ESTERO, Fla. – University of South Alabama graduate Chad Lott poured in a season-high 19 points and the Jaguars outscored Northeastern 25-12 in the final 8 ½ minutes to win 74-62 in the first round of the Gulf Coast Showcase at Hertz Arena.

Lott scored 12 of his points in the second half alone, grabbed seven rebounds and tied his career high with four steals. Seniors Josh Ajayi and Trhae Mitchell recorded 14 points each and senior Andre Fox added 11. Ajayi grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the year.

The Huskies took the lead for the final time with 9:42 left in the contest. Lott and Ajayi teamed up to score 12 points in a 15-4 run to put the Jaguars up 64-54 with just under two minutes to play. USA went 10 for 10 at the free-throw line in the final 1:33 to put the game away.

NU's Jordan Roland, who entered the game as the nation's leading scorer at 30.4 ppg, was held to a season-low nine on 3-of-13 shooting from the field.

GAME FACTS
- After falling behind 5-2 early in the contest, South Alabama reeled off 15 unanswered points, getting contributions from five different players while shooting 8 for 9 collectively as a team
- A layup from Ajayi at the 6:07 mark put the Jaguars up 27-15, but that would be the team's final points of the half as the Huskies scored the last 13 points, all coming in a span of 3:28
- USA missed all four field-goal attempts and committed seven turnovers in the last six minutes of the first half
- The Jaguars opened the second half with a 12-4 burst to go up 39-32, then proceeded to allow the next six but remained one point ahead
- The largest lead for either team was four over the next five minutes; the Huskies went on a brief 7-2 run to take a 50-49 lead but Lott countered with a layup to start the game-ending run for the Jags
- Northeastern's Tyson Walker led all scorers with 20 points and added four assists and three steals

NOTES
- The game was delayed 15 minutes early in the second half due to the arena lights turning off
- South Alabama has won the only two games between the two schools; the other meeting came in 1982
- USA scored 47 points after halftime, marking the third straight game and fourth time this season the team put up 47 or more in the second half; the Jags are averaging 33.3 points in the first half and 45.0 in the second half this season
- Freshman KK Curry played two minutes today, his first action due to injury since Nov. 12 vs. Auburn
- South Alabama's shooting percentages in the first half (.556) and overall (.565) are new season highs
- The Jags' four 3-pointers are tied for the second-fewest and the 11 attempts are the fewest under head coach Richie Riley
- USA posted a negative assist/turnover ratio (8 assists, 15 turnovers) for just the second time this season; the 15 turnovers are a new season high
- Ajayi's double-double is his third of the year and 22nd in his career; he moves into fourth by himself in school history in career double-doubles, breaking a tie with Dave Davis

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richie Riley
Opening statement: "I'm really proud of our guys. We've been practicing really hard to get back to who we are as a program, and that's about toughness, competitiveness, being together and only caring about winning. I've made no secret of it – when we came out without practice time in our prior games, we haven't been our best. Today we did some things really well. Our defensive execution was really good; to hold the leading scorer in the country to nine points was tremendous. Trhae Mitchell had a huge hand in that; he's one of the best perimeter defenders in the country. But we did it as a team; we did a good job of disrupting them as a team. I'm proud of our guys' ability to buy into the game plan and to come out and execute it at an 11 a.m. tip."

On the late run: "I had them in a timeout and I said that we had to own this last six or seven minutes. We talked about how hard we've been practicing, how much time we've been putting in and how we deserve to win. Our kids did that; we owned every 50-50 ball down the stretch, we got stops when we needed to, made crucial free throws and our concentration to finish was really good. It's a product of how we've practiced. When you practice well, you usually play well. We beat an NCAA Tournament team today."

On Lott's performance: "I challenged him at halftime to get on the offensive glass because he's an elite offensive rebounder. He's accustomed to getting back in transition on his previous teams, but we play four perimeter guys so we want him crashing, and he did that in the second half. His offensive rebounds were huge and at big points in the game. He scored the first basket of the game, then he scored the first four points in the second half. He's just a winner; all he cares about is winning and he loves to compete. That's what makes him my type of guy."
 
UP NEXT
The Jaguars will take on Miami (Ohio) tomorrow at 4 p.m. CST in the semifinals.

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).

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—USA—