Box Score (html)
Box Score (pdf)

NEW ORLEANS – Despite missing its last nine shots of the night, the University of South Alabama men's basketball team's defense held Arkansas-Little Rock without a field goal for the last 3:49 and made key stops to come out with a 57-55 win Thursday night at Lakefront Arena in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

The No. 6 seed Jaguars improve to 12-20 overall and move on to the quarterfinals to face No. 3 seed Louisiana-Monroe at 7:30 p.m. The seventh-seeded Trojans end their year at 13-18.

USA led by as many as 18 midway through the second half only to see UALR trim it down to one with 28.4 seconds left. However, the Jags forced a turnover and two missed shots, including a desperation attempt at the buzzer.

"I'm extremely proud of my team," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "The preparation was really good. I thought we got off to a tremendous start in the first half. We did unbelievable job shrinking the floor; held them to under 30 percent in the first half, and that's what you have to do. If you want to win at tournament time, you have to really lock in and defend.

"In the second half, I thought we got really tentative around the 12-minute mark. You can say fatigue, all kinds of excuses, but the bottom line is we got tight, missed some shots and turned the ball over a few times. UALR is a very good team. They're very explosive. They're capable of making 3s and then they started putting the ball on the floor and getting into the paint and that really bothered us. We were trying to juggle some foul trouble, but the two possessions there late where we dug in defensively and got stops, those were two of the best possessions we've had all year long."

Senior Dionte Ferguson (Prattville, Ala.) recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds, and added four blocks, including one in the final moments to preserve the win. He shot 3-for-5 from the floor and tied his career high with two assists.

"What Dionte has meant to this program and what he has done for this program is absolutely tremendous," Graves said. "Where he came from in the spring, basically playing very few minutes as a junior, he came back, worked all summer, all fall and he is really reaping the benefits and I'm so proud of Dionte as our lone senior scholarship player."

The teams combined for just two points in the final 3:21. UALR's Josh Hagins had a chance to tie the game at the free-throw line down 56-54 with 28.4 left on the clock, but could only convert one. UALR turned the ball over on its subsequent possession, but junior Barrington Stevens III (Allen, Texas) went just 1 of 2 for a 57-55 lead.

Ferguson blocked a UALR attempt with four seconds left, and after a timeout following a missed USA free throw, a last-ditch attempt by Hagins at the buzzer was off the mark.

"I'm really proud of this group of guys," Graves said. "They hung tough; they battled and it was one of the few times I could say that we got it done on the defensive end of the floor. Usually we score a bunch of points and they're able to stretch things out, or we score to make a play to win the game, but tonight I can honestly say those couple possessions late defensively, I'm most proud of those two."

South Alabama took the lead at the 13:06 mark of the first half and stretched it to 10 at the half. The Jags used a 14-4 run early in the second half to go up 48-30 with 12:06 to go, but could only manage three field goals in 16 attempts the rest of the way as the Trojans ended the game on a 25-9 spurt, including 14-2 in the final 7:12.

Stevens paced the Jags with 14 points on three 3-pointers. Sophomore Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) added 12 points, all in the second half.

Freshman Abdul Lewis (Newark, N.J.) had 11 rebounds and eight points.

UALR's Roger Woods led all players with 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Hagins put up 12 points and four steals.

NOTES: South Alabama is on a three-game win streak for the first time since Feb. 14, 2013… USA improved to 7-1 all-time against UALR in the Sun Belt Tournament… The Jaguars win for just the second time all season when scoring fewer than 70 points (2-15), and both victories came against the Trojans… Stevens is the first USA player to have 100 assists in a season since Daon Merritt in 2007-08… Williams is one 3-pointer shy of tying for eighth at USA for a career (139) and fifth for a single season (84)… Williams became the 21st player in school history to have 500 points in a season (506)… Ferguson moved up to eighth at South Alabama for blocks in a season (49)… Lewis recorded his team-leading ninth double-digit rebound performance… UALR's nine points off turnovers are the fewest by a USA opponent since Jan. 17… The Jaguars won the rebounding battle 47-36, including 22-11 in the first half… The Trojans' 22 points before halftime ties the fewest by an opponent in the first half this season, and their 27.6 first-half shooting percentage is the second lowest… South Alabama held Arkansas-Little Rock to 29.9 percent for the game, the best defensive effort 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).

—USA—