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RICHMOND, Va. – Richmond outscored the University of South Alabama men's basketball team 21-8 over the final 6:29 to take a 65-54 victory Thursday night at the Robins Center.

The game was part of the Gotham Classic. The Spiders improve to 5-4 while the Jaguars drop to 2-6.

"I thought we played close to a complete game," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "We aren't there yet; we played well for about 35 or 36 minutes. We had a couple of turnovers that hurt us, and overall we didn't shoot the ball well from three but we took good shots, and that's one of the things we've been working on: taking good shots and making the extra pass and we did that more tonight.

"Unfortunately the shots didn't go in; you really can't control whether the shot goes in or not, but you can control if it's a good shot. We're getting better at that and I think as we continue to share the ball, our numbers will continue to improve."

Richmond's Terry Allen scored all 17 of his points in the second half, and Kendall Anthony led all players with 18 points. Allen also grabbed nine rebounds.

No Jags reached double-digit points but three had nine: senior Dionte Ferguson (Prattville, Ala.), sophomore Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) and freshman Taishaun Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.). Freshman Abdul Lewis (Newark, N.J.) added eight points and a team-best nine rebounds.

"We have several guys that are capable of scoring 15, 17 points on a given night, but tonight we weren't making shots," Graves noted. "Tonight was a true team effort and I think that's what we're going to get throughout the season. We'll have different guys be our leading scorer all season."

The Jags trailed for the first 32 minutes until a 7-0 run gave them a 46-44 advantage with 7:50 on the clock. It was short lived as the Spiders tied the game a minute later on a layup from Allen, then went up two on a pair of Allen free throws.

Richmond took advantage of a USA miss to go up four, and after a Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) jumper, Anthony scored the game's next four points to jumpstart a 15-4 run that put the game away.

"They started to get a little bit of separation and I think we were trying to hit a couple of home runs with some plays instead of being patient," Graves said. "I think we panicked a little bit on a couple of turnovers and a quick shot. It's contagious; we just need a guy to step up, make a couple of shots, especially from 3, and once one guy gets going, it's going to affect the next guy and the next guy. I'm not planning on shooting 3-for-19 (from 3-point land) all year long. We have to continue to stay the course, take good shots and good things will happen."

South Alabama found itself in an early 10-point hole, but used an 8-0 spurt in under a minute, capped off by a three-point play from Ferguson to get within two with just over a minute left in the half. Richmond eventually went into intermission up 28-25.

"This team is showing a lot more resolve day in and day out," Graves said. "We're all a little frustrated and disappointed that it's not translating into wins, but we just have to focus on playing good basketball, improve every day and prepare ourselves for the Sun Belt Conference."

The Jaguars close out their week-long road trip Saturday at IUPUI for a noon CST tip.

NOTES: Johnson had his double-digit scoring streak snapped at six… Richmond won the shooting battle 41.4 percent to 35.4 percent; South Alabama has been outshot in every game this season… USA didn't score until the 14:48 mark and had four points through the first 11:35 until finishing the half on a 21-14 run… The Spiders entered the contest 33rd in the nation in scoring defense at 57.9 points per game… The last time South Alabama failed to have a player score in double-digits was Jan. 23, 1997 at Arkansas-Little Rock… Allen's 17 second-half points are the most by a USA opponent this season… The Spiders had a 39-38 rebounding advantage… USA is still looking for its first win over a Division I opponent (0-6) and is 1-17 on the road the last two seasons… The Jags' three 3-pointers are a season low, as were their five free throws in seven attempts… Ferguson blocked a pair of shots to extend his streak with at least one block to four… Ferguson failed to shoot 50 percent from the floor for only the second time this season; he entered the game ranked fifth in the conference in field goal percentage (56.8).

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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