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INDIANAPOLIS – Down 10 with 6:33 to play, the University of South Alabama men's basketball team went on a 14-2 run to briefly take the lead, but IUPUI answered and held off USA in overtime to win 71-65 in the Gotham Classic Saturday afternoon at the Fairgrounds Coliseum.

IUPUI moves to 3-8 on the year while USA loses its fourth straight to fall to 2-7.

South Alabama committed a season-high 22 turnovers—11 each before and after halftime—that led to 21 IUPUI points.

"I'm obviously disappointed with how we played to start both halves," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "We struggled with getting into any kind of rhythm and when we started turning the ball over, it really compounded things. When you turn the ball over 22 times in an overtime game, in any one possession that you don't turn it over, it's an opportunity to score and we just weren't able to get that.

"Their press bothered us and what's frustrating is, we've reviewed some of those things and it goes back to having an attention to detail, being in the right spots, cutting hard, playing with aggressiveness and being of an attacking mindset. When we did that, we were able to convert and score, but too many times we were back on our heels, similar to how it was against Pepperdine."

Sophomore Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) recorded a career-best 23 points for South Alabama, including 17 after halftime, on six 3-pointers. He had eight in the Jaguars' 14-2 rally, capping it off with a triple that gave them their first lead of the contest.

Freshman Taishaun Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) put up a personal-best 18 points—11 in the first half—and tied his career high with six assists.

"Those two were able to score the ball and I was really glad to see that they had some shots go down, especially Ken making six 3s; he was in a bit of a slump and hopefully this will propel him as we move forward," Graves said.

South Alabama fell behind as many as 12 in the second half and was down 55-45 with 6:33 left before mounting its comeback. USA scored nine of the next 10 points and 14 of the next 16 as IUPUI committed three turnovers without attempting a field goal.

"We continue to fight back and we don't give up," Graves said. "Taishaun and Ken were making some baskets and made some really good plays. We continued to show good resolve, but we have to play for 40 minutes. We go through stretches where we dig ourselves into a hole and we aren't talented enough to dig our way out of it."

Williams' triple with 2:49 left gave the Jaguars their first lead of the contest at 59-57, but following a timeout, DavRon Williams answered on IUPUI's next possession to tie it up at 59-59.

Neither team scored in the final 2:28 of regulation as both squads combined to miss their last five shots from the floor.

In overtime, neither team hit a field goal in the first 3:37, and two early free throws from IUPUI's Marcellus Barksdale stood up until Barksdale found the basket with a layup at the 1:22 mark, then hit a pair from the charity stripe with 46.7 seconds left gave IUPUI a 65-59 advantage.

Ken Williams and Johnson did their best to keep South Alabama in the game, hitting 3-pointers with 37.5 and 20.0 seconds left, respectively, the second from Johnson pulling USA within 66-65.

IUPUI made just one of its two free throws on the other end for a three-point advantage, but a USA turnover led to two more IUPUI points and a South Alabama three-point attempt with six seconds left went begging.

DavRon Williams paced IUPUI with 13 points off the bench. Archie Mason totaled 12 points, and Barksdale added 10 points—on eight free throws—and four rebounds.

"We have to continue to figure out a way to bounce back on a quick turnaround, playing today after a game on Thursday," Graves stated. "We'll continue to fight and go after it again at practice on Monday."

South Alabama plays its final contest before Christmas at home on Tuesday against Howard at 7:05 p.m.

NOTES: Johnson rebounded after having his six-game double-digit scoring streak snapped Thursday at Richmond… Williams recorded USA's second 20-point performance of the season (John Brown 22 vs. Carroll) and is the most by a Jaguar this year… South Alabama is 0-2 in overtime games this season and 0-4 since defeating Louisiana-Lafayette 91-89 in double overtime in 2012-13… USA went 9-for-12 from the free-throw line; the team is averaging 15.9 attempts in losses and 27.5 in wins… Johnson's six assists tie the most by a USA player since 2012-13… Ferguson blocked two shots for the third consecutive outing and has eight total during his five-game blocks streak… South Alabama made 10 3-pointers on the afternoon, the team's highest total since making 11 in the season opener vs. Carroll… Williams' six 3s tie the most by a USA player since Freddie Goldstein tied his own school mark with nine in 2011-12… South Alabama tied its own season high with six blocked shots.

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—