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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – UAB jumped out to a 16-4 lead in the opening moments of the contest and went on to defeat the University of South Alabama men’s basketball team 92-78 Saturday evening at Bartow Arena.

The Blazers even their record at 5-5. The Jaguars drop to 4-5.

UAB shot 57.1 percent for the game and 52.9 percent from 3-point land. South Alabama went 0-for-12 from distance in the first half and missed their first 14 long-range attempts.

“We didn’t play defense, there wasn’t much effort, we had poor shot selection and didn’t share the ball until late in the game,” USA head coach Ronnie Arrow said. “We’re not going to win games until our guys start taking a personal interest in their defense. It starts with them. There’s not enough discipline on offense and way too much not-knowing-what’s-going-on on defense.”

The Blazers made 11 of their first 14 shots of the contest for a 25-13 advantage at the 11:15 mark of the opening half. UAB expanded on its 36-23 lead with a 10-2 run in almost four minutes in the later stages of the first half and took a 46-27 advantage into halftime.

The lead ballooned to 27 with 13:31 to play and got as high as 28 after a 3-pointer from Jordan Swing at the midway point of the second half.

“They were working hard and we were standing around,” Arrow said. “We have basic things that we do that we didn’t do tonight until we decided to start getting some points and sharing the ball. We’re going to look at this long and hard and we’re going to play the guys that share the ball and want to work.”

South Alabama’s offense finally got in gear late in the game and went on a 14-3 run to get within 90-78 with 1:26 left on a 3-pointer from sophomore Mychal Ammons (Vicksburg, Miss.). UAB got an offensive rebound on its next possession and hit two foul shots for the final points of the game.

Junior Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 24 points and 11 rebounds, pouring in 16 points after halftime. Junior Xavier Roberson (Houston, Texas) tallied 13 of his 18 in the second half and senior Freddie Goldstein (Milwaukee, Wis.) added 13 off the bench. Both Roberson and Goldstein hit three 3-pointers each.

After shooting just 30.3 percent from the floor in the first half, the Jaguars converted 54.8 percent after halftime, including 46.7 percent (7-15) from distance.

Swing paced the UAB offense with 18 points, shooting 4-for-5 from 3-point territory. He led a squad of five in double-digit points as Fahro Alihodzic contributed 17, Robert Williams scored 13, and Preston Purifoy and Isiah Jones came off the bench to post 14 and 12 points, respectively.

The Blazers actually improved on their 51.3 shooting percentage in the first half, hitting 66.7 percent of their shots in the final 20 minutes.

South Alabama opens a three-game homestand Dec. 16 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.

NOTES: The Jaguars have lost nine straight at Bartow Arena and are 2-19 all-time in Birmingham… USA has not won at UAB since 1988… The 92 points allowed are the most to UAB since Feb. 23, 1991, and the most overall since giving up 97 to Louisville on Dec. 4, 2010… The Jaguars’ seven 3-pointers tie for the most in a loss this season… Rubit has 10 or more rebounds in five of his last six games (nine at FIU)… He moved into 15th place at USA in career scoring (974) and eighth in career free throws (264)… Three of his four double-doubles this season have come in losses… Both teams combined for 37 turnovers… UAB’s 29 assists are the most by a USA opponent this season (previous high was 16 by Monmouth)… The Blazers had 44 points in the paint and recorded 25 points off turnovers.

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—