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MOBILE, Ala. – Arkansas State jumped out to a big early lead and exploded for 54 second-half points to run away with an 89-67 win over the University of South Alabama men's basketball team Saturday afternoon at the Mitchell Center.

The Red Wolves open with a 2-0 record in the Sun Belt Conference and have a 6-7 mark overall. The Jaguars go to 5-8 and 0-2.

ASU shot 70.4 percent from the floor in the second half, outscored the Jags 54-34 after halftime, and never trailed in the contest.

"Obviously it was a huge, huge disappointment today," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "I'm very embarrassed as the head coach of this program in how we played today. We started off very poorly, the last two days of preparation were not what they needed to be to play this game, and we did not bounce back from the Little Rock game very well. We got down 15 [points] in the first half, made a nice run to get it to manageable, and had a chance in the second half to maybe take a lead on a possession or two.

"But the thing you need to understand about Arkansas State is that their starting group may be as talented as anybody in this league and if you allow them to be comfortable and feel good, you can see what they can accomplish. They absolutely murdered us in the paint with 42 points, driving it in there and finishing."

In the first 6 ½ minutes of the contest, Arkansas State converted 7 of 13 from the field for a 16-4 advantage, while South Alabama missed 8 of its first 10 attempts. Anthony Livingston poured in half of those points, with six coming in the paint.

"I think we were really passive early," Graves said. "One of the things we talked about in the locker room before we came out is that — unlike Little Rock — Arkansas State gets the ball up and down the floor; on a make or miss, they are pushing the ball. When we make a basket or we miss, you have to be sprinting back. Maybe we needed to show more clips of them doing that because that message did not get through. When that message doesn't get through, that's on me a as the head coach; we have to communicate it, restate it and get guys to understand that's what they are going to do. That really set the tone for the whole game, how they just kicked our butt in transition."

After falling behind 24-9 midway through the half, the Jags closed out the half with a 24-11 run – getting eight points from junior Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) – and a triple from junior Nick Stover (Los Angeles, Calif.) with seven seconds left closed the gap to 35-33 at intermission.

"We were sharing the basketball in the first half, making some extra passes, moving the ball really well. Obviously Ken was in a great rhythm, it was nice to see him kind of step out of his slump."

In the second half, the Red Wolves put together runs of 10-0, 11-0 and 10-0 to pull away and lead by as many as 26 points. After a jumper from Williams brought the Jags back to 37-36 in the first minute of the second period, ASU reeled off 10 consecutive points in less than two minutes to go up double-digits.

South Alabama answered with an 8-2 spurt, thanks to back-to-back treys from Williams, but Livingston hit a jumper, and Devin Carter converted three times from behind the arc for an 11-0 rally and a 60-44 advantage.

Nine more consecutive points opened up a 21-point advantage with 6:47 to play, and another 10-0 burst in the final five minutes gave the Red Wolves their biggest lead of the game.

"I don't know if it was that we relaxed in some fashion, that we felt we had come back and were right there," Graves stated. "We had two or three possessions in transition where we failed to convert and they turned them into easy baskets, and instead of us maybe taking the lead during that little stretch early, the lead ballooned to 9 or 10 and it just got worse from there. When a team shoots 70 percent you have very, very little chance of winning."

Livingston (22) and Carter (20) both hit the 20-point plateau, and Livingston added 11 rebounds for a double-double. Donte Thomas recorded a triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.

Williams led all scorers with a season-high 23 points – the most by a USA player this year – shooting 8 for 16 from the floor and 4 for 5 from 3-point land.

"When he takes good shots he's a really good shooter and when he takes some questionable shots he's not, it's a pretty easy formula," Graves noted. "He took a lot of good shots tonight in rhythm, guys found him and he had a wonderful game. We need to obviously build on that."

South Alabama goes out on the road next week, starting with Georgia Southern Thursday at 6:40 p.m. CST.

NOTES: The last USA opponent to shoot 70 percent or better in a half was Middle Tennessee (.700) on Dec. 22, 2007… Livingston is averaging 20.0 points and 11.0 rebounds with two double-doubles in three career games against South Alabama… Junior Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) was held to five points and six rebounds, ending his double-double streak at three, which was the longest by any USA player since the 2012-13 season… South Alabama has lost four in a row at home to Arkansas State… The Jaguars are 0-8 when being outshot by their opponent… ASU outscored USA 42-24 in the paint… Williams moved into fourth place all-time at South Alabama for career 3-pointers with 165… He broke out of a mini-scoring slump after totaling just six points in his previous two games.

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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