Sunday over the University of South Alabama in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament on Convention Center Court.

Top-seeded Troy (19-11) moves on to face fourth-seeded Western Kentucky in the semifinals. No. 9 South Alabama ends its season at 17-15.

“They are number one for a reason,” said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow of the regular season champions. “They are senior ballclub, kind of like we were a couple of years ago. They are talented and well-coached, and they play a very unique style. You know they are going to run the zone, and they have the athletes that can cover it. They are kind of like Syracuse with their length and having the players who can cover the area. (Head coach) Don (Maestri) does a really good job.”

Troy led for all but 32 seconds of the contest and controlled play in the first half. The Trojans took over at the 13:44 mark when Brandon Hazzard answered a Bryan Sherrer (Monticello, Ark.) 3-pointer with a triple of his own to expand the Troy lead to five.

The Trojans were again up five with 9:34 to play when the teams traded 3-pointers on consecutive possessions. Vernon Taylor bookended a Sherrer trifecta with two treys, the last of which started a run of 15 straight points.

South Alabama went scoreless for a stretch of 6:32 and didn’t convert a field goal for over seven and a half minutes.

After halftime the Jaguars came out firing, making six of their first 10 shots and trimmed the lead down to nine with 10:38 to go in regulation.

It dropped to eight with 6:33 left in the game and again with 2:01 to play but USA would get no closer.

After shooting 50% from the floor and 54.5% from long range in the first half, Troy was held to 21.9% in the second, including a 2-for-14 performance from 3-point land.

South Alabama converted just 35.8% for the game and 33.3% from beyond the arc, and had only one field goal in the final 6:51.

“I am not making excuses, we have executed well in the past but we just didn’t have sufficient time with this format,” said Arrow. “We had 40 minutes to go over it, but that is the time of year it is and you have to deal with it. We haven’t gone against a zone in a while, and we were a little rusty – and you can’t afford to be rusty.”

Sophomore Allyn Cooks (Bryan, Texas) led the Jags with 13 points while Sherrer added 11 off the bench. Junior Gary Redus II (Decatur, Ala.) grabbed a career-high nine rebounds.

TU’s Richard Delk paced all scorers with 17 points. Hazzard tallied 16 and Michael Vogler dished out a game-best five assists.

USA junior Tim Williams (Pontiac, Mich.) suffered a knee injury late in the first half and did not start after halftime. He played only 11 minutes in the second half and was held to nine total points, ending his double-digit scoring streak at 19 games.

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: The two teams combined for 19 turnovers in the first half but only four in the second… They each grabbed 17 rebounds apiece in the first half but the Trojans dominated the boards in the second 28-18, with 13 coming on the offensive glass… Sherrer hit three 3-pointers for the second game in a row… The Jags closed the season with four straight games under 55 points (2-2 record).

—USA—