PENSACOLA, Fla. – Louisiana held the the University of South Alabama scoreless for over five minutes in the second half, rallying for a 79-68 men's basketball victory Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at Hartsell Arena.

Theo Akwuba posted game-high totals with 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead a trio of Ragin' Cajuns (17-8) with a double-double.  Dou Gueye and Mylik Wilson each scored 16 points, with the former grabbing 11 boards and the latter 10, , with Devin Butts and Kobe Julien adding 11 points apiece of the bench for UL.

John Pettway recorded 16 points for the Jaguars (17-11), who had four score in double figures in the contest.  Sam Iorio chipped in with 14 points, Michael Flowers supplied 13 — as well as six assists — and Kayo Goncalves finished with 12, while Tyreke Locure had seven points and a game-high seven assists as well.

GAME FACTS
-Pettway recorded 12 points in the game's first eight minutes to help the Jags jump out to a 22-13 lead.
-The Ragin Cajuns cut the deficit to on with just under four minutes remaining before the break, but after a Flowers three and Pettway converted a jumper in the paint South was up 33-29 at the half.
-South was up 43-34 when Locure sank a three-pointer just under four minutes into the second half, but Louisiana responded with a 26-4 run over an eight-minute stretch to take control of the contest.
-Goncalves scored nine points in less than two minutes to help draw the Jaguars within six points with two-and-a-half minutes remaining, but that would be as close as South would get.
-The Cajuns outrebounded the Jaguars 53-29, and held a 26-5 advantage in second-chance points after posting 22 boards on the offensive end of the floor.
-USA connected on 10 three-pointers but shot just 37.9 percent from the floor in the contest.

NOTES
-The two teams have now split six neutral-site match-ups after the Ragin Cajuns ended South's three-game series win streak.
-The Jaguars hold a 30-28 edge in the all-time series with Louisiana.
-Flowers connected on a trio of three-point field goals in the contest, and with 88 on the year moved into the top five on South's season record list in the category.
-He ended his first season with the program scoring in double figures in 26 of the Jags' 28 contests.
-It was the second time in the last three outings that Pettway paced USA in scoring, as well as the sixth occasion in the last eight games that he has recorded 10 or more points.
-Iorio posted a double-digit scoring total in consecutive contests for the first time since South's final two non-conference games against Flagler (Dec. 16) and Alabama A&M (Dec. 19).
-It was the eighth game in a row that Goncalves made multiple three-pointers, and the sixth occasion in that span that he has scored 10-plus points.
-Locure tied a career high in assists set in two other contests this year, leading the team in the category for the first time since the Jaguars beat Troy on Feb. 13.
-It marked the eighth outing this season that Jamal West — who pulled down seven rebounds — has led the Jags on the boards, tying for the most on the team.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Richie Riley
Opening statement: "First of all, I am unbelievably proud of our group for the year they have been able to put together.  Our season has seen a lot of adversity; we've played with six or seven all year.  I am proud of our guys for winning 17 games.  Obviously, we didn't want it to end today, but it doesn't change how I feel about our group.  We overcame a lot of things and got a lot better, but today we ran into a better ball team.  They punished us inside with their size and how hard they played.  We missed some opportunities against the zone in the second half.  I thought we got some looks, we got in the middle of the zone, but it was hard to take advantage with their size.  I think they have just as good a chance to win it as anybody."
On the team's scoring slump and fatigue: "I think anytime you play as many games as we have it takes a toll when you have a short bench, but that's no excuse, we had opportunities.  What really took the air out of us was we struggled defensively to stop them; we got them to miss first shots a few times, but they outworked us on the glass.  Offensively, we took some tough shots; I thought we took some good shots, but we didn't take advantage of it.  It wasn't our best game but again you credit your opponent, they made it hard on us, had more juice, had more legs and they took advantage of us."
On Michael Flowers: "I don't think there's a more valuable player in all of college basketball for their team.  A lot of guys get a lot of press, but without [Michael] Flowers, I don't know what we would have done.  We had to fight like crazy to get him eligible; I'm thankful that we did.  The year that he had, how valuable he was for us, it was incredible.  We asked a lot of him — probably more than you should ask any player — he basically had to play 40 minutes every night and he had to score, facilitate and defend.  He became a better defender and rebounder, and that's the biggest compliment I can pay him."

Up next: The Jaguars concluded the 2020-21 season with this contest.

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