MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team held Tuskegee to 30.2 percent shooting and 18 first-half points in a 63-40 victory in an exhibition game Saturday afternoon at the Mitchell Center.

Senior Rodrick Sikes led a three-Jaguar contingent in double-digit points with 13. Junior Josh Ajayi and graduate Kory Holden added 10 points each.

After a slow start, the Jaguars took a double-digit lead for good with 4:53 to play in the first half on a layup from sophomore R.J. Kelly. That was part of an 11-1 run to end the half and sent USA into the break up 18.

South Alabama held Tuskegee to just one field goal in the first 11:25 after halftime and used an 18-4 spurt to go up 32 midway through the period.

GAME FACTS
- It was a two-point contest through seven minutes of play until the Jaguars reeled off 10 unanswered points over a four-minute stretch, capped off with a free throw from John Pettway
- The Golden Tigers answered with eight of the next 12 points – five from Myles Thomas – to trail by eight with 6:26 left
- Riley Hamilton's triple to finish off the 8-4 run would be TU's last of the half as the Golden Tigers missed their final eight attempts before halftime and went just 1 for 4 from the line
- The Jags weren't much better, shooting 3 for 10 from the floor, but Sikes scored the last five points, hitting a trey with 1:17 remaining and a jumper with 29 seconds left
- Tuskegee's cold streak extended into the second half with misses on three consecutive shots until a short jumper from Thomas Massey with 14:19 left; by then South Alabama had extended its lead to 24 and tacked on 10 more for a 32-point advantage after a steal and layup from Holden

NOTES
- The two schools last met in an exhibition before the 2010-11 season
- The Golden Tigers outscored the Jaguars 11-3 over the final 4:17 for the 23-point margin
- Kelly grabbed eight rebounds and junior Kevin Morris brought down seven
- Junior Herb McGee led all players with four assists
- Thomas paced TU with nine points and Hamilton had nine rebounds
- USA was credited with eight steals, forced 19 turnovers and blocked seven shots, three by Ajayi

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richie Riley
Opening statement: "We won the game. It's always better to win than it is to lose, but we didn't play well. We didn't nearly play at the level where we want to be. It's disappointing. I thought we had moments where guys, especially our first unit, played really well. We were able to stretch the lead to 32 and then we subbed down the stretch and didn't play well at all. There was a lack of attention to detail and a lack of urgency. We just didn't play our best basketball to be honest. When you have 10 guys that are active and one goes out early in the game and you're down to nine, then you have to have nine guys willing to operate at a high level as far as playing and focus and everything that goes into winning. We didn't. We were nowhere good enough to the standard we need to play at."

On how far away they are from the standard: "I think pretty far (away). Shooting 19 of 36 from the free-throw line is a lack of focus. We have better shooters than that. I think 4 of 18 from the '3' is not good; most of those were clean looks and we have to make those. Eight assists to 10 turnovers is not good. We want to be 2-to-1 every single night. I know we held them to 40 points on the stat sheet. It looks good. Everything looks good 63-40, but when you're coaching to try and build a championship culture and a championship team, this is not good enough; nowhere close. I made sure our guys knew that. They felt that after the game. I'm disappointed. On Monday it's on in there. We're changing some things because we play the No. 11 team in the country the following Tuesday. If we play anything like we did tonight we're in trouble."

On some of the bright spots: "I loved our first unit at times. I think R.J. Kelly is a kid with a high-level of play. When you look at his offensive numbers they don't jump off the page, but him in our press just changed the energy. His willingness to just bring juice. He had four offensive rebounds. I thought Kevin Morris was a bright spot except for his free throws. He makes more free throws in practice. I told him, 'You worked on your craft over the summer. You have to take advantage of it.' It's not his free throw stroke anymore, it's more mental than anything. When he goes 2 for 8 it's like a turnover. When you go 0 for 2 at the line, it's like a turnover. I like those guys. Josh Ajayi had some moments where he really showcased what he can do, but he became disinterested. That's something we do at times. We got up 32 and became disinterested in the game. Great teams don't do that. Great teams punish people from tip to finish. If you get a chance to beat somebody by 40 or 50, then they beat teams by 40 or 50. We're not there yet. We don't have that mentality. We've got a way to go in those areas, but those were the bright spots. Our first unit was fine and had good moments, but you can't play with five guys the whole game; you need some off the bench."

UP NEXT
South Alabama officially opens the 2018-19 season on Nov. 6 at No. 11/12 Auburn. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to South Circle 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—