MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team came back from a six-point deficit at halftime and got 20 points from senior Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) in the Jaguars' 87-74 win over Appalachian State Saturday night at the Mitchell Center.

The Jags get to .500 on the year at 13-13 and improve to 6-7 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Mountaineers fall to 8-17 and 3-11.

"I'm really excited about how our guys fought back," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "We got off to a bit of a slow start. We didn't contest their 3-point shooting early like we wanted to. As the half wore on, we contested shots better in the second half. I thought our defense really stayed consistent, and we followed that up by rebounding the basketball at a very high rate in the second half. I'm extremely proud of that effort in the second half, especially contesting 3s and rebounding.

"I think all of us were a little bit on edge tonight, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. If they understand the energy effort and enthusiasm, we're going to be prepared. Coach (Russ) Willemsen had the scout, and he did a tremendous job getting us ready. We hadn't seen App State yet, and I felt like our preparation was really good leading up until this game. The guys really flew around and did a great job of contesting shots and rebounding the ball."

Williams scored all but two points and went 8 for 8 from the free-throw line in the second half. He also added a game-high-tying five assists.

"In the first half, and he'll tell you this, he played awful," Graves said. "He did not play very well, and he knows that. We need him to play well in order for us to do all that we want. The play of the game for him was when we were running the clock down, App State switched into a 1-3-1 zone, he recognized it, and found Georgi (Boyanov) for a wide-open layup. That was really a backbreaker and a great play for him."

South Alabama trailed by eight entering the final minute of the first half and was down 36-30 at the break, but opened the second period with nine unanswered points and outscored Appalachian State 15-3 in the first seven minutes to take a 45-39 lead.

"That group that was in there really got into a good rhythm. (Williams) came off, made a couple plays off of ball screens and we were finishing around the rim. Georgi came in and gave us great minutes off the bench. Guys were playing with confidence, and when you take the right shot and have the confidence, eventually the shots are going to fall in. We did a really good job of mixing in and taking the right amount of 3s versus getting in the paint, and I was really happy to see our free-throw percentage really take hold late in the game."

A layup from senior Nick Stover (Los Angeles, Calif.) with 10:20 left to play started a 14-5 rally that stretched USA's advantage to 65-55 with 6:23 left.

The Mountaineers pulled back and cut the margin to 72-67 with 2:55 on the clock, but Williams answered with a triple on the Jaguars' next possession to start a 9-2 spurt and put the game away.

South Alabama shot 57.1 percent in the second half for a season-high 57 points after halftime. The 87 points are the Jaguars' most against a Division I opponent this year.

Freshman Josh Ajayi (El Monte, Calif.) and Stover combined to go 5 for 5 from 3-point land and 11 for 15 overall, and recorded 16 and 15 points, respectively. Senior Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) posted his second double-double of the year with 12 points and a season-best 12 rebounds.

"You look at guys off the bench: Georgi was 4 for 4 and Nick Stover came in and did a great job," Graves noted. "He played under control for the most part, took good shots except for the one that we yelled at each other about, and he understood that. He came in and gave us really good minutes off the bench as well."

The Mountaineers placed five in double-digit scoring, led by Ronshad Shabazz and Craig Hinton, who had 13 points each. Griffin Kinney had 12, Isaac Johnson scored 11 and Bennett Holley added 10 on three treys.

The Jaguars take a day off before hosting Coastal Carolina and former USA head coach Cliff Ellis on Monday at 7:05 p.m.

NOTES: South Alabama has won three in a row in the series and leads it 4-1… Williams' 10 free throws are the most by a Jaguar this season… USA is 4-10 when trailing at halftime this year, but all four wins have come against league opponents… Ajayi has scored in double-digits in all but two games during the conference season and is averaging 13.5 points during that time… The Jags tied their season high with seven blocks, led by junior Nick Davis' (Mt. Vernon, Ala.) two… USA shot a season-best 52.9 percent (9-17) from 3-point territory, one game after hitting just 1 of their 15 long-range attempts at Louisiana-Lafayette… South Alabama is 10-4 when shooting 50 percent or better in the second half, and 4-10 when posting a negative assist/turnover ratio (13 assists, 18 turnovers)… The Jaguars have trailed by double-digits 10 times in their last 11 games, but have come back to win on four occasions… Williams has led the team in assists five times in the last six games and has a 31-to-11 assist/turnover ratio over that span… The 18 turnovers are the team's most in a win all season… USA won the battle of the boards for just the second time since the start of conference play 39-33, and had a 25-12 advantage in the second half alone.

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).

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