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MONROE, La. – University of South Alabama junior Freddie Goldstein (Milwaukee, Wis.) scored a career-high 33 points, including a school-record-tying nine 3-pointers, and hit the go-ahead bucket with 30.9 seconds remaining to give the Jaguars an 88-86 win over Louisiana at Monroe Saturday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

USA survived six missed ULM shots in the last 16 seconds and got a block from sophomore Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) with a second left in the contest.

The Jags, winners of four of their last five games, defeat the Warhawks for the first time since the 2008-09 season to improve to 14-10 overall and 6-7 in the Sun Belt Conference. ULM dropped its eighth in a row to fall to 2-23 and 1-11.

“I didn’t think we started out ready to play,” said Jaguars head coach Ronnie Arrow. “They shot the heck out of it. One of our guys were switching and the other one wasn’t and they were getting wide open shots. I’m not taking anything away from them. Our offense was great; we just have to work on our defense. But as long as you win, whether it’s because of your offense or your defense, it’s great.”

Goldstein’s only two-point bucket of the night was his game-winner, a floater along the left baseline.

“He just took it upon himself to do it,” Arrow said. “I’m glad because he’s done that (drive inside) before and gotten it shot blocked. He’s got the heart of an elephant and he just wants to win it himself. We generally float a guy in the corner but I’m not sure if he was there or not, but Freddie finished.”

ULM’s Fred Brown missed three consecutive 3-pointers, and after inbounding the ball with 7.3 seconds on the clock, Hugh Mingo missed two layups, the final one rejected by Rubit.

Goldstein shot 9-for-12 from behind the arc—tying his own school mark set Jan. 14 at Troy—helping the Jags record a season-high 14 treys. Sophomore Dallas Jones (New Market, Ala.) added four long-range bombs for a career-best 12 points.

“That’s what he was brought here to do—shoot the ball,” Arrow said about Jones. “He hasn’t shot the ball well, but tonight, he did.”

USA freshman Mychal Ammons (Vicksburg, Miss.) had 14 points and Rubit added 11 and seven rebounds.

Brown scored 28 for the Warhawks—20 in the first half—thanks to six 3-pointers. Mingo totaled 14, Charles Winborne tallied 12 second-half points on four triples and Trent Mackey poured in 11 off the bench in the losing effort. Marcelis Hansberry dished out nine assists with four steals.

South Alabama used an 8-0 run midway through the second half to turn a three-point deficit into a five-point advantage. The final six points came from behind the arc via Jones and Goldstein.

After a ULM layup, the teams traded 3-pointers on the next three possessions, the last of which tied the score at 77 with 6:04 left in the game.

The Jags answered with a dunk from Ammons and Goldstein’s last trey of the night for a five-point lead, but the Warhawks responded with a free throw and a triple of their own, Winborne’s fourth of the half to pull within one at the 4:15 mark.

After junior Trey Anderson (Carrollton, Texas) hit a jumper with 2 ½ minutes left in the contest to put South Alabama up four, Brown converted an old-fashioned three-point play on ULM’s next possession to reduce the lead to one. Neither team scored for the next 1:14 until Mingo hit one of two free throws to tie the score with 61 ticks on the clock before Goldstein hit the winning bucket.

The Jaguars found themselves down 13 points in the first half thanks to an 11-0 run, single-handedly driven by Brown. He tallied 11 unanswered over a three-minute stretch as USA committed three turnovers with three missed shots.

South Alabama takes a week off before Western Kentucky comes to Mobile Saturday night at 7 p.m. The basketball program will honor senior Antione Lundy (Saginaw, Mich.) before the game.

NOTES: Rubit moved into USA’s top 10 career rebounding list with 521… All seven of his rebounds today came in the second half after he played just eight minutes due to foul trouble… Brown scored 25 points against South Alabama last season… Anderson tied his career high with seven assists… USA has shot 50 percent or better in each of its last four halves of play… The Jaguars have shot 50 percent or better in consecutive games for the first time since February 2009… Goldstein’s 33 points are the most by a South Alabama player this year… He is the first South Alabama player to have multiple 30-point games since Demetric Bennett in 2007-08… USA’s 14 3-pointers are the program’s most since Feb. 10, 2008… Both teams set new season highs in points in Sun Belt play and the Jags reached the 80-point mark for the first time since scoring 102 against Alcorn State on Dec. 11... The 86 points allowed are USA’s most 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).

—USA—