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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Junior Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) scored 16 of his game-high 19 points after halftime to help the University of South Alabama men's basketball team to a 72-70 double-overtime victory at Samford Friday night at the Pete Hanna Center.

The Jaguars win their 14th-straight game over Samford, a streak that dates back to 1972, and go to 4-6 on the season. The Bulldogs drop to 7-4.

"It feels absolutely wonderful to get a win on the road," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "I'm even happier for our players in that locker room. They believed in each other and they deserved to win that ballgame.

"There were stretches there where it would have been really easy to hang your head and have bad body language. Our guys hung tough, fought through it, and we got contributions from everybody on the bench. It was an exciting, true team win."

South Alabama trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half, and five with 1:31 left in regulation, but rallied both times to tie, going on runs of 12-2 and 5-0; the second came in the final 1:21 to send the game into overtime.

"It shows that we're showing signs of maturity and togetherness," Graves said. "What I told them in the locker room was that we've got to build on this. We can't come out on Tuesday and be flat. We have to stay together and keep building on this, and get some momentum heading into conference play."

The Jaguars led for almost all of the first 25 minutes of the contest until the Bulldogs went on a 21-4 run over a 9:24 stretch to take a 52-42 lead with 7:48 left in the game. USA was held without a point for almost six minutes, and Samford got five unanswered points from Marcus Johnson, and the final six from Matt Rose.

Samford forced eight turnovers during that stretch – including four consecutive possessions – while South Alabama went 1 for 10 from the floor.

A switch flipped and South Alabama reeled off the next seven points, and 12 of next 14, to knot the score at 54-54. Williams capped off the rally with a trey, then a jumper almost a minute later to draw even.

After a triple from Johnson and an old-fashioned three-point play from junior Tafari Whittingham (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tied the score again at 57-57, the Bulldogs got a pair of free throws from Christen Cunningham and a 3-pointer from Rose to go up 62-57. The Jags answered on their next possession with a dunk from Whittingham, and Williams nailed a trey with 22.9 seconds left to complete the second comeback.

The Bulldogs went to the line with 0.8 seconds left in regulation with a chance to win but missed both attempts.

In the first overtime, the two teams combined to go 1 for 10 from the floor, but two free throws Darius Jones-Gibson with 1:56 left held up to send the game into another extra frame.

USA never trailed in the second overtime and led by five in the final moments until Rose nailed his third '3' of the contest with 5.6 seconds left. Whittingham was unable to convert a pair of shots at the free-throw line but a desperation heave at the buzzer was well off the mark.

Rose's 3-pointer was the Bulldogs' only made field goal in either overtime period as they went 1 for 9 from the floor and shot 37.3 percent for the game.

"Our depth wore on them," Graves said. "Their two guards played 44 and 45 minutes, and that's a lot of minutes to play. We were able to extend our defense and press. We didn't force them into quite as many turnovers, but it still takes a toll on you, over and over again."

Williams' 19 points ties his highest output since recording 21 in the season opener. He went 7 for 19 from the field and dished out four assists.

"He really got going there in the second half and made some shots; I was happy to see that," Graves noted.

Junior Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) tallied his first double-double of the season with 12 points – on 5 for 7 shooting – and a game-best 10 rebounds. He also blocked a pair of shots. Whittingham played 19 minutes – all after halftime – and just missed a double-double of his own with 10 points and a career-high eight boards.

"I thought Tafari came in and gave us a really big lift off the bench, almost getting a double-double," Graves stated. "Georgi had a double-double and those guys were absolute warriors on the glass.

"It goes to show the depth we have on this team. Certain guys played well and it was a great team win."

Jones-Gibson paced the Bulldogs with 18 points – 12 in the first half alone – and Rose added 17 off the bench.

The Jaguars play their final game before Christmas on Tuesday at home against Rice at 7:05 p.m.

NOTES: The Jaguars' 14-game win streak ties their longest active streak against an opponent (Spring Hill) and is the longest against a Division I school… The two schools were playing in Birmingham for the first time since Jan. 31, 1976… Boyanov's double-double was the fourth of his career… Williams is one 3-pointer shy of Richard Law (2002-06) for fourth place at South Alabama with 160… Graves improved to 1-6 in his two-plus seasons in overtime; the last time USA won an overtime game was Jan. 10, 2013 at Louisiana-Lafayette… The Jags last played a multi-overtime game Dec. 7, 2013 at Rice… The Jaguars dished out a season-high 17 assists; senior Barrington Stevens III (Allen, Texas) handed out a season-best six, one shy of his career high… Junior Don MuepoKelly (Fontana, Calif.) extended his steals streak to 10… South Alabama was 0-46 under Graves when trailing or tied with a minute left in regulation before tonight… USA improved to 4-0 this season when outshooting its opponent and won for the first time this year when shooting less than 50 percent in the second half (1-5)… USA's 20.0 3-point percentage (5-25) is a new season low… South Alabama won the rebounding battle 54-44, setting a new season high in both offensive (22) and total rebounds.

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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