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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas at Little Rock led for all but a minute and 10 seconds and opened the second half on a 22-6 run to pull away from the University of South Alabama 75-50 Thursday night at the Jack Stephens Center.

The Jaguars drop their third straight game to fall to 10-9 and 2-6 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans improve to 9-13 and 6-2. They are tied for the lead in the SBC’s West Division with Denver.

“We’re just not playing together,” said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow. “We went out there and took four straight bad shots and put ourselves in a hole, and that was pretty much the case the rest of the game. We’re not playing together as a team; we’re playing individually.”

UALR started scoring early and often. USA sophomore Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) scored the first two points of the contest, but the Trojans answered with nine consecutive points—all on 3-pointers—to lead 9-2.

The advantage stretched to double-digits at the 12:43 mark on a layup by Tramar Sutherland, and a trey from D’Andre Williams gave UALR a 24-9 lead with 8:18 left in the first half.

South Alabama attempted to climb back in it right before halftime, holding UALR without a point for the final 3:11. The Jags scored the final six points of the half and trailed 35-22 at the break.

The teams traded buckets early in the second half but a 16-2 run in just over a four-minute span put the game away. Courtney Jackson started the spurt with a 3-pointer, Chuck Guy added back-to-back triples and Williams followed with another trifecta.

All told the Trojans went 10-for-22 (45.5%) from behind the arc and shot 48.1 percent for the contest.

“(UALR head coach) Steve (Shields) does a really good job,” said Arrow. “They play hard and play together, and we’re not.”

Rubit led all scorers with 22 points, his highest total since setting a new career-high with 31 against Alcorn State on Dec. 11. He also grabbed a team-best seven rebounds. Junior Freddie Goldstein (Milwaukee, Wis.) dished out four assists.

Williams was one of three Trojans in double-digit scoring with 14 and six assists. Jackson had 12 points and Will Neighbor added 10.

South Alabama returns to Mobile Sunday to host in-state rival Troy at 5:05 p.m.

NOTES: Tonight is the worst Sun Belt loss for the Jags since dropping an 81-54 decision at Middle Tennessee on Feb. 20, 2010… Rubit reached the 20-point mark for the third time this season… The Jags have had just one double-digit scorer in each of the last two games… USA has tied their opponent in rebounds for the third straight game after outrebounding 13 straight teams… Both USA and UALR had 12 offensive rebounds and 18 defensive boards… USA junior Jose Diaz (Miami, Fla.) got his first career start… Junior Javier Carter (Dallas, Texas) extended his block streak to 16 games… Arrow remains stuck at 199 career wins at South Alabama… UALR’s 59.1 shooting percentage in the second half is the highest by a USA opponent this season.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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