MOBILE, Ala. -- Myles Corey poured in a season-high 28 points as the South Alabama Men's Basketball team fended off a late rally from Mercer to win 75-66 Saturday evening in the Mitchell Center. With the win, the Jags improved to 2-2 on the season and picked up their first win at home, while Mercer dropped to 2-2 overall.

South Alabama led by as much as 18 points in the second half before Mercer mounted a comeback and pulled within two points, 68-66, with 2:20 remaining. That would be the closest the Bears would get as the Jags outscored Mercer 7-0 in the final two minutes to secure the victory. 

The one-two punch of Corey and Judah Brown commanded the offense for the Jags for the fourth straight game. Along with his 28 points, Corey finished with six rebounds and two assists while shooting 8-of-15 from the field and knocking down four three-pointers. Brown put up 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor, marking the fourth time he has scored 15 points or more this year. Barry Dunning Jr. was a dominant force down the stretch, finishing with nine points and a monstrous career-high 14 rebounds.  

"I'm happy to see the carryover that we've had from practice to the game on both ends of the floor," said Head Coach Richie Riley. " The numbers we keep producing defensively are excellent and have been good all year. I've been challenging our guys to be greedy on defense and keep trying to hold our opponents to less each game. If we had someone with 37 percent shooting, let's hold the next team to 35 percent. Be greedy with the winning habits."

Both teams came out of the gate firing as the Jags opened up a 17-9 lead at the 9:34 mark as Corey scored nine quick points. 

Despite Corey scoring 18 points in the first half, the Bears showed fight and evened the game 30-30 at the 2:22 mark. South Alabama finished the first half strong and reclaimed the lead off an 8-2 run highlighted by two buckets from Brown in the paint and a fast break And-One layup from John Broom, giving the Jags a 42-32 advantage at the break. 

South picked up where they left off at the start of the second half, as Brown, Brady, and Corey made jumpers in the paint, and Broom made a corner triple to help the Jags take a commanding 53-35 lead with 15:35 left on the clock. 

Mercer went on to pick up steam and outscored the Jags 29-13 in the next 13 minutes to cut the deficit to 68-66 with 2:20 left on the clock. The Jags did not falter and blasted out onto a 7-0 run off a flurry of free throws from Brown and a tough layup from Corey to secure the 75-66 win. 

Notes

• Randy Brady led the Jags and set a new career-high with seven assists. 

• Broom finished with a career-high 10 rebounds. 

• For the third game in a row, South Alabama held its opponent to less than 40 percent shooting from the field as Mercer finished shooting 37.9 percent from the field. 

• The Jags dominated the paint throughout the night scoring 32 points compared to Mercer's 20. Additionally, South controlled the battle on the boards grabbing 44 rebounds to the Bears 33. 

• South Alabama has yet to record a negative assist to turnover ratio this season as they dished out 14 assists and gave up nine turnovers. 

• South had a dominant night in the passing lanes swiping a season-high eight steals. 

Up Next

The Jags will have a short turnaround as they will host the Spring Hill College Badgers on Monday, Nov.18 at 7 p.m. CT.

FOLLOW THE JAGS

For complete coverage of South Alabama men's basketball, follow the Jags on social media @SouthAlabamaMBB (Twitter), /SouthAlabamaJaguars (Facebook), @southalabamambb (Instagram), or visit the official home of South Alabama athletics at usajaguars.com.