MOBILE, Ala. – Behind four Jaguars in double digits, the South Alabama men's basketball team defeated the Denver Pioneers 82-75 Thursday night, securing its first home victory of the season. With the win the Jags improve to 2-3 this season, while Denver fell to 2-3. 

Isiah Gaiter had a season-high performance, scoring 24 points shooting 10-for-14 from the field. Marcus Millender continued his hot stretch, totaling 17 points, nine assists, and two rebounds. Thomas Howell showed up big for the Jags tonight down low, securing his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds. In his first start of the season, Julian Margrave scored a career-high 11 points on three of five shooting from three-point range. 

Game Facts (How it Happened)

• The Jaguars got going fast, jumping out to a 14-5 lead after Gaiter scored six early points and Margrave and Millender each drained a three-pointer. 
• Following a couple of made Denver buckets, Jones would splash a mid-range jumper and a deep three-pointer before Julian Margrave connected on a triple to help push the Jags lead to 25-14 with 8:14 left in the half. 
• The Pioneers would pick up some steam heading towards the break, outscoring South Alabama 16-8 down the final stretch to trim the Jaguars lead down to 33-30 at the halftime break. 
• Coming out of the half, both teams would start to trade punches back and forth as Denver grabbed its first lead, 39-37, with 16:53 left on the clock. 
• Neither team would give an inch for eight minutes until Millender sank a top-of-the-key jumper, and Gaiter hit a three-pointer and mid-range jumper to jolt the Jaguars out to a 65-56 lead with 7:50 left on the clock. 
• After the Pioneers fired back with a stretch of three-point jumpers, the Jags would answer with a tough layup inside from Maxwell Land, a Margrave three-pointer, and a physical layup near the rim from Gaiter to give South the 74-63 advantage with under five minutes remaining. 
• Denver pulled back within three points, 76-73, with 1:36 left in regulation, but the Jaguars were too strong and physical on this night.
• South Alabama would have three dominant defensive possessions that allowed Isiah Gaiter and Thomas Howell to knock down two sets of free throws to secure an 82-75 victory for South Alabama. 

PostGame Notes

• South Alabama recorded its highest three-point percentage of the season, shooting 42.1 percent from three-point range. 
• Julian Margrave has been electric from behind the arc in his two appearances of the season. In two games, Margrave leads South Alabama in three-point percentage, shooting 50 percent. 
• Thomas Howell earned his first double-double as a Jaguar tonight and the sixth of his career. 
• Marcus Millender is now second in the Sun Belt in assists, logging 27 in five games. 
• Isaiah Gaiter has scored double-digits in four of the Jags five contests this season. 
• The Jags shot 56.4 percent from the field and held Denver to a 36.7 percent field goal percentage. 
• South Alabama was efficient offensively on the night. The Jags has it's highest assist-to-turnover ratio this season with a 4.0.

Head Coach Richie Riley 

On his team's performance

" I believe in our guys. I know we have a long way to go, and I'm not oblivious to that. It doesn't take away from the disappointment we've gone through in the short part of our season so far, but the thing I want to be clear to everyone is that I believe in our team. We have to get better, and today was a step in the right direction. To win a game like that and have guys like Julian [Margrave] make his first start and play really well was great to see. We also had Isiah [Gaiter] finish the game and be the guy we went to down the stretch. Smurf [Marcus Millender] continues to grow up in front of our eyes. He had nine assists tonight after having ten assists last night, and he's scoring the ball too. Lastly, Thomas [Howell] got his first double-double in a South Alabama jersey, and we know that's the standard he can play at this season. This team has unbelievable people on it, and we are going to continue to get better. It's a marathon, and we are going to work really hard to create more memories like we had tonight." 

Up Next 

South Alabama will now have a day off before competing in the final game of the Jaguar Classic on Sunday, Nov.19, against SIUE at Noon CST. 

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