MOBILE, Ala. – Javon Franklin posted his fifth double-double of the season and Charles Manning Jr. added 19 points as the University of South Alabama men's basketball team defeated Georgia Southern 73-67 on Saturday night at the Mitchell Center.
 
Franklin had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Jay Jay Chandler finished with 12 points to lead the Jags.
 
Elijah McCadden led Georgia Southern with 19 points and Gedi Juozapaitis chipped in 10 for the Eagles.
 
Date: 1/15
Place: Mitchell Center
Final Score: South Alabama 73, Georgia Southern 67
Records: South Alabama 12-5 (2-2), Georgia Southern 8-7 (1-3)
 
GAME FACTS
- Georgia Southern grabbed an early 8-5 lead, sparked by a pair of three-pointers over the first three minutes.
- South answered with a 12-2 run, with seven points coming from Marshall Kearing to take a 17-10 lead with 13 minutes to go.
- USA pushed the lead to nine, 23-14, after Manning Jr. connected on a fast break dunk with 5:01 remaining in the half.
- The Jags outscored Georgia Southern 10-6 over the final five minutes to take a 33-20 lead into the break.
- The Eagles opened the second half on 6-1 run to cut the deficit to eight, 34-26.
- South Alabama responded by scoring seven of the next nine points to extend the lead back to 13, 41-28, with 16:23 left on the clock.
- Georgia Southern scored six straight points to cut the lead to seven, 41-34, with just over 14 minutes left.
- Franklin converted a three-point play and Chandler scored on a layup to stretch the lead back to double-figures, 45-34.
- The Eagles went on a 20-7 run to retake the lead 54-52, with 6:41 remaining in the game.
- Chandler hit a corner three-pointer and Kayo Goncalves followed with his third trey of the game to put the Jags back out in front, 63-59, with 3:48 left in regulation
- USA knocked down eight free throws over the final three minutes to secure the 73-67 victory.
- South outscored Georgia Southern 34-22 in the paint.
 
NOTES
- With the win, USA leads the all-time series 16-9.
- South improved to 9-1 at the Mitchell Center this season.
- The 12-5 start is the best for the Jags since the 2007-08 team started 12-3.
- South Alabama limited Georgia Southern to 20 points in the first half. The 20 points were the fewest allowed to an NCAA Division I opponent this season.
- Franklin posted his second straight double-double and the fifth of the season. This marks the second time this year Franklin has had back-to-back games with a double-double.
- Franklin made a career-high seven free throws.
- Chandler extended his streak with 10 more points to 15 consecutive games.
- Alex Anderson tied career-highs with seven rebounds and three assists.
- Goncalves has hit three or more three-pointers in seven games this season.
- Manning Jr. has led the team in scoring in 10 games this year.
 
THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richie Riley
- Opening statement:
"The old me would have come into here [the media room] and grip about how we made it interesting and how we didn't guard as well as we needed to the second half after having a great first half defensively. With Covid times and having guys out, I told our players that we're going to learn from what we did with finishing the game and how we played in the second half. I told them that I wasn't going to lecture them on any of that. I told them how proud I was of them that they were able to win the game and play with lineups that they haven't even practiced with due to foul trouble, and they were able to get out of her with a win when [Georgia Southern] came after us. There's no lay down in that group. [Georgia Southern head coach Brian] Burg has been a friend of mine for a long time and his teams battle and fight. I told out guys at halftime that it was going to be that way. I didn't know that it was going to be exactly like it played out.
 
"They came back and took the lead and we went zone, and was able to string together some stops and make just enough free throws to finish it off. I was proud of the way we played the last 25 minutes of "real time" without Jay Jay Chandler and some of our other ball handlers. We were able to get the ball in and get fouled and then made just enough free throws to win."
 
-On the decision to go zone:
"We had talked throughout the game about potentially going to it. If I could draw up a master piece defensively, the way we played in the first half would be it. We held them to 20 points and really defended at a high level, so we didn't need to use it in the first half. In the second half, they were able to get downhill on us and a lot of fouls were called. It got to the point there that it felt like we were fouling them every possession or they were scoring at the rim, so we went zone. We have good length so we can be a good zone team, we just haven't worked at it as much as we have in the past because our man-to-man has been so effective. We went to zone and were able to slow them down and string together enough stops to finish the game."
 
-On what putting back-to-back games together like they have:
"Our depth is improving and I'm trusting guys more because they're producing when they get an opportunity. We hope to have Diante Smith back for the Louisiana swing, along with Turbo Jones who appears to be a week ahead of schedule. Our depth is improving so these games are huge because the best the best teacher of experience is real games. We can practice all we want, but it can't simulate the feeling of a real game."
 
Graduate G Jay Jay Chandler
-On the difference these last two games:
"We've just stayed focus throughout the entire game and then going out there and executing the game plan. We've found shooters, been able to get the ball down low to [Javon Franklin and Marshall Kearing], and the perimeter guards have been able to limit our turnovers. On the defensive end, we've locked in and not allowed the opponent to do stuff that they are comfortable doing. If we execute that way, we should be able to get the win like we've done these past two games."
 
-On Georgia Southern getting back in the game:
"The game was going back and forth, they [Georgia Southern] was hitting some shots and we were also. Coach just kept telling us to get back to [the way we had played in the first half] at every media time out and hit open shots like we always do in practice. Me and Kio [Goncalves] were able to hit some tough shots and we were able to get some tough put backs and grab some tough rebounds. It was a collective effort by everyone to get this win that we needed."
 
-On going to zone defense late in the game:
"We've worked on it in practice and knew we would have to go to it at some point. Georgia Southern has some good shooters and we knew we were going to have to pull out the zone eventually. We're going to need it as we go throughout the rest of the season and continue to work to get better and better at it as we go on."
 
Senior F Javon Franklin
-On what the back-to-back wins mean to this team at this stage of the season:
"It gives us a huge boost of confidence, especially as we head into these upcoming road games. Hopefully it will give us the confidence to keep pulling out games the way we did tonight."
 
-On the key to his performance at the free-throw line tonight:
"Being focused and concentrating at the line is a big part of it because I know that I'm going to get fouled a lot. It's just about going up there and knowing you're going to make every shot. That's exactly what I did towards the end of the game."
 
UP NEXT
- USA will go the road to take on Louisiana on Thursday at 7 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).

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—USA—