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MOBILE, Ala. – Louisiana-Monroe picked up 19 of its 41 rebounds on the offensive end for 22 second-chance points and used an 11-2 run midway through the second half to pull away from the University of South Alabama men's basketball team 75-57 Thursday night at the Mitchell Center.

The Warhawks maintain their share of the lead in the Sun Belt Conference at 19-9 and 13-4. The Jaguars fall to 9-20 and 7-11.

"It certainly was frustrating because we spoke about, starting at the beginning of the week, a big difference is going to be how well we rebound the ball," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "We talked about being physical, being aggressive and boxing out. Obviously, the message didn't get through. When you give up 19 offensive rebounds, they got back almost half of their shots. That's a recipe for disaster.

"It's just frustrating to be out-toughed and out-physicalled. It's something that we have got to address, mostly in the offseason. We have to take a lot more pride in the weight room and our toughness mindset. You have to tip your hat to Louisiana-Monroe. They played extremely well. They don't beat themselves. They don't turn the ball over. They go to the offensive glass. It's a reason why they're a top team in this league."

UL Monroe never trailed and led by double-digits in the second half before eight unanswered USA points cut the deficit to 44-41 with 13:48 to play. The Warhawks answered with eight straight of their own—thanks to three Jaguar turnovers and four missed shots—and after a bucket from junior John Brown (Charlotte, N.C.), Nick Coppola hit a 3-pointer to go up 55-43 at just over the halfway point of the second half.

South Alabama scored eight of the next 11 points to get within 58-51, but Louisiana-Monroe put up 13 of the next 14 in a stretch of 5:34—despite shooting just 3-for-9 from the floor—to take a commanding 19-point lead.

"They're fighting for a regular season championship, and the regular season champ is guaranteed to go to at least the NIT," Graves noted. "So their whole mindset, they're out for a regular season championship, and that's a big deal to their program. You can see it in every possession and every loose ball. That was the complete difference maker."

"We are at the time of the year where every game is important for conference seeding," ULM head coach Keith Richard said. "I thought my guys played with great energy, I thought that there was a moment in the second half that South Alabama almost was going to catch us there; we bent but we didn't break."

ULM's Justin Roberson scored 12 of his team-high 18 points in the second half thanks to five offensive rebounds. He also tallied four assists and three steals. Ongwae and Majok Deng had 14 points apiece, while Deng also grabbed 13 rebounds.

South Alabama's Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) paced all players with 21 points on four 3-pointers. He was the only Jaguar in double-digits.

"He was very efficient shooting the basketball," Graves said of Williams. "Obviously you would like to have back some of those turnovers. You can't fault him. He was trying to make plays and get in the paint and do some things. It just wasn't our night. Again, you have to credit ULM on their defense. They held us to 40 percent. It was a great effort by them."

At the close of the first half, the Jaguars recorded six straight points to trail 29-28 with just over two minutes left, but the Warhawks closed with a 7-0 burst, punctuated by a 3-pointer from Tylor Ongwae just before the halftime buzzer to take a 36-28 lead into the break.

"It was 31-28 with about a 1:20 to go, we go to the line for 1-1, you could cut it to two, (but) you miss the first one," Graves said. "They go down and they finish the half on a 5-0 run. Now they're up eight at halftime, feeling good about themselves, and our guys are kind of going in with their heads down."

South Alabama has the next week off until closing out the regular season at Arkansas State on Thursday and against Troy at home on Saturday.

"We're taking Saturday and Sunday completely off," said Graves. "We'll come back Monday and start preparation for Arkansas State. So there are no excuses. You aren't going to be tired, and your goal is within reach. It's there. You've got a week. How bad do you want it and what are you willing to do to reach your goal? We control our own destiny. We don't have to sit here and say I hope team A loses or team B loses. We control our own destiny, bottom line. We win our last two, we have a trip to New Orleans and that is a great position to be in."

NOTES: South Alabama is averaging 56.0 points in its last eight Sun Belt losses… Junior Barrington Stevens III (Allen, Texas) has 93 assists this season, the most by a USA player since 2007-08… ULM recorded 20 of its 21 free throws in the second half, and 12 of its 21 rebounds after halftime were on the offensive end… The Jaguars tied their season low with four first-half turnovers, but had 10 in the second half, leading to 12 points… USA fell to 4-5 when Williams scored 20 or more points… Senior Dionte Ferguson (Prattville, Ala.) blocked two shots; he has 13 games with multiple rejections this season… Freshman Taishaun Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.), who ranks second in the conference with 163 free-throw attempts, went 0-for-1 at the line tonight, his fewest attempts since Dec. 20 at IUPUI; he was averaging 13.0 attempts in his previous three outings… The Jags are 2-14 when trailing at halftime… South Alabama allowed 38 points in the paint for the second consecutive outing and is permitting 39.0 in the last four games… UL Monroe entered the contest first in the conference in 3-point defense and second in scoring defense and field goal defense.

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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