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MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama junior Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) tipped in his own missed shot with 35.2 seconds left in the contest and the Jaguar defense forced a turnover with 0.6 on the clock in a 72-71 win over Florida Atlantic Saturday night at the Mitchell Center.

The win gives USA 11 Sun Belt Conference wins for the first time since 2007-08; the team is 14-9 overall and 11-4 in the league. FAU falls to 11-15 and 6-9.

USA’s largest crowd in two seasons—4,271—watched the Jags win for the sixth time in seven outings.

“It was just another really hard-fought game,” interim USA head coach Jeff Price said. “I keep telling people our games are going to be battles. With our depth and the way we’re limited, we just have to grind out games. I don’t know that we’re going to blow anybody out. I sure would love to, but I think this is something we’re going to see the rest of the year. Our guys know how to play in close games. If you go back and look at our win margins, they’re really close, but we’re finding a way to get it done. We’re doing what we need to do at the end of the game, which is impressive to our credit.”

Rubit finished with a team-high 18 points and accounted for the team’s final seven points. He missed several minutes in the second half due to an ankle injury.

“He really wasn’t anywhere near 100 percent, but if he’s in the game, we’re going to go to him, hurt or not hurt,” Price said. “We went to him, and he found a way to get it done. He had a late basket, and the last one he missed, he tipped it back in. He did what he had to do, and he did a nice job on the last defensive possession before the timeout.”

Neither team led by more than two points in the final 6:16 and there were 12 ties and 12 lead changes. Rubit’s tip-in came after Jordan McCoy made two free throws with 1:02 left to give the Owls a 71-70 advantage.

McCoy tied the game at 63-63 with a three-point play at the 6:16 mark and the two squads alternated scores on the next six possessions, capped off with two Stefan Moody free throws with 4:04 left in the game that tied the game at 69-69.

Defense took over from there as there were just five total points in the final four minutes. Rubit broke the tie with one free throw before McCoy hit his two at the stripe.

South Alabama shot just 34.6 percent in the first half and were only tied at halftime thanks to making 11 of 12 free throws.

“I think we were very dysfunctional in the first half,” Price said. “We were lethargic again, and we were standing around too much. They crushed us on the offensive glass in the first half. We gave up 13 points in the paint and nine offensive rebounds, which can’t happen with our team.”

FAU’s Greg Gantt, the eighth-leading scorer in the nation, had a game-high 23 points on 4 of 8 shooting from 3-point land, but was held scoreless over the final 13:57.

“Gantt’s just a great player, and you have to know where he is at all times,” Price noted. “If you let up off the ball for a second, he’s going to find a way to get open. They screen for him, and he doesn’t need a lot of space to get a shot off. He’s a good player. He cut loose a couple times, but I thought our effort was pretty good on him for the most part.”

Moody added 16 for the Owls—shooting 10-for-10 at the charity stripe—and McCoy recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

South Alabama closes out its three-game homestand Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. against Louisiana at Lafayette.

NOTES: South Alabama’s last four wins have been by a total of 10 points… The Jaguars’ streak of 30 straight made free throws over two games ended late in the first half; the Jags have converted 38 of their last 40 at the stripe after shooting 18-for-20 tonight… Rubit’s rebounding total of five represents his lowest total since pulling down four vs. Tennessee State on Nov. 19; he had nine or more in 19 consecutive games… Rubit moved into USA’s top 10 for career scoring (1,245) and into 14th in Sun Belt history for career rebounds (820)… Carter blocked three blocks; he has three or more in three of his last four contests… FAU shot 45.3 percent from the floor, the highest by a USA opponent in five games, and 38.5 percent from 3-point land, becoming the first team to convert better than 29 percent against the Jags since Jan. 17, a span of eight games… The Jaguars are 13-0 when leading or tied at halftime… USA junior Antoine Allen (Baltimore, Md.) recorded three steals for the second consecutive game… South Alabama had a season-low eight turnovers.

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—