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MOBILE, Ala. – A 13-2 run to open the second half helped the University of South Alabama men’s basketball team outscore Louisiana at Monroe 44-29 in the final 20 minutes in a 71-56 victory Thursday night at the Mitchell Center.

The Jaguars hold on to sole possession of second place in the Sun Belt Conference East Division with a 6-3 mark and are 9-8 overall. The Warhawks fall to 3-11 and 2-6 in the SBC.

USA made its first four shots from the floor after halftime and shot 62.5 percent from the floor in the second half.

“Obviously (it was a) much better effort in the second half,” interim Jaguar head coach Jeff Price said. “I’ve just talked so much at halftime, like I do before the games, that we have shooting droughts and we have to find a way to manufacture points. It was a glaring difference in the second half with our defensive intensity. We’re capable of doing that every night if we just get our mind to it.”

Senior Freddie Goldstein (Milwaukee, Wis.) and junior Antoine Allen (Baltimore, Md.) were the driving forces in the 13-2 run, combining for 11 points thanks in part to two 3-pointers.

“Freddie ended up with five 3s and shot the ball much better than he has from the perimeter and that’s what happens,” Price noted.

The Warhawks managed to get as close as five points four times after that, the final time coming at the 7:27 mark after a jumper from Trent Mackey.

South Alabama responded with a 9-1 run that put the game away. Sophomore Mychal Ammons (Vicksburg, Miss.) answered Mackey’s jumper with one of his own on USA’s next possession and junior Dre Conner (Lauderhill, Fla.) followed up with two free throws.

Junior Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) finished off the scoring, dunking home a miss to give the Jags an 11-point lead before completing an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Jags their largest lead of the game, 61-48, with 4:16 left.

“For us, we played a very good first half; very poorly in the second,” ULM head coach Keith Richard said. “I have to give credit to South Alabama; they had a lot to do with that. We could not stop them inside, outside, or in any form or fashion. You’re not going to win on the road if you don’t put two defensive halves together.”

Rubit scored 15 of his game-high 23 points in the second half and finished one rebound shy of a double-double.

“Regardless of the double teams we keep going at him and that’s what we need to do because he continues to get better at kicking it out and we rotate one over and get shots,” Price said. “It happened several times in the first half with plus-ones. We just have to get those shots. He’s just a warrior. Aug battles and battles. He gets slapped and hammered and grabbed and just keeps going after it. He had a huge three-point play in the second half where he just builds his way to the basket. He’s just doing a great job and we just need to continue to play off of him.”

Goldstein finished with 16 points, shooting 5 of 10 from 3-point land. Allen and Ammons totaled 10 points each, and senior Javier Carter (Dallas, Texas) tied his career high with 10 rebounds.

Conner led all players with a personal-best nine assists, the most by a USA player since Daon Merritt had nine at Florida International on March 1, 2008.

“Dre’s a tough kid and he is playing well for us right now,” said Price. “I continue to preach that the more he plays the better he will get. He had nine assists tonight and I thought he controlled the game well. He’s just going to keep getting better. There’s a lot of concern about a point guard play early, but with point guards it just takes time. I think he is starting to come into his own.”

Marcelis Hansberry led the Warhawks with 16 points, shooting 7-for-9 from the floor. He also had a game-best four steals.

South Alabama get a week off before hosting Western Kentucky next Thursday at 7:05 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN3.com and the ESPN Full Court package.

NOTES: South Alabama has alternated wins and losses in its last seven games – the team has not won two straight since Dec. 16 and Dec. 22… ULM’s Amos Olatayo, who had 18 points against USA two weeks ago, was held to nine with four turnovers… Carter blocked a shot for the 10th consecutive game… ULM went on a 13-0 run in the first half and held USA without a point for over five minutes… Goldstein set a new career high at home with five triples; he has hit nine 3-pointers in a game twice, but both times were on the road… Rubit moved into 11th place at USA in career scoring (1,139) and 17th in Sun Belt history in career rebounds (760)… The team’s 62.5 shooting percentage in the second half was the highest by the team this season – the previous best was 61.1 percent in the second half against ULM on Jan. 3… The Jags committed a total of 45 turnovers in two games this year vs. the Warhawks (20 tonight)… ULM entered game ranked 340th in Division I in free throw percentage (59.1%) but hit 11 of 14 (78.6%) at the line tonight… USA is 9-0 when either leading or tied at halftime… The Jaguars are 1-1 this season when holding an opponent below 60 points.

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).

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