MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team outscored Spring Hill 43-25 in the second half to pull away for a 71-50 victory Monday night at the Mitchell Center.

The Jaguars snap a four-game losing streak to improve to 7-5 on the year. The game was an exhibition for the Badgers (1-10), a member of NCAA Division II.

"I'm obviously very excited to be back in the win column," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "You walk in the locker room after a game, it was really subdued. I think the guys understood that they didn't necessarily play that well, but a win is a win. You don't rate wins. Some aren't as pretty, but it was a win that gave us some confidence. Hopefully this will jumpstart us a little more going into a tough game on Thursday."

South Alabama junior Shaq Calhoun (Rome, Ga.) led all players with 17 points, four assists and three steals. Senior Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) had 14 points and a team-best seven rebounds, and freshman Josh Ajayi (El Monte, Calif.) came off the bench to score 13 points.

The Jags used a pair of 7-0 runs after halftime to pad its lead. USA scored the first seven points after intermission, getting a 3-pointer from junior Dederick Lee (Clarksville, Ark.) and back-to-back layups from Boyanov and senior Don MuepoKelly (Fontana, Calif.), for a 10-point advantage.

Later in the half, MuepoKelly, Boyanov and Calhoun teamed up for seven more unanswered points to extend the lead to 45-31 with 10:05 remaining.

The Jaguars led by no fewer than 11 points the rest of the way, going up by as many as 21 in the late stages of the contest.

"Sometimes a win will be able to jump start you into something else," Graves stated. "There at the end I was hoping a couple guys would get a shot to go down to have a little confidence. That didn't happen, but maybe it will the next game. We have to keep working.  It's a long season and we have 19 more games left to play. There's still a lot we can and need to improve on, but at the same time we need to celebrate this win and enjoy it for one evening."

Spring Hill shot just 33.9 percent (20-59) overall – 31.0 percent in the second half alone – and 6.3 percent (1-16) from 3-point land.

"Defensively I was really proud of our effort the entire night," Graves noted. "We did a good job of contesting their 3-point shooters, holding them to 1 for 16, and we did a better job of playing with more energy and effort. Even though we only scored 28 points (before halftime), we didn't allow that to affect us. We kept fighting, we kept playing and ultimately we pulled away."

After shooting 29.6 percent (8-27) in the first half, the team's second-lowest before halftime all season, the Jaguars converted 50.0 percent in the second period, and Ajayi scored 11 of his 13 points after the break.

"We made even more of an emphasis to drive the ball," Graves said. "We need to get in the paint, whether that's throwing it in the post or it's driving it. Once we drive it, we can't shoot a bunch of flip shots or floaters, we need to play off of two feet. At the end of the day, we have to swallow our egos and understand that our bread is buttered more on post ups and on drives to the basket.

"The sooner we figure that out, we'll become a better offensive team. I'm not sure if we'll ever be a great offensive team. I think that through the course of 12 games you kind of understand who you are. We can certainly be a better offensive team, but we have to hang our hat defensively. For the second half, I really challenged the guys on the defensive side of the floor and they responded really well."

Walter Massey led the Badgers with 14 points, and Brandon Fischer added 10. They both posted a game-high eight rebounds.

South Alabama closes out its non-conference schedule Thursday at Ole Miss. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

NOTES: USA has won 15 straight in the series, the longest active streak against an opponent… Spring Hill is the seventh South Alabama opponent to shoot less than 40 percent from the floor this season… The Badgers are the first Jaguar opponent to shoot under 10 percent from 3-point land since Texas State on March 6, 2014… USA is holding the opposition to 22.1 percent and 4.1 3-pointers in seven wins this season… SHC's 3-point percentage of .063 ties the lowest by an opponent since Louisiana-Lafayette converted 1 of 18 (.056) on Jan. 21, 1999… MuepoKelly did not have a block or a steal for the first time since March 3, a span of 14 games… Boyanov has scored in double-digits in his last six games, and is averaging 15.0 points while shooting 64.6 percent from the floor and 63.6 percent from 3-point territory over that span, team bests in all three categories… Spring Hill's 31.0 shooting percentage in the second half ends a run of four straight games where USA's opponent shot 50.0 percent or better after intermission… Ajayi has scored in double-figures in each of his last three outings and is shooting 60.0 percent from the floor (12-20) and distance (3-5) during that time… Calhoun's four assists are a new career high… Senior Nick Stover (Los Angeles, Calif.) was held out of the game due to a minor injury… The Jags posted a positive assist/turnover ratio (14 assists, 13 turnovers) for the sixth time in seven wins this season.

The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy.  New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12 and ticket books can now be purchased from your school's ticket office.  For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship – Women's Championship – and be sure to follow the #FunBelt on social media - @SunBelt.

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—