Box Score

MOBILE, Ala. – UL Monroe scored nine unanswered points in the final four minutes to rally past the University of South Alabama men's basketball team in a 66-62 win Thursday night at the Mitchell Center.

The Warhawks converted six times at the free-throw line during the run, and Travis Munnings, who started the rally with a 3-pointer, contributed six of the nine points. On the other of the floor, the Jaguars went just 2 for 10 in the final four minutes and missed all six 3-point attempts.

South Alabama (14-14, 7-8) was led by junior Rodrick Sikes, who had a game-high-tying 19 points. Sophomore Trhae Mitchell set a new career high with 13 rebounds, and sophomore Josh Ajayi just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.

ULM (14-12, 8-7) extended its win streak to a league-high five games thanks to 19 points from Sam McDaniel, 17 points from Michael Ertel, and 10 points and 12 rebounds from Munnings.

GAME FACTS
- ULM had a 9-0 run midway through the first half, and used a 14-5 burst to go up 11 with 2:46 before the break, but South Alabama ended the half with nine unanswered points and got a late triple from senior Dederick Lee to only trail 32-30
- The Jags managed to tie the game at 39-39 on the second of two Ajayi layups, and finally regained the lead (46-45) with 9:40 to play on a Lee triple
- ULM answered with back-to-back treys to go up five, and after a Sikes '3,' Marvin Jean-Pierre hit a layup to take a 53-49 lead
- A trifecta from sophomore Herb McGee and layups from Sikes and Mitchell gave the Jags its largest lead (56-53) since early in the first half
- Mitchell's bucket, coming with 4:01 left, would be USA's last for over 4 ½ minutes as the team missed its next six shots, while ULM went 8 for 10 at the charity stripe
- The Jaguars would get no closer than four the rest of the way
- McGee tallied 10 points, and Lee recorded nine on three 3-pointers, and had two steals

NOTES
- South Alabama's plus-12 rebounding margin (45-33) is its biggest in a loss this season
- ULM held a 29-11 edge in free-throw attempts
- The Jaguars lost for just the second time all season when outshooting their opponent (38.3%-35.7%) to fall to 12-2 in those games
- Just six Warhawks saw action tonight, with four playing all 40 minutes
- Mitchell's previous career high in rebounds was 10 vs. Trinity Baptist
- South Alabama held UL Monroe to 27.6 percent from 3-point distance on eight 3s; the Warhawks entered the game as the league's top team in both 3-pointers per game (9.4) and 3-point percentage (27.6%)
- Sikes is averaging 28.5 points against ULM this season
- McDaniel is averaging 19.0 points in his last three games vs. South Alabama

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Matthew Graves
Opening statement: "I was certainly disappointed that we didn't come out on top. For most of the night, I thought we fought. Ultimately, the more disciplined, tougher team won tonight. It's frustrating to say as head coach of this team. We turned it over 18 times to their nine. That's a big possession advantage. We did not drive the ball aggressively enough and get to the free-throw line like we've been the past couple games. We didn't get the attempts that we needed to. When it came down to making a couple tough plays at the end, we didn't come through and they did, and you've got to give them a lot of credit for that. They played really well tonight."

On turnovers: "It was fundamental basketball, and it makes me sick. It wasn't anything that they were really doing. We were trying to make the perfect pass, threading the needle or making the home run play instead of being steady and making the next, right pass. It was really a team meltdown in that area, unfortunately. When you look down the stat line, almost everybody had two or three turnovers. We've got to improve in that. If we don't get out in transition, we have a difficult time scoring. Tonight, we didn't give ourselves enough opportunities."

On ULM closing out the game: "They certainly made tough, winning plays. Essentially, they play five and a half guys. I know (Sam Alabakis) starts for them, but he plays very little. Those other guys that play the majority of the minutes, you can tell they're really connected. They play really well off of each other, and they do an outstanding job of playing physical without fouling, sharing the basketball, and taking care of the basketball. You can tell that group has been in a lot of moments like that, and they executed extremely well."

On the final home game Saturday: "At the end of the day, the seniors we have, they have 40 more minutes in their career in the Mitchell Center, and not only for the seniors, but it's this team. The 2017-18 South Alabama Jaguars have 40 more minutes to play tough, play physical, get after people, and you have a great opportunity to knock off the No. 1 team in the league. It's on senior day, and we need a big crowd here. We've got to take care of our business and take care of our part and be ready to go."

UP NEXT
South Alabama closes out the home schedule on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. against Louisiana.

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—