Box Score (html)
Box Score (pdf)
Photo Gallery

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men’s basketball team shot 60 percent in the second half and outscored William Carey 46-28 after halftime to run away with an 82-64 victory Wednesday night at the Mitchell Center.

The Jaguars win their second straight game to open the 2012-13 season while William Carey remains at 2-0 (the game is considered an exhibition for WCU).

William Carey stayed with South Alabama for the first 20 minutes and tied the contest at 36-36 just before halftime, but the Jags reeled off 12 straight points early in the second half to run away from the Crusaders.

“I kept telling everybody that that team was very athletic and could shoot the ball,” said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow. “Not to take anything away from them, but we didn’t guard like we wanted to at the beginning of the game. We get a little hard-headed now and then where we have to be proven that they can shoot the ball and I think they proved it that they could shoot it in the first half.”

USA sophomore Mychal Ammons (Vicksburg, Miss.) recorded his third straight double-double dating back to last season with 19 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.

“I think last year we played (Mychal) 95 percent outside,” Arrow noted. “He never played outside before but we thought that he could become a 6-foot-6 power ‘3’ man and all that skill work he did last year has helped him this year play the ‘3’ and the ‘4.’ He can put the ball on the floor better. Now he’s taking ‘4s’ off the dribble and when he takes it outside he’s taking ‘3s’ off the dribble so he can dribble penetrate better with all the experience he got from last year.”

Junior Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) fell just short of a double-double with 20 points – 16 in the first half – and nine boards.
 
“I thought Aug was getting back to his form,” Arrow said. “He really isn’t back yet from his dislocated toe, but he was moving a lot better tonight.”

The Jags broke it open with their 12 unanswered points early in the second half. Four different players scored during the run and junior Antoine Allen (Baltimore, Md.) hit back-to-back 3-pointers – the first for the Jaguars all night – to cap off the spurt.

South Alabama put together another scoring outburst midway through the final period with seven consecutive points. This time it was junior Xavier Roberson (Houston, Texas) who nailed back-to-back triples to put the Jags on top 59-44.

Meanwhile on the other end of the floor, WCU started the final 20 minutes 1-for-11 from the floor

“We won’t face anybody all year that’s got a front line like they’ve got,” Crusaders head coach Steve Knight said. “They finally started making some shots in the second half, and that hurt us. If you’re going to try to double the post, then they start making threes; it’s pick your poison. They did a much better job in the second half of mixing it up.”

After going 0-for-6 from distance in the first half, USA made six triples in the second, a career-high four from Roberson and two from Allen.

“It makes a whole lot of difference and it’s more relaxing when those jump shots are going in,” Arrow said. “I thought that for the most part they were taking good shots the first half but they just weren’t going in. In the second half we helped each other get better shots and they were going in.”

Roberson finished with 15 points, all coming in the second half. Senior Javier Carter (Dallas, Texas) tied his career high with three assists – and no turnovers – and had seven blocks, tied for fifth-most in school history.

Daron Bell came off the bench to lead the Crusaders with 17 points and seven rebounds.

The Jaguars will head to Atlanta next week for the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, hosted by Georgia State. The Jags will take on Tennessee State Monday at 3 p.m. CST.

NOTES: South Alabama won its 21st consecutive home opener, a streak that started in 1992…Roberson’s 15 points are his most since scoring 19 last Nov. 23 in an overtime win at LSU… That performance earned him Sun Belt Player of the Week honors… Five different USA players dished out three assists… Rubit and Ammons combined to shoot 16-for-25 (64.0%) from the floor… Ammons had zero career double-doubles before his current streak of three… With 3:58 left in the first half, Rubit had accounted for 16 of the team’s 32 points… Carter has recorded a block in eight straight games… USA had 12 assists on 18 field goals in the second half… South Alabama outrebounded William Carey 43-30 and tallied 22 second-chance points off 17 offensive rebounds... WCU came into the contest averaging 89 points through two games.

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).

—USA—