NEW ORLEANS – Senior Rodrick Sikes made a free throw with 4.6 seconds left and the University of South Alabama men's basketball team survived a miss at the buzzer to defeat Louisiana 70-69 Thursday evening in the second round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at Lakefront Arena.

The eighth-seeded Jaguars (17-16) move on to play No. 4 seed Texas State Friday at 5 p.m. The Ragin' Cajuns end their season at 19-13.

USA led 66-60 with 4:46 to play but LA countered with seven unanswered to take the lead with 2:30 left on a layup from Marcus Stroman.

Junior Herb McGee nailed a 3-pointer on the Jags' next possession to go back up 69-67 before JaKeenan Gant made a layup with 1:43 left to tie the game at 69-69. After Sikes' free throw, an open 3-point attempt from Cedric Russell was off the mark.

GAME FACTS
- South Alabama led for almost the entirety of the first half and was up as many as six before going into halftime tied at 33
- Junior Josh Ajayi scored the first seven points of the second half and McGee added a trey to put the Jags up 43-39 in the early going
- The Cajuns came back with seven straight points then the Jags responded with a 14-3 run – with six points from Ajayi – which was capped off with a triple from graduate Kory Holden to lead 57-51 midway through the period
- Russell and Gant combined for nine points to trim Louisiana's deficit to 62-60, then Ajayi made four free throws to go back up six with 4:46 left
- Two free throws from Jerekius Davis started a run of seven unanswered points for the Cajuns, thanks to a 3-pointer from Russell and a fast-break layup from Marcus Stroman at the 2:30 mark
- On the Jaguars' next possession, McGee converted a 3-pointer and Gant responded with a layup to knot the score at 69 with 1:43 on the clock
- The two teams combined for three missed free throws and a turnover in the next 40 seconds before P.J. Hardy missed a '3' with 12 seconds left
- South Alabama pushed the ball down the other end of the floor and Sikes was fouled with 4.6 seconds left; he missed the first but made the second to break the tie
- After a timeout, Russell was to the left of the top of the key but his shot was just long as the buzzer sounded
- Ajayi finished with 25 points – 19 in the second half alone – and 7 rebounds, and Sikes scored 11 of his 15 points before halftime
- Gant led all scorers with 26 points and 12 rebounds

NOTES
- South Alabama wins its first tournament game since 2015-16 and snaps a four-game losing streak in Lakefront Arena
- The Jags have won two games in the Sun Belt Tournament for the first time since 2009
- South Alabama hit nine times from 3-point land tonight to give them a school-record 274 this season
- USA outscored Louisiana 24-9 off turnovers
- The Jaguars have matched their season high with their current three-game win streak
- South Alabama is now 2-12 this year when being outshot by its opponent (47.5%-43.4%)
- Stroman's 13 assists and Russell's 5 steals tie the most by a Jaguar opponent this season
- Ajayi has scored 20 or more in a game a team-high 11 times in 2018-19
- Ajayi's 19 second-half points are the most by a Jaguar this year
- Tonight was South Alabama's first game this season that was tied at halftime
- Sikes' 15 points gives him 992 in his career

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richie Riley
Opening statement: "I'm so unbelievably proud of our team. We went through a lot this year. We are playing nine scholarship guys, because we are sitting four transfers out. We have had injuries. We have had ups and downs. We have tried to learn how to win, and these kids have not blinked all year long, especially this one beside me (Josh Ajayi). The fight that they've shown is why we won today and how much we have grown. For this game right here, our mentality was we didn't win Tuesday and come all the way down here to go home after one night. Our kids just fought, man. They did. They fought adversity throughout the game and just came together. I coach our guys really hard. They get mad at me. I told them in one of the huddles, 'If anyone is in their feelings right now, they are not thinking about winning. Don't worry about what I'm saying. Just take it in and try to do what I'm telling you. Don't get offended.' And they don't. They laugh. They know me. They know I love them so much and that's why I coach them so hard. I'm just proud of our guys."

On when Louisiana called a timeout in the final seconds and their defensive mindset: "I thought they called a carry at first. I thought they called a carry; he kind of stepped over our kid. He took a big step and carried the ball over our kid's arm, so I thought they called a carry. I was surprised at the timeout, but I think it is a feel thing. There have been games I have done the same thing. He wanted to let them push and play, because he has veteran guys. It did not look like they were going to get a clean one, so he called a timeout. I think it was a really smart move by him (Head Coach Bob Marlin). Then out of the timeout, we put our biggest kid on the ball, Kevin Morris, and we wanted to switch everything behind. (We) kind of got lost on the shot fake, and then he (Russell) got a clean, clean look. I thought it was in. I dropped. I was squatted down. I dropped down, and it just hit the back of the rim, man. It was a heck of a game, and they have a great team. They have a veteran team that has won a bunch of games. There are kids on there that have won a bunch of games. To be able to win like this was huge for our program."

Josh Ajayi, Junior, Forward
On the way things went on the 3-point line: "In the beginning of the half, we were just trading baskets. Coach came out, and he told us with a team like this, you can't expect to trade to baskets all game long and win. We have to go and figure it out on the defensive end. In the second half, we came out and it was tied. At halftime, we came out and our focus was to get stops on defense. Like I have said before, we have guys on our team that can shoot, three or four guys that can shoot. That really spaces the floor and makes my job a lot easier."

On if they focused the defense on players besides JaKeenan Gant: "That was not a factor at all. Our emphasis, again, was just to get stops. Obviously, in the scouting report he is their leading scorer and their go-to guy. So obviously, we had to be alert with him and try to slow him down. Overall, we had a mindset that we had to stop everybody – it doesn't matter who is on the court. We had to get stops."

UP NEXT
South Alabama will face No. 4 seed Texas State Friday at 5 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).

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