MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team shot a season-best 55.6 percent in the first half and doubled up Spring Hill before halftime in a 79-50 victory Monday night at the Mitchell Center.

The Jaguars improve to 3-4 on the year. The game was an exhibition for the NCAA Division II Badgers.

"Obviously, I am very, very pleased with our effort tonight," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "We came in and met yesterday about playing harder for longer periods of time. I was impressed with our defensive effort from start to finish. This is the third year that we have played Spring Hill, and they do a good job with their motion offense. This is by far our best effort from a defensive standpoint. They had one player, Sawyer Glick, who is averaging 18 points per game. We really challenged Nick Stover to blanket him, be tough on him, frustrate him, and with the help of his teammates, they did an outstanding job.

"Defensively, as you go through all the stats, I really like our overall balance we had tonight. We had a lot of guys taking the ball to the basket, getting the ball and getting fouled in the paint. Consequently, we played very efficiently on the offensive end."

Juniors Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) and Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) paced the Jags with 17 and 15 points, respectively, while three players, including Boyanov, had seven rebounds apiece.

Williams recorded eight of his points from the free-throw line – on nine attempts – and took just seven shots to lead the team in scoring for the fourth straight game.

"You can go back and look at stats from last year, especially in conference play, when he gets to the free-throw line, he is such a much better basketball player because he is able to see the ball go through the net," Graves noted. "Anytime a great scorer sees the ball go through the net, he's in for a really good night. He took seven shots and got 17 points. That's just outstanding."

Boyanov didn't miss a single attempt, going 4 for 4 from the floor and 7 for 7 from the foul line, while playing only 19 minutes off the bench.

"He was excellent," Graves said. "The thing I admire the most about Georgi is that I brought him in today and told him that we weren't going to start him. When you look at his stat line and what he has done for the team up to that point and probably most people thought I was crazy. Georgi said, 'Whatever is best for the team Coach, I'll do it.' I explained to him that I like his offensive punch off of the bench for us a little bit and his rotation. He came out and proved me right tonight."

South Alabama used a 10-2 run early in the contest to jump out to a 15-7 lead, then scored eight unanswered, starting at the 9:19 mark, to start a 20-7 run and go up 38-20 late in the period.

The team's 42-21 lead at the half is the largest all season.

"I think it went back to us getting stops on the defensive end and getting a lot of energy from our defense," Graves stated. "Then we were able to attack the rim and get to the paint. We only took 12 3s for the game, and it was a game that we didn't need to shoot a lot of 3s. Our emphasis was to drive the ball, get to the paint, get to the free-throw line and get our bigs some extra touches. I think we certainly accomplished that."

USA scored the final four points of the first half, then tacked on five more to start the second for a commanding 47-21 advantage.

The Jags led by no fewer than 24 the rest of the way.

"I don't think people really understand how difficult it is to not play at home for a long period of time," Graves said. "Certainly that's the way the schedule was and you don't want to make excuses for it, but at the same time, having the opportunity to play at home in front of your own fans and a chance to run up and down in your arena, we need to take advantage of that. I thought we did a tremendous job."

Walter Massey led Spring Hill in both points (14) and rebounds (7). Leading scorer Sawyer Glick was held to five points on 1-for-5 shooting, over 13 points below his season average.

All 10 Jaguars in uniform found the scoresheet. Junior Nick Stover (Los Angeles, Calif.) dished out a career-high five assists and freshman Nikola Marijan (Backi Brestovac, Serbia) set a new personal record with seven rebounds.

"I think it is really paramount that we continue to find guys that have confidence of scoring in multiple ways," Graves said. "Obviously, Ken and Georgi were our leading scorers tonight, but there will be nights when Ken doesn't shoot it as well. Then we'll need someone like Nick Stover or Shaq Calhoun to step up and make some shots.

"Again, it is guys having confidence and playing with confidence. We need to continue to do that because on any given night, you never know who has the hot hand or who needs a little pick-me-up. That's what a true team is all about. I think we've got a group of guys who are starting to understand that."

South Alabama travels to Middle Tennessee Saturday for a 5 p.m. tip.

NOTES: South Alabama has won 14 straight in the series dating back to 1972… Williams scored his 900th tonight and ranks 20th in school history with 906, passing former teammate Mychal Ammons… Williams is averaging 16.8 points in his last four games, shooting 53.8 percent from the floor… Monday marked just the second game all season he didn't lead the team in assists; he finished with one on no turnovers… Junior Don MuepoKelly (Fontana, Calif.) extended his steals streak to seven games… The team's eight steals are their second-most in a game this season, and the Jags have 19 in their last two outings… Marijan went 3 for 6 from the floor and recorded the first two steals of his career… South Alabama has shot 50 percent or better in a half five times in the last three games, including both halves tonight… USA outscored Spring Hill 36-14 in the paint and 24-14 off turnovers… Boyanov has recorded double-digit points in four of his last five games, averaging 13.0 points over that span… The Badgers' 33.3 percent shooting in the first half is the lowest by any opponent this season.

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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