MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team saw a 14-point lead dwindle down to one late in the game but went on a 10-1 run to pull away from Arkansas State for a 70-62 victory Thursday night at the Mitchell Center.

USA junior Herb McGee recorded a career-high 24 points and tied his personal best with four 3-pointers. Junior Josh Ajayi added 20 points, scoring 16 in the second half alone.

The Jaguars closed the first half on a 24-6 run to lead by 11 at intermission, and stretched it to 48-34 in the early moments of the second half.

Arkansas State scored 10 unanswered points over a 1:27 stretch to cut an 11-point deficit down to one, and a Ty Cockfield 3-pointer pulled the Red Wolves within 60-59 with 4:08 to play. That would be A-State's last field goal of the game as the Jaguars scored 10 of the next 11 points – six from McGee – to put the game away.

GAME FACTS
- Six straight points gave Arkansas State its biggest lead of the game – 18-11 – midway through the first half, but South Alabama scored the next eight and 21 of the next 24 to take a double-digit lead, then McGee nailed a '3' as the buzzer sounded to put the Jaguars up 32-21 at the half
- USA shot 8 for 11 from the floor in that 24-6 spurt, while holding A-State to 2 for 11 on the other end
- Eight straight points from Marquis Eaton and Tristin Walley in just over a minute pulled the Red Wolves to 37-32, but a layup from Ajayi started an 11-2 rally to give the Jags their biggest lead of the contest, 48-34
- South Alabama maintained at least a seven-point advantage over the next eight minutes until Grantham Gillard hit back-to-back 3s, part of a 10-0 run to get to 57-56 with 4:43 to play
- Ajayi responded with a 3-point play, then Cockfield nailed a triple on the other end to get it back to a one-point game with 4:08 left
- The Jags took advantage of the Red Wolves missing their next six shots with their 10-1 run, getting six of those points at the free-throw line
- While McGee and Ajayi were the only Jaguars in double-digit points, junior Trhae Mitchell had a game-high seven assists and sophomore R.J. Kelly blocked three shots
- Cockfield and Walley recorded 16 points each for the Red Wolves; Walley added a game-best 11 rebounds

NOTES
- South Alabama's 13 unanswered points are the team's second-most against a Division I opponent this season
- McGee is USA's sixth player to score 20 points or more in a game this year; the 1996-97 team was the last to have that many in one season
- McGee is averaging 14.4 points in his last five games
- South Alabama has had a 20-point scorer in 19 of 23 games this season
- The Jaguars are 5-5 or better after 10 league games for the first time since 2014-15
- Ajayi has scored 10 points or more in 18 consecutive games, and has six 20-point performances in that stretch
- Mitchell saw his streak of games with at least 17 points end at four, but he grabbed 10 rebounds for the sixth time in 2018-19
- Sikes moved into ninth place by himself for career 3-pointers at South Alabama (141), and Ajayi is now 14 in career points (1,088)
- Sophomore John Pettway has multiple steals in each of his last five games after recording two tonight

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richie Riley
Opening statement: "We didn't play as well as I wanted us to and as well as we're capable of. I'm proud of our guys because early in the season we would play some of the games like this and we couldn't find a way to win. Tonight, we did. We found a way to win not playing our best basketball and that's growth for us. This team continues to grow and improve and we've got to keep going. We've got eight games left. Right now there are a lot of teams bunched up. I talk to our guys about it all the time. I want them to dream the biggest dream. Nobody is predicting South Alabama this season to go win the league. Let's go do it. Let's chase it. It starts every day with practice. We didn't practice well the last two days and it showed tonight in our play. I was on our guys all Tuesday and Wednesday about our focus, energy, and attention to detail. It wasn't there. I told them if they practice well, they'll play well. If they practice poorly, they'll play poorly. It showed at times tonight. We didn't play really well, but I'm really proud of the resiliency and finding a way to win. When you can find a way to win not playing your best basketball, it's certainly a sign of growth."

On Herb McGee: "He was fantastic, not only in points and production. We would not have won the game without his focus and leadership out there tonight; there's no debating that. He was incredible. He made timely shots in the first half that kept us at bay. He had six rebounds, which at the guard spot is really good. He had a presence about him tonight and he wasn't going to let us lose. He was talking in the huddles when nobody else was talking. He was locked in on another level than the rest of the guys on our team tonight. We had to have every single point and every minute of what he did for us to win the game. I'm happy for him. In this three-game win streak and a couple games before that, he's played at a high level and he's practiced well. He deserves it. He's an incredible kid who wants to do well. I'm happy he was able to come out and get his career-high and play the way he did tonight."

On the last two minutes: "It got tight. We were up by 14 at one time, I think 48-34, and we had a couple defensive lapses where they hit some 3s on us in transition. The way the basketball bounces most of the time is right along the time we miss free throws. We missed three or four free throws in a row and they made 3s. I told our guys we have to find a way. This is what we talk about every single day: the toughness to find a way to win in the last two minutes. That's the goal every night. Obviously, you'd like to win every game by 25, but in conference play there are a lot of tight games. We want to be there in the last two minutes. We want all the time that we've put in in the preseason conditioning and everything we do in our program, all the tough stuff to show in the last two minutes. It did tonight. It showed. Josh Ajayi had a huge 'and-1.' Trhae Mitchell had a huge finish when he went through a couple guys. We got rebounds down the stretch and McGee focused and made his free throws. That's what we talk about inside of two minutes: we've done more than anybody else. We deserve this win and we deserve this moment. We talk about it all the time and I'm glad they were able to finish the job tonight."

On the momentum of a 16-3 run going into halftime: "Our energy was really good. R.J. Kelly was actually the '5.' We were small at the time. Sometimes when we're small it helps our transition game. Defensively, we got stops and a couple key turnovers. McGee made a couple big 3s. Our pace picked up and it was huge. The way Arkansas State crashes so hard on the offensive glass, they're the best rebounding team in our league offensively. We felt like if we could get defensive rebounds, we could get out and get a lot in transition. A lot of the night we didn't take advantage of that, but during that segment we did. We got out and got some easy transitions and got a rhythm going. It was fun to watch. I wish we could play like that all the time. It was a great run and I think it ultimately helped us win the game because it gave us a big enough lead and a cushion. We struggled at times in the second half a little bit, but our cushion was there. They never could come back and catch us all the way."

UP NEXT
South Alabama closes out its homestand Saturday at 3 p.m. against Little Rock.

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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