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MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men’s basketball team placed a season-high seven players in double-figures and survived a late Arkansas at Little Rock charge to win 92-79 Thursday night at the Mitchell Center.

The Jaguars win for the second game in a row and improve to 12-14 overall and 6-9 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans drop to 15-14 and 7-7.

“Our guys played with energy, and the last three games we’ve played with that amount of energy,” USA head coach Ronnie Arrow said. “It’s funny, I can just about tell some stats before I see them, just because of the way we played.”

South Alabama shot 55.0 percent for the game, including 63.3 percent after halftime, the highest in a half by the team all season. The team’s 17 assists are the most in a Sun Belt game since Feb. 14, 2009, which is also the last time the Jaguars scored 90 points in regulation in an SBC contest.

“If you get seventeen assists then you’re sharing the ball really well,” Arrow said. “We made things happen and we got a lot of transition buckets. That makes the team really happy. Everybody gets their share and is doing their thing. When you get a lot of points in transition you have a chance for everybody to share the ball and for everybody to score.”

Sophomore Martino Brock (Memphis, Tenn.) led the South Alabama contingent with 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds with four assists. Junior Allyn Cooks (Bryan, Texas) scored 14 of his 16 in the second half and had five assists with one turnover.

Senior Tim Williams (Pontiac, Mich.) came off the bench for the first time in his two-year USA career and poured in 15 points in just 19 minutes of action.

“That’s sort of what we’ve been expecting from him all year long,” said Arrow. “He didn’t start tonight. He got in and he was fresh and his legs were under him better. That part was really good.”

Redshirt freshman Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) recorded a double-double with 11 points—all in the first half—and 11 rebounds, and senior Gary Redus (Decatur, Ala.) also had 11. Sophomore Javier Carter (Dallas, Texas) and junior Antione Lundy (Saginaw, Mich.) had 10 points each. Lundy’s total is a career high.

The Jags used an 8-1 run to lead by 12 at halftime and exploded out of the gates after the break, reeling off a 19-5 burst in the first five minutes to grab a 60-34 advantage. The Jaguars converted six of their first seven from the floor and capped off the run with a thunderous dunk from Brock.

UALR slowly closed in, outscoring USA 15-3 during one stretch and a 3-pointer from Chuck Guy at the 5:15 mark brought the Trojans within eight (75-67), their closest deficit since the 8:23 mark of the first half. But Lundy answered on the other end with a ‘3’ and UALR missed its next four shots from the floor.

The Trojans would only get as close as 11 points the rest of the way.

Solomon Bozeman, the Sun Belt’s second-leading scorer, tallied a game-high 20 points, five assists and three steals. Matt Mouzy came off the bench for 15 points, Alex Garcia-Mendoza had 14 and Guy recorded 10 in a reserve role.

South Alabama closes out the regular season Sunday afternoon at 4:05 p.m. against SBC East Division leader Florida Atlantic. The team will recognize its three seniors—Matt Cline, Redus and Williams—before the game.

NOTES: The 13-point win is South Alabama’s largest league win since Feb. 14, 2009 vs. Florida Atlantic and only the second by double-digits during that time… USA’s 92 points are a season high… Rubit has 13 double-doubles, second-most in the league, and is the most by a USA player in at least the last six seasons… He scored nine of the team’s first 11 points… The Jags outrebounded the Trojans 45-32… Brock’s eight rebounds are his most since Nov. 23 at UAB… South Alabama has shot 55 percent or better from the floor in two of its last three outings… Carter blocked three shots, giving him eight in his last two games… Seven of the eight USA players that got in the game reached double-digit points… UALR, the league’s most accurate 3-point shooting team, was held to 32.1 percent (9-28) from beyond the arc.

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—