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NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – After the University of South Alabama men's basketball team cut a 12-point deficit down to three midway through the second half, Arkansas scored the next six points en route to a 72-60 victory Saturday night at Verizon Arena.

Arkansas improves to 12-2 on the year while South Alabama drops to 6-6.

"I told our guys this is probably the best team that we're going to play," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "Even though Gonzaga won against Arkansas, I felt like Arkansas' ability to switch a lot of ballscreens and their length would really stretch us and challenge us, and looking at the turnovers and shooting percentage, it did that.

"I do think we're getting better. We could've let the game get away from us. The start of the second half was a huge turning point. We got three or four consecutive stops, but then we turned it over three of those four possessions. We kept fighting back and made it a ballgame, but we let too many possessions get away from us."

Senior Antoine Allen (Baltimore, Md.) had a game-high 21 points for the Jaguars, converting five times from 3-point land. He scored 13 of those in the second half, including eight in the first eight minutes after halftime to help USA pull within three.

"I thought Antoine did a really good job of competing for us tonight," Graves said. "He's got experience and he has the ability to play at a high level. When he's dialed in, he can do great things for us. He had three turnovers in the first half and none in the second. I love his aggressiveness and competitive spirit and he's starting to understand what we want as a coaching staff."

Junior Mychal Ammons (Vicksburg, Miss.) had 14 points and six rebounds for the Jags. Senior Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) was held to a season-low eight points but grabbed 10 rebounds to surpass 1,000 for his career and he is two shy of a new Sun Belt Conference career record.

"Their length really bothered us and the ability to switch a lot of our ballscreens really hurt," Graves said. "We're able to get Augustine some good looks when we can pick-and-pop and he's got some space to operate, and with Arkansas' ability to switch ballscreens, it really limited what we could do offensively and we really didn't have an answer for that. We need to continue to find ways to get him the ball. He did get 10 rebounds but certainly we want him to have 12 to 14 shots instead of eight and I'm certainly going to credit Arkansas' defense for that."

Arkansas had four in double-digit points. Bobby Portis scored 12 of his team-high 15 in the first half, while Rashad Madden had eight of his 12 after halftime. Michael Qualls and Alandise Harris added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

An 11-2 South Alabama run, sparked by five points from Allen, trimmed a 12-point Arkansas lead down to three with 9:09 left, but a turnover and a missed jumper kept the Jaguars from getting any closer. The Razorbacks made 3 of 6 at the free-throw line to double their lead, then after a USA turnover, got a 3-pointer from Mardracus Wade to go up nine (52-43) with 7:30 remaining.

"We had it three straight possessions and we missed an open shot, we missed a layup and then we turned it over. Maybe it's a little different if you get the lead and things really tighten up. I was proud of our effort. All we really did was play it a possession at a time and that's the most encouraged I've been with our team. We're starting to get that."

The Jags got it down to seven twice in the next 37 seconds but a 9-2 Razorback run—with five points coming at the free throw line—put the game out of reach.

South Alabama returns after the Christmas break to face New Mexico State in Las Cruces Saturday at 8 p.m. CST.

NOTES: Rubit currently has 1,009 rebounds in his career… Allen has hit four or more 3-pointers in a game this season five times… South Alabama is 0-5 on the road or in neutral site games and 6-1 at home… Arkansas entered the game averaging 86.8 points per game and its 72 points are tied for the team's fewest this season… South Alabama's point guards had two assists and nine turnovers… The Jaguars committed a season-high 20 turnovers; the Razorbacks lead the SEC with 17.7 miscues forced per contest… Rubit tied his career high with four assists... USA won the rebounding battle 38-35… Allen tied his season high with three steals… Arkansas had just four offensive rebounds, a season low for any USA opponent this year.

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—