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HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team scored 20 of the first 25 points of the second half, including 13 in a row, in a 78-55 win at Southern Miss Wednesday night at the Reed Green Coliseum.

The Jaguars bounce back after their first loss of the season last week and improve to 6-1 on the season. The Golden Eagles drop to 3-2.

The victory snaps a six-game losing streak to USM, dating back to the 2009-10 season.

Senior Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) and junior Shaq Calhoun (Rome, Ga.) accounted for 44 of the team's 78 points and combined for nine 3-pointers in just 13 attempts

Boyanov led all scorers with 23 points, shooting 9 for 13 from the floor and 4 for 5 from 3-point land. He had 16 in the first half alone, and was one shy of his career high.

Calhoun set a new personal best with 21 points, going 5 for 8 from 3-point land, and pulled down five rebounds. The five triples are a new career high.

"Those guys shot the ball really well and played within themselves," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "We challenged our guys to go from good to great in our shot selection. We broke down the shots that we didn't want to take. Tonight we still took a couple of quick ones and a couple of bad shots, but you can understand three or four. In the past, it was nine or 10 and that makes a huge difference."

The pair helped the Jags convert 11 times – in 27 attempts – from behind the arc, a new season high.

After the Golden Eagles closed to within five at halftime, the Jags used a 20-5 run to start the second half, getting 13 unanswered points to break the game open.

Senior Don MuepoKelly (Fontana, Calif.) accounted for seven of the 13 during the rally, and Boyanov and Calhoun added three points each.

"I really got into (MuepoKelly) at halftime," Graves said. "I challenged him. I told him a dead man had as many rebounds as he did. I told him I needed him to rebound the basketball and he did a tremendous job of rebounding the ball. He had five in the second half and really played with a lot of energy until he fouled out."

The Jags held the Golden Eagles to zero conversions on four attempts from the floor over that stretch and forced three turnovers.

"We changed the lineup, and it's not that the starting group did a bad job, but it felt like Herb (McGee) had sat on the bench for a while and Georgi was really playing at a high level, so we inserted those guys," Graves said. "They made shots, but more importantly, they were able to get stops and get out in transition, and we got a lot of easy baskets. I believe six out of our first eight shots to start the second half were at the rim in the paint. When you can do that and spread the floor with those guys, it makes it really tough to defend."

USM got as close as 12 points with 4:47 left after a 3-pointer, but USA closed out the contest on an 11-0 run.

MuepoKelly finished with 10 points – eight in the second half – and added two blocks to his Sun Belt-leading total of 15. Senior Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) had eight second-half points and tied his career high with eight assists.

"Guys were sharing the ball a lot better," Graves said. "We slowed down and let the game come to us a little bit, and consequently, we only had 10 turnovers.

"Ken had a really good flow to him, and the way they were guarding, he was able to see the floor. He's got a lot of experience playing off the ball screen, and whether it was finding Georgi or Shaq, he did a great job of picking those angles and making the right read. I know he's disappointed that he's not shooting the ball well, but it just goes to show, you can contribute in other areas."

The Golden Eagles had three players in double-digit points, led by Cortez Edwards' 15 off the bench. Tim Rowe added 12 in a reserve role and Quinton Campbell had 10.

South Alabama returns home Saturday to take on Middle Tennessee at 7:05 p.m.

NOTES: Southern Miss entered the game winners of 14 of the last 17 meetings with South Alabama, in addition to the six-game win streak… The Jags had been averaging 56.3 points vs. USM, and the 78 points tie their most in the series since 1994… After posting a season high 23 turnovers at Eastern Illinois with just 10 turnovers, the Jaguars posted their second-best assist/turnover ratio of the season with 17 and 10… The team is 5-0 this season when posting a positive assist/turnover ratio… Boyanov is shooting 75.0 percent (12-16) from 3-point range this season, and the four treys are a new personal best… USA is 5-0 in 2016-17 when scoring 70 points or more.

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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