MOBILE, Ala. – Andre Fox and Trhae Mitchell scored 20 points each while Chad Lott added 15 points and 10 rebounds to help lead the University of South Alabama to a 78-75 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball victory on Thursday at the Mitchell Center.

Fox was 4-of-8 from three-point range and Mitchell also contributed nine rebounds and five assists to help the Jaguars (15-11, 8-7 Sun Belt) to their third win in a row.  Herb McGee and John Pettway chipped in with eight points apiece as well for South.

Cedric Russell led all players with 29 points, hitting 10-of-16 shots from the floor including going 7-of-13 from three-point range, with Tirus Smith posting a double-double for the Ragin' Cajuns (10-16, 5-10 SBC) after collecting 10 points and 14 rebounds.

GAME FACTS
-Back-to-back three pointers from P.J. Hardy gave the Ragin' Cajuns an 11-4 lead early in the first half, one they extended to nine points, 17-8, with 12-and-a-half minutes left in the first half.
-The Jaguars responded with a 10-0 spurt over a stretch of just over two minutes to go up one at the midway point of the half; neither team would lead by more than three points before the break.
-UL used another early stretch of seven unanswered points after the half to retake the lead, 39-36, only to see the Jags reply with a 15-4 run that gave them a 53-45 advantage with 10 minutes left to play.
-Russell scored 12 straight points for the Cajuns, making four three-point field goals in a two-minute span, with the last giving UL a 61-59 lead at the five minute mark.
-The Ragin' Cajuns would stretch the advantage to five points, 66-61, with less than four minutes remaining and stay in front until two Mitchell free throws made the score 69-68 with one minute to go in the contest.
-Hardy connected on a three-pointer with 42 seconds left to put UL in front for the final time, with Fox finishing a four-point play 15 seconds later to give the Jags the lead for good.

NOTES
-It's the first time the Jaguars have swept the regular-season series from the Ragin's Cajuns since 2014-15.
-South was without Josh Ajayi, who missed his first game of the season after suffering an injury in practice earlier in the week.
-Fox scored in double figures for the fourth straight contest, while he now ranks second on the team with six outings with 20 or more points.
-Mitchell has scored 20-plus points in two of the last three games after failing to reach that plateau prior to this month.
-It was the second double-double of the season for Lott — he also had one in a Nov. 26 win over Miami (Ohio) — as he has now scored in double figures in five of the last six contests.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Richie Riley
Opening statement: "I told our team, this is the proudest I've been of them.  When you look at the full game tonight, it just shows how much we've grown as a team.  It was all grit and toughness.  They've just shown so much growth."
On the play of Trhae Mitchell: "He produced.  He was incredible, he started out 1-of-8 in the first half — he was not good — but in crunch time he performed."

Up next: The Jaguars will remain at home and take on ULM Saturday at 3 p.m. (CST).

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).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

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