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MOBILE, Ala. – Troy hit 57.1 percent of its shots, including 66.7 percent in the second half to give the Trojans a 72-59 win over the University of South Alabama men’s basketball team Thursday night at the Mitchell Center.

Troy wins for the second time in three seasons in Mobile and improves to 10-13 overall and 4-8 in the Sun Belt Conference. South Alabama falls to 10-13 and 4-8.

“(We let them shoot) 57 percent,” USA head coach Ronnie Arrow said after the game. “Case closed. We don’t guard. It’s very disappointing. Our guys just don’t accept the challenge for 40 minutes to guard. You can see in intervals out there when some of our guys want to guard. It’s not that we can’t. It’s that we don’t. You can’t jump into kid’s bodies and make them want to do something that they don’t do.”

Travis Lee scored a career-high 28 points for the Trojans and hit six 3-pointers. Bernard Toombs had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds and Vernon Taylor had 13 points before leaving the game with 14 minutes to go in the game with an injury.

“We no answer for (Lee),” said Arrow. “We had no answer. He just shot and shot. The game plan was not to let him or (Regis Huddleston) get the ball. It’s hard to score when you don’t get the ball, but unfortunately, when he got it, it went in the hole.”

USA sophomore Martino Brock (Memphis, Tenn.) tallied 16 of his team-high 20 points after halftime and added four steals. Redshirt freshman Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds and junior Allyn Cooks (Bryan, Texas) totaled 12 points, six assists and four steals.

Troy extended its seven-point halftime lead to 11 in the opening moments after the break but an 8-0 USA run, spurred by four Trojans turnovers, cut the margin to 45-42 less than five minutes into the second half.

Lee answered with a 3-pointer on TU’s next possession and back-to-back buckets after a Jaguar turnover pushed the lead back up to 10. USA got to within seven on two occasions but the Trojans answered each time, first on a dunk from Toombs and then again on another triple from Lee.

A Brock 3-pointer just past the 10-minute mark got the Jaguars to within 61-52, but Troy reeled off nine straight, the last five coming from Levan Patsatsia, for its largest lead of the contest.

The Trojans made 11 of their first 14 shots in the second half and converted 4 of 7 from beyond the arc after halftime.

Troy used two big runs in the first half to erase an early eight-point deficit and eventually lead by eight at the break. The Trojans were down 13-5 before scoring 12 consecutive points over a 2 ½ minute span and later poured in nine straight points, a run started and finished by two Taylor 3-pointers.

South Alabama takes a week off before traveling to North Texas Feb. 17.

NOTES: Arrow was honored in a ceremony before the game for reaching 100 career Sun Belt wins… USA sophomore Rico Sanders (College Park, Ga.) missed the game with a knee injury—the severity of the injury is unknown at this time… South Alabama is 1-11 overall and 0-6 in league play when trailing at halftime… USA’s last two opponents have each shot 66.7 percent from the floor after halftime… Mobile native Todd Martin made his first career home start… Rubit has led the team in rebounding 17 of the last 18 games and has 13 boards in each of his last two outings… Four of the five times Brock has scored under 10 points in a game, he has rebounded to score at least 19 his next time out… He had a season-low four points at Middle Tennessee on Saturday… The Jaguars are 0-12 when their opponent compiles a higher shooting percentage.

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—