MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team used a big first-half run to build up a lead and pulled away in the second half to defeat Mobile 77-46 in an exhibition contest Friday night at the Mitchell Center.

The Jaguars outscored the Rams 37-18 in the second half thanks to a 24-2 burst, and held UM to 28.8 percent shooting.

"Overall for 37 out of the 40 minutes I was really pleased," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "I thought we moved the ball well and I thought we were active defensively. We rebounded at a really high rate, which against Mobile we should because they are undersized, but we made the effort to get rebounds.

"The last three or four minutes of the first half we had hiccup there, but they got a gentle reminder that that's not how we want to play and we have to show better body language and share the basketball more. I thought the group that started the second half was outstanding at setting the tone."

Thirteen of the 14 Jaguars that saw action scored, with senior Nick Stover (Los Angeles, Calif.) and junior Shaq Calhoun (Rome, Ga.) contributing 12 points apiece.

"I think everybody, whether they scored or not, really contributed as you look at guys who rebounded the basketball and guys who scored it," Graves noted. "Don (MuepoKelly), for our five man to have a 4-to-1 assist to turnover is outstanding. We have a lot of different combinations and a lot of options to look at. The delicate part will be to sort it down to a nine or 10 man group that will get a majority of the minutes night in and night out, but it's nice to know if we're going a little bit south you have other options."

Five players had eight points each, including freshmen Josh Ajayi (El Monte, Calif.) and Trhae Mitchell (Austell, Ga.), and junior Dederick Lee (Clarksville, Ark.), who were making their first appearance in a South Alabama uniform.

"We could talk about a bunch of different guys, but one I'd really like to hit on first is Trhae Mitchell," Graves said. "He came in and you look at his stats, eight points on four shots, three offensive rebounds, three steals… he was very active and played within himself. I'm really proud of the effort that Trhae played with along with some other guys as well."

The Jaguars took control midway through the first half with a 21-4 run to break open a five-point contest. Calhoun poured in seven points alone, hitting twice from the free-throw line before adding a layup and a 3-pointer with 7:07 to play before halftime.

"Personally I think I did okay for the minutes I got and for this being an exhibition game," Calhoun said. "I feel like I did my part. I thought I played my role."

By the time freshman Kevin Morris (Dothan, Ala.) hit a put-back with 4:08 remaining in the half, the Jags led 40-18.

Six different players recorded points during USA's 24-2 second-half explosion, with Stover tallying seven points and the defense holding the Rams without a field goal for almost nine minutes.

South Alabama won the battle of the boards 47-32 and 13 players grabbed at least one. Senior Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) pulled down a game-high-tying seven and senior Don MuepoKelly (Fontana, Calif.) added six.

"I was pleased overall," Graves said of the team's rebounding effort. "We need to go back and look at the film and make sure we're still making contact with bodies and getting guys off the glass. I know UNLV is an outstanding offensive rebounding team. We're going to have to go find bodies and pursue the basketball. Overall just looking at the numbers, I think we did a good job rebounding. It stands out when your guards rebound the ball, that's good."

The regular season opens in earnest Nov. 11 at UNLV. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m CST.

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—