Box Score

MONROE, La. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team cut a 24-point deficit down to four in the second half but suffered a late shooting slump in an 83-74 loss to UL Monroe Saturday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

USA junior Rodrick Sikes set a new career high with 38 points – 26 in the second half – and hit seven 3-pointers, and senior Dederick Lee also set a new personal best with 15 points on five triples. Sophomore Josh Ajayi grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds.

The Warhawks (9-11, 3-6 Sun Belt) made 11 consecutive field goals in the first half and used a 13-0 run to go up 45-21 just before halftime. South Alabama (11-11, 4-5) outscored UL Monroe 26-10 over a 7:33 stretch thanks to a combined 23 points from Sikes and Lee, and five Warhawk turnovers.

A 3-pointer from Sikes with 7:09 left made it a four-point game, but the Jaguars would miss their next six shots and commit four turnovers in just over six minutes as the Warhawks went on a 13-2 run to put the game away.

GAME FACTS
- ULM made 17 of its first 26 shots from the field and led 45-21 before USA closed the half with an 8-2 run to trail 47-29 at the break
- Down 55-34, Lee hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start a 15-4 run and cut the margin to 59-49
- A Jordon Harris trey gave the Warhawks a 63-51 advantage, but a 9-2 rally pulled the Jaguars to 65-60 with 9:14 to play
- ULM scored the next five points, however Sikes answered with two more 3-pointers to trail 70-66, USA's closest deficit since falling behind 8-6
- Sikes' bucket would be South Alabama's last for almost seven minutes and ULM scored 13 of the next 15 points to pull away
- The Warhawks had four players score 17 points or more, led by Travis Munnings' 20; Marvin Jean-Pierre and Sam McDowell tallied 18 points each, and Michael Ertel added 17
- ULM shot 56.7 percent from the floor in the first half and 52.7 percent for the game

NOTES
- Sikes (7) and Lee (5) combined for all 12 of the Jags' season-high-tying 3-point total
- Sikes scored 30 points in a game for the fourth time this year, tying the school record for 30-point games in a single season
- The Jaguars are 1-3 when Sikes hits the 30-point plateau
- Sikes' 38 points and seven 3-pointers are tied for eighth in school history, and the most by any player in the Sun Belt Conference this season
- The 38 points are the most by a Jaguar since Demetric Bennett scored 39 on Dec. 15, 2007
- South Alabama posted a positive assist/turnover ratio (13 assists, 12 turnovers) for the fifth time in 2017-18
- South Alabama fell to 0-9 this season in true road games
- USA's last three opponents are averaging 78.7 points, and converting 49.1 percent from the floor and 47.0 percent from 3-point land
- Ajayi has pulled down 11 rebounds or better in three of his last four games
- Ajayi's 14 rebounds are tied for the most by a Jaguar since Augustine Rubit had 15 against North Texas on Feb. 23, 2013
- The Jaguars have hit 12 treys in a game three times this season, the last coming vs. Georgia State on Dec 29

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Matthew Graves
Opening statement: "I felt like our defense really struggled in the first half once we weren't able to consistently score the basketball. I told our team that in any game, but especially on the road, you've got to do a great job defending for the entire 40 minutes. We let our lack of offensive success dictate how hard we played defensively. You can't go through a half of basketball and not come up with any offensive rebounds."

On the comeback: "This team has no quit in them. They play until the final horn. That group that played the majority of the second half really competed and made some really good effort plays. Going down 18 at halftime is a tall order on the road. I am proud that our guys didn't quit"

On the individual efforts: "We've struggled in the second game of a road trip with our energy levels. We have to continue to figure out a better plan for playing on the road. I did think Dederick came in and got the ball popping offensively and that allowed Rodrick to get some open looks. I'm really happy for Dederick."

On the struggles at the end: "I felt like we ran out of gas there late. We had a post-up that we ended up turning over, and we took two quick 3-pointers instead of driving it into the paint first. Those were mistakes made out of fatigue after making that comeback."

UP NEXT
South Alabama finishes its three-game road trip Saturday at 4:15 p.m. against Troy.

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).

Join the Jaguar Athletic Fund (JAF) Priority Fund, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to the Priority Fund directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

—USA—