Box Score (html)
Box Score (pdf)

MIAMI – Florida International’s DeJuan Wright scored 35 points and Jeremy Allen added 21 to help the Panthers defeat the University of South Alabama men's basketball team 81-74 Saturday night at U.S. Century Bank Arena.

The loss ends a four-game winning streak for the Jaguars and gives them a final regular season record of 16-11 and 8-8 mark in the Sun Belt Conference. The Panthers win for just the second time at home and finish 8-20 and 5-11.

Both teams will await their opponents in the Sun Belt Tournament March 3-6 in Hot Springs, Ark. The league will announce the pairings Sunday.

USA trailed by as many as 14 points midway through the second half and was able to cut the margin down to three with just over two minutes left but could get no closer.

“We can’t give up 81 points and expect to win,” said Jaguar head coach Ronnie Arrow. “We just couldn’t stop the ball. They got into the lane, fed open guys and we didn’t stop them.”

Sophomore Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) recorded his 11th double-double of the year with a team-best 25 points and 14 rebounds. He shot 12-for-15 from the floor and scored 17 points after halftime, making all eight of his shots.

Florida International ended the first half on a 9-2 run—including nine in a row—to take a 41-30 lead into halftime.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Allen gave the Panthers their biggest lead of the night, 64-50, with 10:19 left in the game. A jumper from Wright with 8:48 remaining put FIU up 12, but USA countered with six unanswered—the last four from Rubit—to cut the margin to 68-62 at the 5:36 mark.

The teams traded scores over the next two minutes but a 5-0 run by the Jags got them to within three, 72-69, with 2:18 left in the contest.

On FIU’s next possession, Wright converted an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Panthers up six. Rubit answered on the other end, but USA missed a layup after an FIU turnover that would have made it a two-point game. Florida International made six of its last eight free throws, including two from Wright with six seconds left.

“We couldn’t get stops,” Arrow commented. “They scored when we needed to and couldn’t stop them. We were scoring but they were scoring too. When you’re down 11 to start with, you don’t catch up. We cut it to three, but they hit some buckets and hit some free throws. The bottom line is, we can’t let them score 81 points in regulation.”

Sixteen of Wright’s points came from the free throw line in 19 attempts. Allen made 4 of 8 from 3-point land. Both played all 40 minutes. Deric Hill came off the bench to dish out nine assists with no turnovers.

South Alabama shot 59.4 percent in the second half—the team’s best in a half this season—and 49.2 percent for the contest. Freshman Mychal Ammons (Vicksburg, Miss.) had 12 points and three assists, and junior Freddie Goldstein (Milwaukee, Wis.) added 10 points.

“We wanted to win the thing and keep the momentum going,” Arrow said. “We’ve won six out of eight and we need to take that and apply that to the Sun Belt Tournament and go to the NCAAs.”

NOTES: A USA win would have given the school 300 Sun Belt wins in its history… USA outrebounded FIU 39-37, winning the battle of the boards for the 21st time in 27 games… Wright’s point total is the highest by a USA opponent this season and Hill’s nine assists tied an opponent season high… Rubit has recorded a double-double in each of the four times he’s faced FIU… USA lost for the just the third time in 16 games when outshooting an opponent.

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—