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MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team shot just 17.9 percent for 14 first-half points in a 61-54 defeat to Troy Tuesday night at the Mitchell Center.

The Trojans win for the third time in four games and snap a four-game losing streak in the series to go to 9-17 overall and 4-11 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Jaguars drop to 11-15 and 6-9.

"Obviously, this is a tough game to swallow," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "First, we've got to give Troy a lot of credit. They came out very physical and punched us in the mouth the first half. They doubled us up because we weren't physical and selfish. One assist with 10 turnovers isn't a good remedy. You can go down the starting group, they came in and didn't play very well.

"It's disappointing to get the student crowd that we had tonight because it was outstanding. Unfortunately, we let that opportunity slip away with the students here. We've got to get it back. In the second half, I thought we battled and did some things. Overall, defensively, our percentage was good enough to win the ball game. You shoot 19 for 72, that's a recipe to get beat like we did."

The Jags' first-half and overall shooting percentage (26.4%), and first-half points are all season lows. USA was credited with 23 missed layups and went 4 for 25 from 3-point land.

"Tonight, I felt like some guys were just hoping the lay-up would go in, instead of making the right basketball play," Graves noted. "We took it up really soft a lot of times, instead of playing off two feet or attacking the rim. That's disappointing and it reminds me of what we did earlier in the season from our two-point field goals. We weren't able to finish around the rim and we had our opportunities."

USA's scoring woes started early, missing 19 out of 21 shots while Troy went on a 10-0 run. The scoring drought lasted over eight minutes, and included eight missed shots and six turnovers, including four in a row.

On the other end, Troy was unable to pull away with a scoreless drought of almost 6 ½ minutes, and a layup from junior Tafari Whittingham (Brooklyn, N.Y.) made it a four-point game with 3:11 to play.

However, the Trojans scored the final eight points of the half and went into the break up 27-14.

It took three minutes for South Alabama to make its first field goal of the second half and Troy went on another 8-0 run shortly thereafter to make it a 43-22 contest.

The Jaguars outscored the Trojans 21-7 in the final 5:24, including the last nine points of the contest.

"Those guys that were still out there were running around trying to get steals and make plays," Graves said. "That same intensity and focus was completely missing in the first half and that's what was disappointing."

Troy's Wesley Person led all scorers with 28 points, accounting for nearly half of the team's total. He shot 11 for 20 from the floor and 5 for 12 from behind the arc.

Junior Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) was the only Jaguar in double-digit points with 13. Junior Don MuepoKelly (Fontana, Calif.) tied his career high with 10 rebounds and junior Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) also grabbed 10 boards.

"Certainly, you can't dwell on it," Graves said. "Obviously, we're disappointed in our performance. One of the things that we did talk about is what we do the next 24 to 36 hours. Preparation as far as rehydration and getting treatment, being mentally focused, we still control our own destiny to get to New Orleans. Appalachian State being two games behind us, this would have been a huge victory. You get the win and then get a sweep over App. State which creates even more separation. We've got to play in the next 48 hours and it's not going to be easy. We leave at 9:30 a.m. on our flight and we need to have a great day of mental focus and getting ourselves prepared to play."

The Jaguars finish their stretch of four games in a week's time with a 6:30 p.m. CST contest at Appalachian State Thursday night.

NOTES: Despite the loss, South Alabama has won nine of the last 11 meetings with Troy… The Jags came up short in their third attempt this season to win three-straight games… USA's first-half point total was its lowest since scoring 12 in a 62-44 home loss to New Orleans on Jan. 17, 2002… Sophomore Shaq Calhoun (Rome, Ga.) tied his career high with four steals… South Alabama outscored Troy on points in the paint (26-20), points off turnovers (23-10), second-chance points (17-7), fast break points (7-6) and bench points (22-14)… USA set a new season high with 25 offensive rebounds… Troy's 21 turnovers are tied for the most by a USA opponent this season (Spring Hill)… Williams was held without an assist for just the second time all season, while sophomore Nick Davis (Mt. Vernon, Ala.) tied his personal best with two.

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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