MOBILE, Ala. – Six Jaguars eclipsed double figures as the University of South Alabama men's basketball team defeated Flagler, 103-81, Wednesday night in the Mitchell Center.

Tyreke Locure led all scorers with 22 points on with seven field goals, five from behind the arc, four rebounds and three assists. Michael Flowers added 18 points, five rebounds and four assists. Kayo Goncalves fell one point short of a double-double with nine points, 10 rebounds.

Flagler had four Saints reach double figures with Jaizec Lottie putting up 21 points. Marcus Henderson, Chase Fiddler and Spencer Bain rounded out the other three double-digit scorers.

GAME FACTS
- South Alabama started with an 11-0 run in the first two minutes and 39 seconds. Locure, Goncalves and Sam Iorio each connected on a three with Iorio adding a layup. The Jags forced three turnovers during the span.
- USA carried a 15-point lead into the locker room at halftime, 56-41, with Locure leading the way with 16 on 5-of-8 shooting with 4-of-4 behind the arc. Iorio also got into double figures in the first 20 minutes with 11 points.
- Flagler cut the advantage to single digits, 71-62, with 12:40 remaining in the second half before USA reestablished a 17-point lead off an eight-point run in 51 seconds featuring a pair of threes from Goncalves and Flowers with a layup by John Pettway.
- South carried the double-digit advantage to the final buzzer, and took a 22-point win, 103-81.
- USA scorched the nets with 36-of-59 (61 percent) shooting from the field and 11-of-20 (55 percent) from beyond the arc.
- The Jaguars feasted on 16 Saint turnovers, turning those into 22 points.
- South outscored Flagler 20-7 at the foul line.

NOTES
- This was the first time the two teams have met on the hardwood.
- South eclipsed triple digits for the first time since scoring 106 against Huntingdon on Nov. 11, 2018.
- For the second time this season, USA had six Jaguars score in double figures: Locure with 22, Flowers with 18, Pettway and Iorio dropped 14 a piece, as KK Curry and Jamal West scored 13 each.
- Locure was the leading scorer in the game for the first time in his career after being the Jags leading scorer for the first time in his career last game against Southern Miss.
- Curry registered double-digits in back-to-back games off the bench for the first time in his career with a career-high 16 against Southern Miss and 14 against Flagler.
- In addition to 14 points, Pettway led the game with seven assists and four steals. It's the second time Pettway accomplished those feats this season, but the first time the redshirt-senior accomplished both in the same contest.

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richie Riley
Opening Statement: "First of all, I want to talk about how good of a team they have. The thing in basketball circles is when someone has a division II sign or an NAIA label, you immediately think that they are inferior, and that is not the case. I've coached at every single level that there is to coach at outside of junior college, and there are players everywhere. There's a reason they went on a neutral [floor] and beat Central Michigan by 19 points. They're a good team and I want to tip my hat to them. I am pleased we got out with a win. We weren't perfect, defensively we had some mistakes. We did not get a couple 50-50 balls, and they scored off those opportunities. They scored a bit too many in the paint with 26 points. We held them under 10 free throws attempted, and they put up 48 threes, which I like. They made 16, which is a pretty good percentage and we need to do a better job getting that number down, but the paint is what I saw; we have to take away the paint."
On the fast start: "We had not got off to good starts, and we got off to an 11-0 start tonight, but then it was nip and tuck after that for a while. Then we went on a run and we were able to stretch it out, I think it was 15 at the break and we came out and had a great start and they made a comeback. They got a lot of fight. I was proud that we had another push in us. Some of these games, they look at the scores and gauge your production off the opponent that you're playing. I'm proud of our offensive production, we just need to shore some things up defensively."
On Tyreke Locure: "He's really coming on, not only in his production but who he is as a person, and I am the proudest of that. He's growing up every single day. And when I say growing up, I mean his approach to everyday work. He shows up in the morning and gets shots in. He watches film with a coach, then comes back and gets more shots in. He works extremely hard at everything we do at practice, and is dialed in mentally. All those things could not have been said about him last year as a freshman. He's grown so much and it shows in his play. It's not an accident when you play well, it happens because you put in the work and earn the right to play well. Hi assists to turnover ratio is off the charts, he's shooting the ball at a high level, he's attacking off the back and his impact on the team has been unbelievable."

Up next: South Alabama travels to Huntsville, Ala., for its final game of 2020 and the non-conference schedule against Alabama A&M Saturday with tipoff scheduled for 2 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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