BOONE, N.C. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team shot 63.6 percent in the second half and got 26 points from junior Josh Ajayi to defeat Appalachian State 78-71 Saturday afternoon at the Holmes Center.

The Jaguars (15-16, 8-10 Sun Belt) converted 14 of 22 from the floor and 5 of 6 from 3-point land after halftime, and forced four straight misses in the last two minutes to hold off the Mountaineers (11-20, 6-12).

USA closed the first half on a 10-3 run and scored the first five points of the second to take a 41-30 lead, its largest to that point.

South Alabama led by as many as 13 midway through the second half but Appalachian State battled back and used a 13-6 run to close within 71-65 following two free throws from Justin Forrest with 2:25 to go. App State didn't make a shot the rest of the way, and despite four missed free throws in the last 44 seconds, the Jags held on.

GAME FACTS
- The Apps took an early 13-7 lead after a combined three 3-pointers from Forrest and Ronshad Shabazz before the Jags answered with six straight points to tie it up at 13-13
- With App State holding a 27-26 lead, South Alabama scored 10 of the next 12 points – all from Ajayi and junior Trhae Mitchell – to go up seven just before halftime; the Mountaineers added a free throw with 0.8 seconds left for a 36-30 score at intermission
- An early '3' from graduate Kory Holden and a fast-break dunk from Ajayi padded the Jaguars' lead to 41-30 just 64 seconds in
- USA maintained at least an eight-point advantage until the final five minutes when Adrian Delph hit a trey with 5:07 left
- The Mountaineers got as close as six three different times – the final time coming at the 2:25 mark – then trimmed the deficit to five following a free throw from Forrest with 24.6 seconds left as they took advantage of three missed free throws from the Jags
- The two teams traded 1-for-2s at the stripe in the next six seconds to keep it a five-point game until junior Herb McGee went 2 for 2 with 15.9 seconds remaining to close it out
- McGee recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Mitchell recorded his eighth of the year with 18 points and 11 boards
- Holden finished with 15 points, all from behind the 3-point arc
- Forrest led App State with 21 points

NOTES
- South Alabama has won seven in a row in the series; it is USA's longest active win streak against a Sun Belt school
- USA has won 15 games in a season for the first time since 2012-13
- The Jaguars have had two players record a double-double in the same game four times this season; the first three were by Mitchell and Ajayi
- McGee finished three assists shy of a triple-double with seven; his rebounding total is a new career high
- Ajayi's 26 points tie his most against Appalachian State in his career; he is averaging 21.4 points in five games vs. the Mountaineers
- Ajayi became the eighth player in school history to record 600 career rebounds (603)

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richie Riley
Opening statement: "It was a great win. To be able to win on the road, especially under these circumstances, we knew that we needed to win to put ourselves in a position to host. Everything still has to play out, so we'll see, but we did our part. We did what we needed to do. I told our guys to do everything we can to give our two seniors another opportunity to play at 'the Mitch.' Our toughness today was good. Josh Ajayi was a monster. If he plays like that, we've got a pretty good thing. I thought Herb McGee was tremendous: 12 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 turnover. He was really good. Even though Trhae Mitchell didn't shoot the ball like he normally does, he did everything else pretty well. Also Rodrick Sikes and Kory Holden as starters, then you add R.J. Kelly's energy off the bench. I'm just really proud of them."

On the offense in the second half: "Our execution was really good. We were locked in on the details and we executed against both zone and man. They were switching defenses and we did a nice job of executing. That's why we shot a high percentage. We turned it over a little bit more than I'd like to; we ended up 13-12. We want to make free throws at the end. I don't want to get back to that. We had been shooting them pretty good. Our execution was good. I loved how we executed, especially down the stretch when they made their run. We were able to execute and get great shots and find a way to keep the lead."

UP NEXT
South Alabama's Sun Belt Tournament opponent will be announced at a later time.

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—