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WINDSOR, Ont. – Behind an explosive first quarter, the University of South Alabama men’s basketball team avenged a loss to Windsor earlier in the week with a 92-70 win Thursday night at the St. Denis Centre.

The Jaguars conclude their Canadian exhibition tour with a 2-1 record and back-to-back wins.

“The whole trip was very good for everybody on this team,” said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow. “The coaches got to find out where we’re at with the new guys and the old guys. I think the guys on the team found out that we have a chance to be a really good team if everybody pulls together. This could be one of the best defensive teams I’ve ever coached and I hope that they understand how defense turns into offense, which everybody likes.”

South Alabama jumped on Windsor early, outscoring the Lancers 27-11 in the opening 10 minutes. The Jags recorded 19 of the game’s first 24 points thanks to a 15-1 run.

“To be able to separate the other team from your team’s score, you have to have good defense and you have to score on good possessions,” Arrow said. “When you play good defense, you get easy buckets in transition. We shared the ball really well, we got the ball inside, the inside guys got the ball outside and we were scoring in transition.”

USA broke a 4-4 tie with nine unanswered points. Mychal Ammons (Vicksburg, Miss.) started the run with a jumper and Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) followed on the team’s next possession with a bucket of his own.

Dre Connor (Lauderhill, Fla.) single-handedly added to the Jaguar lead with a rebound and a basket, and Ammons made it four straight field goals with a 3-pointer.

The defense did its part as well, forcing the Lancers to shoot 4-for-13 (30.8%) in the opening frame with eight turnovers. Windsor had five miscues and missed four consecutive shots during South Alabama’s 15-1 spurt.

“The toughness that this team can have—the overall toughness, rebounding and guarding people can be overwhelming to another team,” Arrow noted.

USA converted 12 of its 18 shots (66.7%) in the first quarter and 53.5 percent for the contest.

The Lancers shot 31.9 percent overall and were held to 18.8 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

Rubit led all players with 16 points on 7 of 8 shooting from the floor and added four rebounds. Ammons and Antoine Allen added 14 each. Both added two 3-pointers apiece.

Javier Carter (Dallas, Texas) totaled 11 points and two blocks, and Gregoryshon Magee (New Orleans, La.) tallied a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Lancers placed four in double-digit scoring. Josh Collins and Lien Philip each had 14 while Ryan Christie added 12 and two blocks. Michael Petrella rounded out the contingent with 10 points, three assists and two steals.

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—