MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team put on a late rally, but Samford, which led for the final 18:49 of the contest and by as many as 15 points, held on for an 82-79 victory Friday night at the Mitchell Center.

The Bulldogs go to 7-3 on the year and snap a 14-game losing streak to the Jaguars dating back to 1971-72. The Jags drop to 6-5.

"I thought that in the first half defensively we were really good," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "We were flying around, deflecting the ball and getting the passing lanes a little bit. The unfortunate problem was we fouled a little too much. Samford lived at the free throw line in the first half, 16-for-16. I'll have to reserve judgment until I see the film, but we have to do a better job playing without fouling and moving our feet a little bit.

"To start the second half, it was eerily similar to the Denver game. In the first six to seven minutes, they shot 9 for 12, 75 percent. We dug ourselves a 15-point deficit. I have to say I was really proud of that group that hung tough, competed and clawed all the way back and made some big plays down the stretch. Unfortunately, that stretch to start the second half, you just can't do that. You have to give Samford a lot of credit, they made the right plays and timely plays when they needed to. That was enough to beat us tonight."

South Alabama went on a 15-8 run in the final 1:33 to pull within 81-79 with 3.6 seconds left, getting all 15 on a combined effort from seniors Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) and Nick Stover (Los Angeles, Calif.), and junior Shaq Calhoun (Rome, Ga.). After Samford made a free-throw with 2.8 seconds remaining, the Jaguars had one final chance, but was unable to get the shot off before the final buzzer.

"I felt like guys kept fighting," Graves said.

Stover set a new career high with 24 points, shooting 9 for 13 from the floor and 4 for 6 from 3-point land. The four triples are also a new personal best.

Calhoun added 20 points off the bench, and Boyanov added 16 points and a team-best seven rebounds.

"It was great to see Nick Stover shoot the ball well and he had his feet set, made some really nice plays and took the ball aggressively to the rim. Shaq was our most competitive, toughest guy down the stretch. He made some nice plays for us. Georgi got going a little bit. Something Georgi has to understand is that in the first half, he has to go up strong and be a force in the paint early in the game."

Samford opened up its big lead thanks to a hot start to the second half. The Bulldogs commenced the period making 9 of 12 from the floor and outscored the Jaguars 21-6 over a 6:42 span.

In the second half alone, Samford converted 60 percent from the floor and 42.1 percent for the game.

"We had different groups starting each half," Graves noted. "It's something we're going to have to look at. Only thing I can think of is the (Samford) offense is in front of their bench and not ours so we can't call out things quite as easy. It's concerning that we have started both halves the last two games pretty poorly. We might have to look at switching the lineup to start the second half different in the next game. It is definitely an issue."

South Alabama hit three of its eight 3-pointers on the night in the final 1:33. Boyanov hit the first to start the run, then followed with a layup. Stover made a layup of his own with 29.1 seconds left, then a 3-pointer with 17.2 on the clock to trim the deficit to 77-74.

The Bulldogs converted a pair at the line, then Calhoun answered with a trey with 9.5 seconds left for a 79-77 score. The teams traded two free throws, the final pair from Stover with 3.6 remaining, then Christen Cunningham made one at the stripe to stretch the lead to three before the Bulldogs were called for a lane violation.

However, the Jags' final attempt never saw the light of day as the Bulldogs knocked the ball away as time expired.

"I thought we did a good job attacking and we got in our spots better," Graves stated. "Guys stepped up and made some good plays and were more aggressive. We didn't throw the ball all over the gym like we did in the first half, we more solid with it. Again, as you go along, you can't waste possessions. The fact of the matter for our team this year, if we allow teams to score up in the upper 70s or 80s, it's going to be tough for us to win. We have to do a much better job defensively of holding the other team down."

Cunningham scored 10 of his 20 points at the charity stripe and added a game-best five assists. Wyatt Walker, who leads the Southern Conference in rebounding, recorded his eighth double-double in 10 games with 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Josh Sharkey totaled 15 points – 10 at the free-throw line – and three steals.

South Alabama closes out its three-game homestand Monday night against city rival Spring Hill at 7:05 p.m.

NOTES: USA's win streak against Samford was tied for the longest active streak against an opponent; the Jags have also won 14 in a row against Spring Hill… The last five games in the series have been decided by a combined 12 points… After allowing just one opponent to convert 50 percent from the floor in the second half in the first seven games, the last four teams are shooting 58.5 percent overall and 53.1 percent from 3-point territory after halftime… South Alabama has posted a negative assist/turnover ratio in four of its five losses; the team had 14 assists and 16 turnovers tonight… Boyanov has scored in double-digits in his last five games, the longest active streak on the team; he is averaging 15.2 points and shooting 65.1 percent from the field over that span… Calhoun, Boyanov and Stover scored 13 points apiece in the second half… The Jags have had two players score 20 or more points this season twice – Boyanov (23) and Calhoun (21) did it at Southern Miss on Nov. 30… USA is now 5-2 this season when scoring 70 or more points, and when outshooting its opponent… Senior Don MuepoKelly (Fontana, Calif.) had his four-game double-digit scoring streak snapped with just two points, but he had two assists and a block and steal each.

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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