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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Little Rock jumped out to an early lead then went on a big run in the second half to put away the University of South Alabama men's basketball team Saturday night at the Jack Stephens Center.

The Trojans win their sixth in row to improve to a Sun Belt Conference-best 11-1 and 21-2 overall. The Jaguars drop to 9-14, 4-8.

"There's no question they showed tonight why they are leading the Sun Belt Conference and have one of the best records in the country," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "At the defensive end they're extremely well-coached as they play very physical and they get their hands on a lot of loose balls. There's a reason their record is what it is.

"Tonight we just did not have our legs under us and we weren't strong enough with the ball early. It was a long night for us."

South Alabama set new season lows in points (43) and field goal percentage (.294), and hit just 26.9 percent of its shots in the second half.

"That's their calling card on the defensive end of the floor," Graves said. "They do a tremendous job of going after the ball. They turned us over 15 times, and were very aggressive and challenged a lot of shots. A lot of credit has to go to how they play."

The first eight minutes of the contest were all Little Rock as the Trojans made eight of their first 14 shots from the field, including three 3-pointers, for a 19-4 lead. The UALR defense held the Jags to 1-for-9 shooting and three turnovers.

USA was able to get as close as seven late in the first half but a 16-2 Little Rock run that spanned halftime doubled up the Jags 42-21.

"They got off to a 19-4 start and the rest of the half, we basically played them even," Graves noted. "You go into the locker room down 12 when it could've been a lot worse and we had a little bit of momentum. In the second half, they started off and came out guns blazing, and we just didn't have the legs to respond."

The Jaguars, who never led, scored the next eight points, including the first five of the night from junior Ken Williams (Houston, Texas), to get within 13, but a 14-2 burst by the Trojans put the game away.

"That's what championship-level teams do, they're going to make a run and know the other team will make a run at them, but if you stay the course and stay disciplined with what you do, you can go on a run yourself," Graves said. "The crowd got behind them tonight and they played really good basketball."

Little Rock shot 69.2 percent overall and scored 41 points in the second half, and recorded an assist on 23 of its 32 field goals.

"I think part of that was a direct correlation with their energy and effort on the defensive end," Graves said. "It translated to them getting some open shots, some transition points, and we were certainly frustrated by not making shots. I was proud that we kept fighting, we just didn't have it."

No Jaguar reached double-digit scoring, but 10 of the 11 who saw action got on the scoresheet. Williams led the team with nine points, all in the second half. Sophomore Nick Davis (Mt. Vernon, Ala.) grabbed five rebounds off the bench.

The Trojans had three with 10 points or more, led by Roger Woods' 12. Lis Shoshi pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.

South Alabama starts a three-game homestand Thursday against Georgia State at 7:05 p.m.

NOTES: Little Rock has swept the season series two out of the last three years; South Alabama took all three games in 2014-15… The last time USA failed to have a player score at least 10 points was almost a year ago to the day: Feb. 4, 2015 against Texas State… Williams hit the 184th 3-pointer of his career, four shy of third place in school history… Both teams had 10 offensive rebounds, but Little Rock won the battle on the defensive end 28-15 and 38-25 overall; the Jags had outrebounded its last three opponents by a total of 23… Sophomore Shaq Calhoun (Rome, Ga.) had a team-best three steals – one shy of his career high – and has at least one theft in his last eight games… Calhoun had three of the team's four steals; the Jags tied their season high Thursday with 12… Junior Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) was held to seven points and four rebounds; he was averaging 15.8 points and 10.0 rebounds in his previous four games.

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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