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ARLINGTON, Texas – Down eight at halftime, the University of South Alabama men's basketball team rallied to take the lead, but a late 12-3 Texas-Arlington run was enough for a 73-65 victory Saturday night at the College Park Center.

The Mavericks pick up their third straight win for a 9-10 overall record and 4-3 mark in Sun Belt Conference play, while the Jaguars fall to 7-13 and 1-6.

"In the second half, when we were down, I thought we showed great resolve for one of the few times this year in being able to come back from a deficit," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "We took the lead and kept fighting but with about six or seven minutes to go, I thought they turned it up a notch and we went about six straight possessions without a stop, and that's the end result."
 
South Alabama shot just 28.1 percent in the first half and trailed by as many as 10 before intermission, but used a 15-5 run starting at the 16:35 mark to take the lead.

Four different players contributed as the Jags scored nine of the next 11 points to get within two, and after UTA's Brandon Edwards hit a 3-pointer for a five-point advantage, freshman Ken Williams (Manvel, Texas) and sophomore Barrington Stevens III (Allen, Texas) answered with 3-pointers of their own for a 46-45 USA lead.

"We had some guys step up and make some shots and we were getting stops on the defensive end," Graves said of the key to the second-half run. "In the second half, we did a better job of challenging their shots and making it tough for them, but we weren't able to make enough tough plays down the stretch."

Texas-Arlington responded with seven unanswered points but South Alabama hit right back with seven straight points, the final four coming from senior Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) to put the Jags up 53-52 with 7:34 to play.

Yet another 7-0 run, this time from the Mavericks, put them on top for good. Freshman Isaiah Maston (Birmingham, Ala.) nailed a triple to temporarily stop the bleeding, but Lonnie McClanahan accounted for five consecutive points to give the Mavs an eight-point advantage with 3:10 to play.

UTA went 7-for-8 at the free throw line in the final 33.4 seconds.

The Mavericks used an 11-2 spurt early in the contest to take an eight-point lead, but the Jaguars used the 3-pointer to stay in the game. USA's first four baskets and five of its first six came from behind the arc.

"I thought we started off slow on the defensive end," Graves said. "We allowed them to get in a rhythm, but fortunately we were making some shots as well to keep the score close. As the half wore on, we did a better job of getting some stops but we weren't scoring on our end; we were really soft at attacking the rim. We took some decent 3-point shots, but we have to continue to attack the rim a little bit more; part of that is our personnel, but we have to keep fighting through that."

South Alabama tied its season high with four players in double-digit scoring, led by senior Antoine Allen's (Baltimore, Md.) team-high 18. Stevens and Rubit had 14 each and Williams added 10.

"I was really proud with how Barrington played," Graves said. "He came out and played with really good energy, got the ball in positions that we needed and he didn't overdribble, which is something he's done in the past. I was really pleased with his energy and effort off the bench."

Junior Mychal Ammons (Vicksburg, Miss.) shared game-high honors in rebounds with Edwards with 11.

Reger Dowell, the Sun Belt's leading scorer, paced all players with 21 points off the bench. He had 15 in the first half on 4 of 7 shooting from beyond the arc, but didn't score again until 2:19 left in the contest.

"I think it was a combination of him floating and resting there a little bit in the second half, but as all-league players do, when it gets into crunch time they turn it up a notch and boy did he ever turn it up there in the last five minutes and make winning plays for them," Graves said. "A lot of credit to him for doing that."

Edwards recorded his ninth double-double of the year with 17 points and 11 boards, and McClanahan poured in 19 points.

The Jaguars travel to Sun Belt leader Georgia State Thursday night at 6 p.m. CST.

NOTES: Saturday's game was the 1,300th in South Alabama history… The Jaguars fall to 0-9 this season in games away from the Mitchell Center, 0-11 when scoring 65 points or fewer and 0-8 when trailing at halftime… UTA started the game 5-for-7 (71.4%) from 3-point land but finished 4-for-19 (21.1%), including an 0-for-8 stretch to end the first half… The Jags tied their season low with six turnovers and the plus-five (11-6) assist-turnover ratio tied their season best… Rubit moved up two spots to 21st in Sun Belt history with 1,720 points and stands eight shy of fourth place in the South Alabama record book… Rubit also moved into a tie for third with Brandon Davis at USA with 114 career blocks… South Alabama converted 11 times from behind the arc, the team's third-highest total this season and most since making a school-record 17 at Rice on Dec. 7… The Jags' 37 long-range attempts tonight are tied for fifth in school history… Texas-Arlington outscored South Alabama 26-12 in the paint.

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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