CONWAY, S.C. – Andre Fox hit a free throw with 0.8 seconds to go Saturday and Trhae Mitchell followed with two more after a technical foul call to lift the University of South Alabama to a 74-71 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball win over Coastal Carolina at the HTC Center.

Chad Lott led the Jaguars (18-11, 11-7 Sun Belt) with 22 points and eight rebounds while Mitchell scored 21 and pulled down six boards as South earned its sixth straight victory.  Fox added 14 points and four assists, and John Pettway contributed 10 points and three assists also.

Tyrell Gumbs-Frater recorded a game-high 33 points for the Chanticleers (14-15, 7-11 SBC) after making 9-of-16 attempts from three-point range.  DeVante' Jones added 18 points and seven rebounds, and Tim Ceaser contributed a game-best 13 boards.

GAME FACTS
-Neither team led by more than four points the opening 10 minutes of the first half; Gumbs-Frater accounted for all of the Chants' points, but USA led 12-11.
-Lott's layup with just over seven minutes to go gave South its largest lead before the break, 22-16, but CCU closed the gap to three, 36-33, at the half as Gumbs-Frater posted 23 points in the first 20 minutes.
-The Chanticleers went on a 12-0 run early in the second half and were up 48-41 with 16 minutes to go in the contest.
-The Jags responded with nine unanswered points — including four from Lott — to regain the lead, 50-48, with just over 14 minutes left.
-CCU went back in front 58-52 with a little more than nine minutes remaining and were still leading 67-63 with just over four minutes to go.
-Down two in the final seconds, a steal led to Tommy Burton's layup that tied the game 71-71 with 3.8 seconds remaining, but Fox took the inbounds pass and was fouled attempting a last-second three-pointer.

NOTES
-South's six-game winning streak is its longest since the Jags recorded six consecutive victories from Feb. 16-March 9, 2008.
-It was the first time in four attempts that the Jaguars have won in Conway.
-The two teams split a pair of regular-season games for the third straight year.
-Lott recorded a season-high scoring total while leading the team in points for the first time since a 52-43 win at Little Rock on Jan. 11.
-It's the third time during the Jags' winning streak that Mitchell has posted 20-plus points.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Richie Riley
Opening statement: "It was a great win, we had a lot of adversity we had to fight through.  We certainly didn't play our best game, but we found a way to win again.  I know I sound like a broken record every time I say it, but our team is growing and growing; we've grown into a team that deserves to win these games because of the work we are putting in and how together we are.  It means so much to this team now, I am as proud of that as the attitude we are playing with."
On responding every time Coastal had a surge: "A month or two ago we would not have won this game, you can say that about a lot of the wins we've had recently.  It's our guys, they are as together a group as I've been around and I have to give them credit for that.  That's what you strive for as a head coach, to be able to say it means something to them, and that's the change we've made.  Through the good and the bad, they stay together, and that's how you win games like this.  It makes me happy that the guys are developing that mentality."
On having a week off to prepare for the final two games of the regular season: "It's a good time for that, [Josh] Ajayi really had to gut it out — I'm so proud of him for that — but he should be back to 100 percent by the time we get to Saturday hopefully.  We need the rest, we'll get back and take a couple of days of to let the guys get caught up academically and give them some time; when you invest the time like our kids are doing right now mentally and physically, you need a couple of days off.  We have to get ready for a huge game against Troy, they are going to come in ready to go.  Every game for us is like a game seven, we have to keep that same mentality and try to keep this momentum going heading into the conference tournament."

Up next: Rival Troy comes to the Mitchell Center for a 6 p.m. (CST) tip on Saturday, Feb. 29.

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