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BOONE, N.C. – Junior
Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) scored 27 points to help the University of South Alabama men's basketball team to a 75-71 win at Appalachian State Thursday night at the Holmes Center.
The victory gives the Jaguars a 12-15 record overall and a 7-9 mark in the Sun Belt Conference, and moves them into seventh place in the league standings. The Mountaineers have lost six straight and fall to 6-20, 4-11.
"I thought it was a well-played college basketball game," USA head coach
Matthew Graves said. "They made runs and we made runs. Our all-league guy (Williams) had 27 points, played really well and made some big baskets. We couldn't guard Frank Eaves all night; he kept getting to the free-throw line, and with those two guys going back and forth, it was a fun game for me to watch."
Williams shared game-high honors with App State's Frank Eaves and tied his season high, converting 11 of 19 from the floor. He scored 16 after halftime on 8-for-12 shooting, including the go-ahead bucket with 1:36 to play in the game.
"I thought he played like an all-league guard tonight," Graves said. "He was able to score the ball in tough situations and make tough shots."
Eaves hit a pair of free throws with 1:51 left to give the Mountaineers a 69-68 lead, but Williams answered 15 seconds later with a short jumper to put the Jags back on top.
The USA defense forced a miss from Eaves and got the rebound, but was unable to convert either of two free throws at the other end. The Jag defense came through again on App State's next trip down the floor, forcing another 3-point miss just before the expiration of the shot clock.
This time, senior
Barrington Stevens III (Allen, Texas) went 2 for 2 at the stripe to extend South Alabama's lead to 72-69 with 25.8 seconds left, and after an Eaves 3-point attempt was off the mark, junior
Nick Stover (Los Angeles, Calif.) iced the contest with two free throws with 10.9 seconds on the clock.
"It feels absolutely great to get a win and to do it on the defensive end for the third time in four games to come up with a big stop, and Nick Davis and Stover both got big loose-ball rebounds at the end of the game," Graves stated. "It's a wonderful feeling that we can get a stop in a late-game situation."
Williams was the only Jaguar in double-digit scoring, and he led the team with four assists. Junior
Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) grabbed 10 rebounds, and sophomore
Nick Davis (Mt. Vernon, Ala.) had seven points and six rebounds in 19 minutes of work off the bench.
"We took care of the ball as a team with only 10 turnovers, so that's a very encouraging sign that we're valuing the basketball more," Graves noted. "I couldn't be more proud of the guys that stepped up at the free-throw line, going 22 for 28. We've struggled at times from the line this year, but we needed all of them tonight and we got a lot of contributions."
Eaves scored 11 of his 27 at the free-throw line,
Ronshad Shabazz tallied 12 points, and
Emarius Logan added 11 in a reserve role.
South Alabama returns home for its final two home contests of the season, starting with Louisiana-Monroe Thursday at 7:05 p.m.
NOTES: Williams point total ties the highest by a USA player this season; the team is 5-1 (4-1 SBC) when he scores 20 or more… The Jags lost the rebounding battle 47-39, and the Mountaineers' 19 offensive rebounds are second-most by an opponent this season… The 19 offensive boards led to 20 second-chance points, compared to USA's 10… The Jaguars held a 34-20 advantage in the paint… App State shot just 28.1 percent in the first half and 30.8 percent for the contest; the overall shooting percentage is the second lowest by a Sun Belt opponent this season… Boyanov recorded double-digit rebounds for the second straight game and 10th time this year, most on the team… Sophomore
Shaq Calhoun (Rome, Ga.) went 7 for 8 at the free-throw line, setting new career highs in both makes and attempts… He also recorded a pair of steals, giving him multiple thefts in five of his last six games… South Alabama held Appalachian State to 31.3 percent shooting and Eaves to 22.9 percent in two games this season… Williams' 11 field goals are the most by a USA player in 2015-16 and also a new career high.
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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