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MOBILE, Ala. – NJIT ended on a 26-5 run, including 12 straight at one point, to defeat the University of South Alabama men's basketball team 72-55 Sunday afternoon at the Mitchell Center.

The Highlanders pick up their seventh win in the last eight games to go to 12-10 overall. The Jaguars fall to 6-14.

USA shot a season-low 29.7 percent for the game and was outscored 48-24 in the second half.

"I thought that the first half we did some really nice things," Jaguar head coach Matthew Graves said. "We moved the ball around. The disappointing thing about the first half is when you go up seven, eight, 10, 11, whatever our lead was, we never could extend that and put some distance between us. You let a team hang around, hang around and then ultimately they outplayed us in every facet in the second half. You have to give Coach (Jim) Engles a lot of credit. They are well coached. You get behind a team like that, you have to extend and that's when their Princeton stuff kind of works. You get back cuts, but their effort to the glass was really good.

"It just feels like some other games we played in the non-conference season where our whole identity was tied to whether we were scoring the ball or not. You could see it on different guys' faces if they missed a shot or didn't get a pass to them where they could have shot it, and it affected how they defended on the other end. It's a bad mentality to get into."

NJIT's Damon Lynn and Tim Coleman scored 20 points apiece. They both scored 11 points and hit three 3-pointers after halftime, while Lynn dished out a game-high six assists and converted six times from behind the arc. Daquan Holiday and Winfield Willis added 10 points each.

For the Jaguars, senior Dionte Ferguson (Prattville, Ala.) and freshman Taishaun Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) had 12 points each. Ferguson recorded his team-leading third double-double of the year with 12 rebounds. Sophomore Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) tallied 10 points off the bench.

Freshman Abdul Lewis (Newark, N.J.) just missed a double-double with 10 rebounds and nine points.

South Alabama, which led by as many as 11 in the first half and seven at halftime, made only one of its last 10 field-goal attempts and had five turnovers in the final 9:36 of the contest.

The Highlanders converted six second-half USA turnovers into 15 points, and after getting outrebounded 32-16 in the first half, won the battle of the boards 22-14 in the second, including eight offensive rebounds for 16 second-chance points.

"It goes back to what is offensive rebounding: it's energy and effort and your willingness to sprint and run to the rim to get the rebound or defensively are you willing to have some physicality about you and hit somebody and keep them off the glass," Graves said. "It was real clear to me who the aggressive team was, the energy team and the more physical team."

A layup from Lewis gave the Jaguars a 50-46 lead with 9:37 left in the contest, but the Highlanders scored the next nine points to go up 55-50, then after a 3-pointer from Johnson, NJIT reeled off the next 12 points and held USA scoreless on five straight trips down the floor.

"I told the guys coming into the half to just make some shots, to be honest," NJIT head coach Jim Engles said. "I wanted us to come out and play with a little bit more confidence. I wasn't really unhappy with the way we played. I just thought they played well and couldn't make a shot. When we came out, a couple baskets went in and then everyone started to feel better out there."

NJIT shot 59.4 percent (19-32) from the floor and 53.8 percent (7-13) from behind the arc in the second half after converting 28.1 percent and 23.5 percent, respectively, before the break.

USA's second-half shooting percentage of 25.9 is a new season low.

"We have to understand that we have enough pieces to achieve our goal," Graves stated. "There is no question about it. They have showed signs of doing tough things. We just have to do it more often and hold each other more accountable. As a coaching staff, it's a balance between being their team and ours. We have to step up and do a better job coaching and move on from there."

South Alabama returns to Sun Belt Conference play Thursday, hosting Louisiana-Lafayette at 7:05 p.m.

NOTES: NJIT is just the second New Jersey-based opponent for South Alabama and the first ever to visit Mobile… USA won the battle of the boards for the first time in five games 46-38, but was outrebounded 22-14 in the second half, including 8-6 on its defensive end… Williams moved into a tie for 13th on South Alabama's career 3-pointer list with 104… Ferguson's double-digit rebound performance was his first since Dec. 30 vs. Arkansas State, which was also his last double-double… Lewis' reached double-digit boards for the first time since Dec. 15 at Pepperdine… NJIT's 11 triples are the most by a USA opponents this year… NJIT's Lynn came into the contest ranked fourth in the nation in 3-pointers per game with 3.71 and leads the nation in 3-point attempts (213)… His six treys and 16 attempts are the most by a USA opponent this year… The Jags are averaging 58.0 points in their last three outings after averaging 82.7 in their previous six… USA has lost four times this season when leading by 10 or more.

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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