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MOBILE, Ala. – Down 13 points midway through the second half, Southern Miss ended the game on a 26-6 run over the last 10 minutes to defeat the University of South Alabama men's basketball team 66-59 in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic Friday night at the Mitchell Center.

The Golden Eagles stay undefeated at 4-0 and extend their four-game win streak over the Jaguars. USA drops to 2-2 and has its home win streak snapped at nine.

USM's run immediately followed a 14-7 spurt by the Jags that saw them take their biggest lead of the contest (53-40).

"I'm really pleased with the first 30 minutes," said Jaguar head coach Matthew Graves. "I thought we did get better tonight. I certainly don't like to learn from losses, but I think we're going to take a great deal from this loss. Southern Miss is an excellent team. Coach (Donnie) Tyndall does a great job. They just keep coming at you and keep coming at you. I think the last eight minutes, the difference was they played each possession and stayed the course and showed great toughness. We weren't the same in those final eight minutes. Even though we didn't come out on the right end, we did some really positive things tonight."

The Jaguars opened the second half on an 8-2 run, and after a 3-pointer from senior Antoine Allen (Baltimore, Md.), led 53-40 with 10:42 to play in the game.

Southern Miss responded with 13 consecutive points—with half of those points coming at the free throw line—to tie the game for the first time since the Golden Eagles held a two-point advantage in the opening four minutes of the contest. Aaron Brown, who finished with 17 points, contributed seven during the run.

Rubit made 1 of 2 at the free-throw line to retake the lead, but two free throws on USM's next trip down the floor put them ahead one and a 3-pointer from Neil Watson extended the advantage to four with 2:47 on the clock.

Allen cut the deficit to one on South Alabama's next possession with a triple—the Jags' first field goal in over seven minutes—but Southern Miss answered immediately with a three-point play from Watson and scored the next five points to put the game out of reach.

"It was a great job of shot-faking and lifting the guy," Tyndall said of Watson's key three-point play. "Earlier in the game, he settled for the three on the left wing, and we talked about that at the next media timeout—don't settle, they're in the bonus. Let's drive the ball and get to the foul line. He did a great job of not settling; he leaned into the guy and drew the foul, and that's what you hope your senior guards do for you."

The Jaguars hurt themselves down the stretch, going 1-for-10 from the floor with seven turnovers over a period of 9:26.

"Nothing really changed," Graves said of the difference in the last 10 minutes. "The analogy I use is that they stayed together like a fist and we were an open hand. We were five individuals. At the eight minute media, I called them over and simply said Southern Miss is a very good team. They're the type of teams that we not only want to compete with but we want to beat. Good teams make runs and the teams that are able to stay together and sustain those 4-0, 6-0 runs; those are the championship level teams. Tonight, we didn't show that."

After converting 57.1 percent from the floor in the first half, South Alabama shot just 28.6 percent after the break.

Southern Miss didn't fare much better from the floor, hitting 31.8 percent, but scored 17 points off 10 USA miscues.

"That was probably the deciding factor," Graves said. "We got sped up there in the second half and had a couple of turnovers consecutively where we drove in and tried to throw lob passes that just weren't there. We just need to stay more disciplined, like we did in the first half, and stay off the baseline a couple of times."

The Golden Eagles also earned almost half of their post-halftime points at the free throw line, going 17-for-23 (73.9%) at the charity stripe.

"I thought they were more aggressive in the second half with their ability to drive the basketball," Graves noted. "We have to learn to stay more solid and stay in our gaps a lot better."

USA senior Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) scored nine of his game-high-tying 17 points in the second half, but only one came in the final 10 minutes. Allen added 14 points on 4 of 6 shooting from behind the 3-point line.

Brown and Watson shared game-high scoring honors with 17 points, and Jerrold Brooks and Michael Craig added 13 and 10, respectively.

South Alabama has a short turnaround before their next game against Wright State Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. The Raiders won their opener earlier in the day, 75-59 over Houston Baptist.

"I told the guys in the locker room, you can't sit around and feel sorry for yourself," said Graves. "You have a team in 12 hours that is going to come in here and try to take another win from you at home. We have to refocus. We have a challenge. I'm really anxious to see how we are going to respond."

NOTES: After going almost five years without losing a game when leading by 10 or more in the second half, South Alabama has done it twice in the last three games… The team has led at halftime in each of its first four games and has outscored the opposition by an average of 41.2-30.3 before intermission… Rubit grabbed five rebounds, putting him five short of a new South Alabama career record; he has 928 entering Saturday's contest… Rubit went 7-for-9 at the free throw line after going 2-for-12 Monday against William Carey… USA's 57.1 field goal percentage in the first half is the team's highest in a half in the season… Allen has hit four 3-pointers in three of his four games this season and leads the Sun Belt in 3-point percentage (.650) and is third in 3s per game (3.3)… The Jags' nine-game home win streak was tied for the 10th longest in program history… The rebounding battle was even at 31-31… USM grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and had nine second-chance points in the first half but only two in the second… South Alabama is averaging just 56.3 points in its losing skid to Southern Miss.

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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