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ATLANTA – Jesse Steele hit three free throws with 1.3 seconds left to give Monmouth a 73-71 victory over the University of South Alabama men’s basketball team Tuesday afternoon at the Georgia State Sports Arena.

Steele’s points came just seconds after USA junior Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) hit two free throws of his own with 5.8 on the clock to give the Jaguars a 71-70 lead.

South Alabama completed a six-point comeback in the final 3:16 before Steele scored the game’s final points.

“I thought our guys really played hard, came back and had the game won,” USA head coach Ronnie Arrow said. “The last thing I said to our guys was ‘don’t foul.’ The ball was there, Antoine (Allen) went for it and they called the foul. We have to do better in late-game situations.

“It's just a shame that it ended like that. Hopefully we learn from it and the next time we get in that situation, we won't foul.”

Rubit recorded his first double-double of the season with 20 points and 16 rebounds, and tied his career high with five blocks.

Junior Xavier Roberson (Houston, Texas) did his best to keep the Jaguars in the game, scoring 13 of his 18 points in the second half, including three 3-pointers in the final five minutes of play.

The teams traded double-digit runs in the second half as neither side could sustain momentum. USA found itself down 45-41 early in the second half before reeling off 11 unanswered points in just over two minutes. The Jags made five consecutive buckets, capped off by a Mychal Ammons (Vicksburg, Miss.) alley-oop.

The hot streak ended there as South Alabama went without a field goal over the next seven-plus minutes, missing its next nine shots with three turnovers, and Monmouth capitalized with a 12-0 rally to retake the lead at 57-52.

The Hawks stretched their advantage to seven points with 5:21 to play before Roberson hit the first of his three late 3-pointers, pulling the Jaguars within four, three and finally, two, with 2:19 left in the contest.

“I thought tonight he did what we needed him to do, which is make shots for us,” Arrow said.

Monmouth’s Dion Nesmith hit a layup with 1:18 remaining for a 70-66 lead. Rubit answered on South Alabama’s next trip down the floor with a three-point play, and grabbed a crucial rebound after a Hawks miss.

“We did a good job there,” Arrow said of the Jags’ rally. “I thought Freddie (Goldstein) ran the plays that we called, we executed and Xavier hit a couple of big shots.”

The Jags had multiple scoring opportunities fail in the final seconds before Rubit was fouled on a rebound. He converted both prior to Steele answering at the line on the other end.

Neither team did a good job holding on to the ball, committing a combined 41 turnovers, including 25 by South Alabama.

“They put a lot of pressure on us,” Arrow noted.

Andrew Nicholas led Monmouth with 15 points, and scored 13 of those in the first half alone. Marcus Ware came off the bench to pour in 13 in addition to his team-best eight rebounds. Nesmith and Steele added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Steele also dished out a game-high eight assists.

The Jaguars complete play at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Wednesday against host Georgia State at 2 p.m. CST.

NOTES: The game featured seven ties and 20 lead changes… Senior Javier Carter’s (Dallas, Texas) blocks streak was extended to 10 games with two rejections and he added seven rebounds… Rubit’s rebounding total is tied for the fifth-most in his career… He also made all eight free throw attempts to increase his season free throw percentage to 89.3 percent (25-28)… Rubit has 27 career double-doubles, most among active Sun Belt players… He has scored 20 or more points in each of his last three outings for the first time in his career…Rubit moved into USA’s top 20 in career scoring (881) and also grabbed his 600th career rebound… USA’s 25 turnovers are the most by the program in at least eight seasons… The Jags won the rebounding battle 44-35… Monmouth scored 34 points in the first half, ending a streak of three games where a USA opponent recorded 36 points before halftime.

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—