MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama junior Rodrick Sikes hit a 3-pointer with 18.5 seconds left and scored a game-high 15 points to lead the Jaguars to a 55-52 come-from-behind win over New Orleans Sunday afternoon at the Mitchell Center.

Down 11 at intermission, New Orleans (1-4) started the second half on a 22-3 run and held South Alabama (4-3) without a field goal for over 6 ½ minutes to take a 45-37 lead.

The Jaguars answered back with nine unanswered points, but found themselves down four with 2:30 to go. Sophomore Josh Ajayi and Sikes combined for all nine points in a game-ending 9-2 run as the Jags held on.

Ajayi was the only other Jaguar in double-digit points with 13. The Privateers had three, led by Travin Thibodeaux's 14. Troy Green and Bryson Robinson had 11 and 10, respectively.

GAME FACTS
- Boasting a new starting lineup for the first time this season, the Jags got out to a 9-4 start, then went for nine unanswered points – three from Sikes and six from Ajayi – to go up 24-15 with 4:57 left in the first half
- A 10-2 Jaguar run stretched their advantage to 13 in the final moments before halftime, but Green hit a jumper with four seconds left to go into intermission down 34-21
- UNO kept their momentum going, scoring 15 of the game's first 16 points after halftime, then after USA senior Nick Davis broke the field-goal drought with a dunk, the Privateers scored the next seven points for a 45-37 advantage at the midway point of the half
- Dederick Lee sparked a Jaguar rally, scoring the next seven points and assisting on the team's ninth as South Alabama regained the lead at 46-45
- Neither team scored for the next 4 ½ minutes, but Green ended the string with a '3' before Lamont Berzat converted a USA turnover into a layup
- Ajayi and Sikes took over from there as they scored on back-to-back trips down the floor, with Sikes nailing a triple with 2:02 to play to put the Jags up 51-50
- A turnover led to a dunk from Robinson with 58.4 to play, and UNO went to the line for a 1-and-1 with 29.9 on the clock for a chance to stretch its lead to three, but missed the front end, leading to Sikes' game winner
- The Privateers missed two shots on their final two possessions to end the contest

NOTES
- Tonight was the first non-conference meeting between the two schools in 27 years – they were members of the Sun Belt Conference from 1976-1980 and 1991-2010
- New Orleans' 22 turnovers are the most by a South Alabama opponent this season
- UNO shot 37.5 percent in the first half but converted 9 of 16 (56.3%) in the first 10 minutes of the second half; USA went 1 for 8 with eight turnovers during that same stretch
- The Jaguars' 11-point lead at halftime is their largest of the year
- Lee tied his South Alabama record with eight points, and was one off his career high
- Ajayi and Davis shared team-high honors with seven rebounds
- Davis' rebounding total is a new season best, and he set new career highs with four assists and four steals; the four steals are the most by a USA player this season
- South Alabama shot 33.3 percent (4-12) from the free-throw line in the second half
- Sikes has scored double-digit points in each of his last six games – the longest streak by anyone on the team – and is averaging 17.3 points over that span
- Sikes has led the team in scoring in each of the last three games
- USA has recorded eight steals in each of its last two outings, one shy of the season-high of nine set at Texas Tech
- New Orleans won the battle of the boards 38-28

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Matthew Graves
Opening statement: "I'm really pleased with the outcome, getting the win. I told our team in the locker room that wins are hard to get. Good, bad, ugly, indifferent, a win is a win at this point. We're struggling offensively, but we found a way to get the job done. I'm really proud of their effort. I thought we started off well and played some good stretches there in the first half. In the second half, we got very tentative. I did not like the look of our team in that first 1:10, calling the timeout and then shortly thereafter calling another one. We've got to find a better rhythm to start the second half. Against Stetson we didn't start the game well or the second half. We need to keep plugging away and finding ways for our guys to be more successful starting the first and second half."

On the team learning to play together: "It's not only learning to play together but having a killer mindset, a sense of urgency. When you've got a team down and they're kind of on the ropes, you can't let up. Coaches are too good and players are too good. I think with a young team, and I know I keep harping on it, and we've got a lot of young guys, but having that killer instinct is really crucial. Their three best players are seniors. We knew at halftime with them being down 11, they were going to make a run. I just didn't expect it to be the kind of run they did make. You have to give their team a lot of credit for how hard they played and competed throughout."

On winning ugly: "It shows that you've got more in you. You can use this certainly as a learning experience, and we've got a lot of film to learn from. One play we'll make a nice back cut, throw it in the post and miss a layup. The next time we'll come down and just a simple two-hand chest pass we'll fumble out of bounds. It's just playing with that sense of urgency and pride, competing with every single possession. We have to continue to drill that through. The great news is that guys are listening. They're trying. When you call timeout and get all over them, being very demanding, they're looking at you and trying. I know it doesn't look that way and sometimes I wonder, but deep down I know this team really cares. They want to win. They want to be a special type of team. We just have to go through some of these growing pains early, and hopefully it's going to pay big dividends later on."

On Dederick Lee's role and performance: "We felt like Dederick could give us a spark, and Herb was shooting the ball well. So we decided to play two point guards. When we get in our press, those two guys did a really good job causing some havoc up there, especially Dederick. He's going to come in and shoot some free throws and work on that part of his game. Dederick, being a fifth-year senior, understands that competitiveness and attention to details at times when we need it. I thought he did a good job for us tonight."

On Rodrick's performance and hitting the game-winning shot: "That was a huge shot for Rodrick. The one thing that we're going to show on the film is that the reason he was so open is because he set an unbelievable screen. We were able to hit Josh in the low post and he set a great screen. They had to over-help. Herb made the right play throwing it to Rodrick. I was really proud to see our execution there late in the game with what we were looking for."

Senior Rodrick Sikes
On his game-winning 3-pointer: "Initially we were running a different play, but Coach Graves changed it last minute, obviously a great call. I was supposed to screen Josh's man and come off of a screen. I believe it was Nick, he set an awesome screen, and I was able to get the shot off and get the and-one."

On how big it was to get the win, despite not playing well: "It just shows how much we have in the tank. I think that we were up by a good amount, but we have to learn how to put 40 minutes together. I think they came on a big run to open the half, but that just shows the resilience that we have as a team to fight back and get the win."

UP NEXT
The Jags close out their three-game homestand on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. against Southern Miss.

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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