Box Score

MOBILE, Ala. – Louisiana broke a 56-56 tie in the second half with 17 unanswered points and went on to defeat the University of South Alabama men's basketball team 88-71 Saturday night at the Mitchell Center.

A layup from USA graduate student Rozelle Nix drew the Jaguars level at 56-56 with 12:06 to play. Frank Bartley responded with a '3' for the first of 17 straight points, and wrapped it up with two of his four free throws during the run. Johnathan Stove contributed six points, shooting 2 for 2 from the floor and the stripe.

The Jaguars (14-15, 7-9) went 0 for 5 from the floor – all  from 3-point land – and committed two turnovers while failing to record a rebound during the four-minute stretch. Sophomore Herb McGee ended the drought with a triple, and freshman John Pettway cut the deficit to 13 on a layup, but the Cajuns (25-4, 15-1) answered with a 10-3 run to put the game away.

Louisiana's Jerekius Davis came off the bench to score a career-high 20 points. USA senior Nick Davis recorded new personal bests with 20 points and six 3s, and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.

GAME FACTS
- The Jags were up by as many as eight in the first half, but Jerekius Davis scored all 12 points in a 12-3 run to regain the lead
- Nick Davis hit a '3' with seven seconds left before halftime, but Malik Marquetti drilled a halfcourt shot – his only points of the game – at the buzzer for a 45-43 lead at the break
- The first three minutes of the second half was all Louisiana, as the Cajuns reeled off seven in a row on 3-of-4 shooting, and forced the Jags into three turnovers
- USA responded and four different Jaguars contributed to their 9-0 run in less than a minute and a half; Davis finished it off with a trey
- LA's made all 10 free throws during their 17-0 rally
- Junior Rodrick Sikes was the only other Jag in double-digit points with 14
- Bartley had 17 points, Bryce Washington recorded a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds, and Stove added 16 off the bench

NOTES
- Louisiana won the rebounding battle 45-31 and held a 35-13 advantage in free throw attempts; their 20 offensive rebounds are the most by a South Alabama opponent this season
- The Cajuns snapped a four-game road losing streak in the series and won in Mobile for the first time since 2011
- Despite the loss, the Jaguars finished the season with an 11-4 home record for the program's second-best home win percentage since 2007-08
- The Jags, who came into the game as the conference's top 3-point defense, held the Cajuns to 24.0 percent shooting from distance, including 1 for 12 in the second half alone
- Sikes hit a pair of 3s to give him 81 on the season, tying him with Demetric Bennett for eighth on USA's single-season list
- Sikes also moved up to 13th at USA in single-season points with 538
- Senior Dederick Lee tied his season high with a game-best six assists
- The Jaguars went 12 of 29 from 3-point land, tying the team's season high for 3s
- Senior Devin Epps earned his first career start tonight

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Matthew Graves
Opening statement: "I'm really proud of our effort, I thought we played hard and with great energy; the couple of times we could've gotten down and hung our heads, I thought the guys played with great body language, they were great teammates and really trying to compete.  We had a run to get the score tied and then they went on a 17-0 run, and during that stretch we struggled to rebound the basketball.  Our first-shot defense was pretty good tonight but when you give up 20 offensive rebounds that's hard; you hold a team to 40 percent shooting, so your first-shot defense is probably in the 20s — which is really, really good — but we allowed them too many second-chance points.  When they are plus 22 at the free throw line, that's a tough pill to swallow."

On what he takes from the game: "You have to give a lot of credit to Louisiana, there is a reason they are 25-4 and running away with the Sun Belt Conference this year.  They've got a lot of weapons, they had a guy come off the bench and get 20 [points] who is a very good role player for them; [Jerekius] Davis stepped in and did his job, he was really good for them tonight.  They can hurt you in so many ways — from the perimeter, getting to the glass, getting to the free throw line.  What I told the team is at this point we are probably going to be somewhere between 5-12 seeding — I think we're mathematically eliminated from a 1-4 seed at this point — so you have to go and win four games.  We've got to go to the Georgia schools and be playing our best basketball, and I think defensively we're getting close, we're right there and we're fighting.  Tonight we made some more shots. We need to get in a better rhythm there offensively."

On Nick Davis: "I was really excited for Nick. With this being his last home game, he came out with a great deal of energy.  He was really disappointed in how he played on Thursday, I think he was very anxious that it was his second-to-last home game.  We just told him to relax and stay positive, when you see that first shot go down the basket kept getting bigger and bigger.  I thought he really competed tonight and did a great job for us as a senior."

UP NEXT
South Alabama finishes the regular season with a road trip that starts Thursday against Georgia Southern at 6:30 p.m. CST.

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—