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LONDON, Ont. – A 21-2 scoring outburst in the third quarter allowed the University of South Alabama to run away with a 68-47 win over Western (Ont.) Tuesday in a men’s basketball exhibition at Alumni Hall.

The Jaguars run their record to 1-1 on their Canadian exhibition tour and will try to avenge a loss to Windsor when they close out the trip Thursday night at 6 p.m. CDT.

“I thought tonight we really got out and played hard,” said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow. “We had some guys that were hurt last night and didn’t play and they really helped us tonight. I thought our defense really helped us score.”

The Jaguars were led by junior Xavier Roberson (Houston, Texas), who came off the bench to score a game-high 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the floor. He converted 2 of 4 from 3-point land and dished out three assists.

Senior Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) also came off the bench and added 11 points and two steals.

The Jags used a completely different starting lineup from Monday and the changes paid off as USA jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in the first 2 ½ minutes and used a 16-3 run to go up 21-11 at the end of the first quarter.

After Western pulled within five in the second quarter, South Alabama used a stifling defense to put the game away after halftime. The Mustangs missed their first five shots of the third period and went 1-for-14 from the floor in the quarter with six turnovers.

“Our effort defensively tonight was good,” Arrow said. “We practice that good defense leads to offense. I was telling our guys that I hope they understand that tonight because I thought this team had some good shooters and were quicker overall, and we used that defense tonight to take out some good shooters out of their range.”

Nathan DiLoreto ended WU’s 0-for-5 drought with a layup at the 6:56 mark, but the Mustangs went scoreless the rest of the way. Junior Gregoryshon Magee (New Orleans, La.) contributed six points in the Jaguars’ quarter-ending 16-0 run. Five different USA players contributed points during the scoring explosion and the team went 7-for-9 from the floor.

The Mustangs shot 25.4 percent for the contest, including 19.4 percent after halftime. Western hit just five of their 29 attempts from behind the 3-point line.

USA freshman Viktor Juricek (Prievidza, Slovakia) controlled the boards with a game-best 11 rebounds.

DiLoreto was Western’s only player in double-figure scoring with 10. Quinn Henderson went 0-for-8 from the floor but led the team with eight rebounds.

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—