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MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee held the University of South Alabama men's basketball team to one field goal over a 12:30 stretch in the second half and pulled away late for a 68-55 win Saturday evening at the Murphy Center.

The Blue Raiders win their eighth straight in the series over the Jaguars and go to 5-2 on the year. The Jags drop to 3-5.

South Alabama played without leading scorer Ken Williams (Houston, Texas), who was injured.

"I thought we played extremely hard tonight and were very active," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "You have to credit Middle Tennessee – they stepped up and made big and timely 3s, but I was really proud of our effort. We need to get better with our execution, finish around the rim better and make some free throws. I think the score is little bit deceiving there at the end; it was a one or two possession game. We had two spurts where they had big runs that separated the game."

The Jaguars missed nine straight shots and 12 of 13 starting at the 13:59 mark until sophomore Shaq Calhoun (Rome, Ga.) hit a layup with 2:39 left in the contest.

South Alabama shot just 27.6 percent from the floor in the second half and 33.9 percent for the game.

"It was a combination of us missing open shots, especially ones around the rim – we got frustrated and we let that compound the problem – and the thing we didn't do at the other end was allow that to affect us overall," Graves said. "They did get a little bit of a lead, but it wasn't anything insurmountable and we fought back again.

"It's about execution, being able to play through some fouls at the rim, and making some free throws. If we do that, it's a different ball game."

Despite the shooting drought, the Jaguars stayed in the game by converting free throws and forcing turnovers. Facing their largest deficit of the second half – 11 with 7:29 left – South Alabama went 6 for 8 at the free-throw line and forced miscues on three straight possessions to pull within 53-48 with 4:23 remaining.

The Jaguars compiled a season-high 12 steals, including four from Calhoun.

"We starting to find out that this team does a really good job in pressing the basketball and picking up full court," Graves noted. "We were very active with our full-court defense. We have to continue to work on our slides in our half-court zone and be more active, but we forced them into some tough positions and we sped them up. To turn them over 19 times, is really good for us. We have to be able to convert on some of those turnovers; our points off turnovers weren't as high as you would like it to be."

The two teams traded 3-pointers after Calhoun's layup at the 2:39 mark, and after a free throw from the Blue Raiders, junior Nick Stover (Los Angeles, Calif.) converted twice at the line to close the gap to 59-55 with 1:12 to play.

However, Darnell Harris nailed a triple on MTSU's next possession at the 45.7 mark to start a game-ending 9-0 run to pull away.

Calhoun shared game-high honors with Harris with a career-best 20 points, shooting 7 for 15 from the floor, in addition to his new personal best in steals.

"I thought Shaq really gave us a nice lift today," Graves said. "With Ken being injured and not able to play, he stepped up, played some big minutes and made some big shots for us. That's what you want your team to be able to do. It's the next-man-up mentality and I was really proud of his effort."

Stover was the only other Jag in double-digit points with 10, and added a team-best three assists and three steals.

Giddy Potts recorded a double-double with 17 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. He went 5 for 8 from 3-point land and had three assists. Harris made all three of his 3-point attempts and blocked four shots.

South Alabama takes nine days off before hosting Southern Miss Dec. 14 at 7:05 p.m.

NOTES: All but one game in Middle Tennessee's eight-game win streak in the series has been by 10 points or more, and just twice has South Alabama scored greater than 56 points… Calhoun recorded USA's second 20-point game of the season… USA's 55 points are a new season low… The Jags are averaging 20.0 turnovers forced and 10.0 steals in their last two games… The 12 steals tied the most by a Graves-coached team (12 at MTSU, 2013-14)… Williams missed a game for the first time in his career… Junior Don MuepoKelly (Fontana, Calif.) extended his steals streak to eight games with a pair of thefts… Stover's three steals are a new season high… MTSU won the rebounding battle 45-30, the biggest rebounding margin by an opponent this season… The Blue Raiders went 11 for 19 from distance, the best 3-point night by a USA opponent in 2015-16.

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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