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MOBILE, Ala. – A 22-3 run to start the second half reversed a five-point deficit at the break to give the University of South Alabama men's basketball team a 73-60 win over Appalachian State Saturday night at the Mitchell Center.

The Jaguars win their second straight game and move to 9-12 overall and 4-6 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Mountaineers drop to 6-15 and 4-6.

The South Alabama defense held an App State team that was averaging 84.3 points in its last four outings to 31.8 percent shooting for the night and 60 points.

"I'm very pleased with our effort, especially on the defensive end," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "We did a tremendous job of following the game plan. We really wanted to eliminate Frank Eaves from the game and he's a great player and leading scorer of this league. To hold him to two points on 1 for 15 shooting, our guys were absolutely outstanding. We mixed some things up and our guys were able to rotate and follow through with the scouting reports. I couldn't be more pleased with their effort, their attention to detail, and their focus was outstanding."

The Jags came out firing out of intermission, scoring the first eight points, then after an App State jumper, reeled off 12 unanswered over a 5:21 stretch. USA got points from five different players, including back-to-back layups from junior Nick Stover (Los Angeles, Calif.).

By the time junior Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) threw home a dunk with 10:31 left, the lead had grown to 45-32.

The Mountaineers missed 12 straight shots during the Jags' run and went seven minutes without a point.

 "We continued to get stops and make them shoot difficult shots," Graves noted. "When we drove, we started to finish through contact and as you continue to score the basketball and get stops, the energy rises. You get another stop, another score, and the energy raises more. We've seen it go the other way and we know what that feels like.

"Every timeout, every huddle we the guys were talking about stepping on their throat, don't let up, keep it going. We were never playing the score. I felt like tonight was one of the first times that we had never worried about what the score was. Instead, we were worried about that possession and what we need to do on the next possession. If we can ever get that mindset consistently, we can be a very dangerous team."

App State put together a 5-0 run of its own after Stover hit another layup to cut the margin to 47-38 with 8:52 left, but senior John Brown (Charlotte, N.C.) hit three consecutive 3-pointers and junior Tafari Whittingham (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tacked on a layup for an 18-point lead.

USA led by no fewer than 11 the rest of the way.

The league's leading 3-point shooting team coming into the game at 37.4 percent, App State was held to 27.6 percent (8 for 29) from behind the arc after missing 19 of its first 21 attempts from deep.

"A part of that is, our wings are very active," Graves said. "Nick is very long and Georgi can be long on the wings. Our guards between (Ken Williams), Shaq and Barrington are getting used to their zone slides a little bit and when you throw that zone in with their man, we're able to keep teams off balance a little bit more."

Brown led four Jaguars in double-digit points with 13 off the bench, and tied his season high by going 3 for 4 from distance. Junior Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) and Boyanov had 12 points each and Stover added 10. Williams dished out a game-high six assists and Boyanov led all players with eight rebounds.

"Our guys are starting to understand we can be down two, four, or six points, that we have the ability to make up points in a hurry," Graves stated. "At Troy, it was kind of going back and forth and then we hit three straight 3s from three different guys. Tonight we were up a little bit, and all of a sudden J.B. came in and made three straight 3s and it extended the lead. Our guys really fed off that."

Chris Burgess recorded 11 of his game-best 14 points after halftime for App State, and Ronshad Shabazz tallied 10 points and four assists.

South Alabama goes to Arkansas State Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. start on ESPN3.

NOTES: The Jaguars won the rebounding battle 47-31, including 26-11 in the second half alone; the plus-16 rebounding margin is a new season high… Eaves, who led the conference in scoring coming into the contest at 21.3 ppg, was held to a season-low two points, ending a streak of 18 games in double-digits… Brown's point total was his second-highest this season… Williams is averaging 7.0 assists in his last two games... The team's 59.4 shooting percentage and 48 points after halftime is the second-highest in 2015-16 behind the season opener vs. Auburn-Montgomery (60.0%, 53 points)… USA's five 3-pointers are its fewest in the last four games; the team was averaging 8.8 triples over that span… Boyanov is averaging 14.3 points and 8.7 rebounds with a 55.2 shooting percentage in his last three outings… After starting the season 0-10 (0-6 Sun Belt) when trailing at halftime, the Jags have won their last two… USA's 83.3 free-throw percentage is a new season high, as is the 23-point increase from the first half (25) to the second (48)… South Alabama held a 40-16 advantage in the paint; the 40 paint points are a new season best.

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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