MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama senior Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) came off the bench to score a game-high 18 points and the Jaguar men's basketball team scored the final six points of the contest to defeat Troy 76-75 Monday night at the Mitchell Center.

The Jags improve to 8-6 overall and 1-0 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans drop to 8-7 and 0-1.

"I'm extremely proud of our effort tonight," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "I thought several times things were going against us, and we really rallied together. We didn't allow Troy to go on any sort of run. I felt we got contributions from a lot of different people. One of the two things that sticks out right away for us is the last four stops of the game. We had to make four stops to win that basketball game. Also, the second half we had zero turnovers. The zero turnovers allowed us to set our defense and it was a huge difference for us tonight."

Williams shot 6 for 10 from the floor and 4 for 5 from the free-throw line. He had scored just eight points in his previous three games.

"He didn't start and I felt like one of the things is that the game slowed down for him," Graves stated. "When he came in, he let the game come to him. He had a chance to watch it for about three minutes. He played in a good rhythm and flow. Early he made a shot and got to the free throw line. Anytime he gets to the free throw line four or five times in a game, he's in a good rhythm and attacking. Prior to that, I think he attempted zero free throws. I'm really proud of Juice and of him staying with it. He was excellent tonight."

Senior Nick Stover (Los Angeles, Calif.) tallied 15 points – making three of his four 3-point attempts and 6 of 10 overall – while freshman Josh Ajayi (El Monte, Calif.) recorded 14 points and a team-best eight rebounds.

The Trojans led for most of the second half, going up by as many as six on two occasions, but were unable to close out the contest. A pair of free throws from Ajayi and a bucket from Williams closed the gap to one with 3:14 to play, but Troy also got two free throws from Kevin Baker, and a layup from Jordon Varnado put the Trojans up five with 1:57 to play.

Those would be the final points of the night for Troy thanks to four straight turnovers. USA freshman Herb McGee (Reserve, La.) hit a couple of free throws with 1:43 left following Varnado's basket, then added a layup with 1:20 on the clock on the Jags' next possession to trim the deficit to 75-74.

Junior Shaq Calhoun (Rome, Ga.) recorded the last of his three steals of the night in the final minute and converted twice at the line with 55.2 seconds remaining to give USA its first lead since the 9:14 mark of the second half.

A Troy timeout didn't stop the miscues as the Trojans gave it away with 50.3 seconds on the clock. The Jaguars were unable to convert on the other end but clamped down defensively on the last possession, forcing Troy into another turnover just before the final buzzer.

"A win like that gives your team a lot of confidence," Graves said. "Early in the year we got a big win on the road at UNLV, and I think that gave our guys a lot of confidence moving forward. Hopefully, this will do the same thing. We have a big road test coming up. Being able to win a close game where you have to execute on both ends of the floor gives your guys a lot of confidence."

Troy placed five in double-digit scoring. DeVon Walker tallied a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Baker had 14 points and six assists. Jeremy Hollimon posted 12 points, Varnado had 11 and Wesley Person added 10.

Varnado and Person combined for just two points in the first half; Person entered the game averaging 20.5 points against the Jaguars in his career.

"Coach (Brock) Morris had the scout tonight and he put a lot of prep time into it," Graves said. "He was able to really cut down all the outside stuff and get it down to the details. Our guys bought in and did a tremendous job. It's nice to have four days to prep for a team and Brock did a great job and our guys responded to that."

South Alabama goes on the road for its next two games, starting Saturday at Georgia State.

NOTES: The Jaguars start 1-0 in conference play for the first time under Graves (1-3)… South Alabama has won 10 of the last 12 meetings with Troy… Williams' 18 points are his most since scoring 24 on Nov. 26 at Eastern Illinois… USA improves to 8-1 when leading or tied at halftime, and 7-1 when posting a positive assist/turnover ratio… Calhoun has recorded multiple steals on six occasions this season… Ajayi has scored in double-digits four times in his last five games… Troy's 19 turnovers tie the most by an opponent in 2016-17… The Jags lost the rebounding battle 40-27… Troy shot 57.7 percent in the second half, marking the sixth time in the last seven games a USA opponent has converted 50 percent or better after halftime… South Alabama has a 1.4 assist/turnover ratio (plus-32) and is forcing an average of 17.8 turnovers per game in its eight wins… Senior Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) had his seven-game double-digit scoring streak snapped at seven after he was held to eight on 4-for-10 shooting… The Jaguars' three double-figure scorers combined to shoot 56.7 percent from the floor… Stover is averaging 18.7 points in his last three games… South Alabama won for just the fourth time in 29 games under Graves in Sun Belt games when being outshot by its opponent.

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—