MOBILE, Ala. – Denver shot 70 percent from the floor in the second half en route to a 64-51 win over the University of South Alabama men's basketball team Tuesday night at the Mitchell Center.

The Pioneers even their record at 5-5 while the Jaguars fall for the fourth time in five games to 6-4 overall.

"I'm very disappointed tonight," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "I'm embarrassed about our overall lack of execution. I give Denver a lot of credit, they played well. They outcoached us and they outplayed us. It was certainly a very frustrating night. We have to go back and figure out some things both offensively and defensively.  I know the easy thing right now is to look directly at the 2 for 22 (on 3-pointers), which obviously is an issue, but at the same time, I look at the fact (Denver) shot for 70 percent in the second half and that's unacceptable.

"We've got to get back to some of the things we've been doing in practice, in early October, that got us off to such a good start. I told the guys in the locker room tonight that we are facing a lot of adversity. There's some guys that are feeling sorry for themselves and that's not going to help the situation. We've got to get back to having attention to detail, not allowing things to slip. When that happens, this is the result you get."

After converting just 31.8 percent in the first half, Denver hit 14 of its 20 attempts after halftime, and 50 percent for the contest. DU went 5 for 7 from the 3-point line in the second half and assisted on 15 of its 21 field goals.

"I think what happened was that as the game wore on and as we missed shots, we got really frustrated and that carried over defensively," Graves observed. "You go to the other end of the floor and you're trying to yell coverage and matchups, they're thinking about their last shot that didn't go in or that turnover. Our energy, effort and focus really went down the drain in the second half when we weren't able to score."

On the other end of the floor, South Alabama shot a season-low 31.5 percent from the field – 2 for 22 from behind the arc – and totaled just three assists.

"I think it goes back to you move the ball around and guys just weren't ready to shoot," Graves said. "We really try to work on right-handed shooters have their left foot down with bended knees ready to shoot. Too many times the ball would be slung around and our guys would be standing straight up, then bend down to shoot the shot. By then it's a little bit rushed and not in the right rhythm. When we pass the ball to each other, instead of passing the ball right to their shooting pocket where they can go up and shoot, we're passing it at their ankles or passing it above their heads."

Down four at the half, Denver opened the second half on a 17-7 run, making seven of its first eight shots from the floor, then doubled up the Jags with a 30-15 spurt while going 12 for 16 from the field.

The final eight points in the run were unanswered, and DU used that to jump start a 15-4 rally to go up 59-45 with just under two minutes left.

In an almost 10-minute stretch, South Alabama made just one of its eight shots and had five turnovers.

"The guys are, especially with their shooting, hesitant to just play basketball," Graves said. "It is a fine line between taking good shots and going out there and playing what I call 'open gym.' We're really struggling with that right now. Denver did a good job of sinking in and making it tough for us to drive. When we did drive and kick, the biggest complaint I had from our guys is we weren't ready to shoot. Our shot prep wasn't what it needed to be tonight."

DU's Joe Rosga led all scorers with 25 points on 8-for-16 shooting. Daniel Amigo scored all 11 of his points after halftime and added nine rebounds.

Senior Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) paced the Jags with 15 points. Senior Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) recorded his first double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and senior Don MuepoKelly (Fontana, Calif.) had 11 points and a game-high three steals.

"Fundamentally we have a lot of work to do and we want to get back to doing the things that made us successful," Graves said. "At the end of the day, we've got to get back to guarding. That gives us our best chance to win ballgames."

South Alabama continues its three-game homestand Friday at 7:05 p.m. against Samford.

NOTES: South Alabama has not scored more than 56 points in any of the last eight games vs. Denver, and is averaging 51.8 in its four-game losing streak in the series… The last time USA shot less than 10 percent from 3-point territory was Nov. 20, 2011 at Florida State (0-24); the team went 0 for 11 from distance in the second half tonight… The Jaguars are minus-26 in assist/turnover ratio in four losses this season… The USA bench was outscored (12-8) for just the second time this season; the team is 0-2 in those games… MuepoKelly has eight steals in his last three games and ranks fifth in the league with 1.6 per game… Rosga's 25 points are the second-most by an opponent this season… Boyanov and MuepoKelly have scored in double-digits in each of the last four games, the longest current streak on the team... The Jags won the points in the paint (26-18), points off turnovers (14-8) and second-chance points (12-6)… Williams broke a tie with Demetric Bennett for seventh place at USA in career scoring (1,420)… South Alabama was 4-0 when leading at halftime this season prior to tonight.

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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