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MOBILE, Ala. – After the University of South Alabama cut Florida Atlantic’s lead from 12 to one midway through the second half, the Owls answered with a 14-4 spurt to defeat the Jaguars 74-64 in men’s basketball action Sunday afternoon at the Mitchell Center.

South Alabama (12-15, 6-10) concludes its regular season and will move on to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament starting Saturday against the loser of the North Texas-Arkansas at Little Rock game on Tuesday. Florida Atlantic (21-9, 13-3) had the top seed locked up and will open tournament play Sunday.

“I thought this game was different than the last game that we played,” USA head coach Ronnie Arrow said. “I thought the last game that we played we shared the ball very well. We looked to get other people on the team shots. Tonight it wasn’t like that. Whoever drove looked to get themselves shots. We did not share the ball.”

USA redshirt freshman Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) recorded his 14th double-double of the season with game-high totals of 19 points and 12 rebounds. He totaled 13 points and seven boards after halftime. Junior Allyn Cooks (Bryan, Texas) also exploded in the second half, recording 14 of his 16 points in the final 20 minutes.

Rubit collected his 301st rebound to move into third place in the school’s single-season history books. He trails Terry Catledge, who holds the top two spots, by 21 boards.

Greg Gantt led the Owls with 14 points, Brett Royster added 13 and a team-high seven rebounds, and Alex Tucker tallied all 12 of his points in the second half. Royster added two blocks, extending his streak of games with a rejection to 30.

Florida Atlantic never trailed and led by as many 12 in the second half. Shavar Richardson hit a 3-pointer with 10:36 to go to put the Owls up 10. Rubit responded with the first two of nine straight Jaguar points to narrow the margin to one, 52-51, with 8:27 to play. Cooks capped off the rally with a ‘3’ to get South Alabama to its closest deficit since the first four minutes of the contest.

But the Jags missed their next three opportunities to take the lead on two missed shots and a turnover. Royster hit a lay-up with 6:30 left in the contest to start an 8-0 run, which extended to 14-4 en route to an 11-point advantage.

FAU scored on seven straight possessions and went 6-for-6 at the free throw line to ice the game.

Tucker finished the game with a game-high seven assists and the Owls as a team had 15 on 31 field goals.

“They ended up with fifteen assists,” said Arrow. “I think that that’s the reason why they not only won this game, but won the conference. That’s a very experienced team. They have everybody back from last year and Mike (Jarvis) does a really good job, but those guys share the ball with one another. They want each other to be successful. I thought that was the way that we were the other night.”

NOTES: USA’s Tim Williams (Pontiac, Mich.) did not play due to personal reasons… The program honored its two other seniors, Matt Cline (Binghamton, N.Y.) and Gary Redus (Decatur, Ala.) in a ceremony before the game… Florida Atlantic outscored South Alabama 42-28 in the paint and 27-6 off the bench… Rubit ranks second in the league in double-doubles, one behind North Texas’s George Odufuwa… The top two shot blocking teams in the Sun Belt (5.2 per game each) combined for just six, three from each team… The Jaguars had 10 turnovers at halftime, which led to nine Owl points, but committed only two in the second half… USA sophomore Martino Brock (Memphis, Tenn.) scored the team’s first seven points but had just five in the last 36 minutes… Both teams had 11 offensive rebounds and 24 defensive rebounds… The Owls shot 38.9 percent in the first half and 58.6 percent in the second.

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—