MOBILE, Ala. – Elijah Ormiston exploded for a season-high 22 points, and the South Alabama men's Basketball team shot 56.5 percent from the field to thrash Arkansas State 76-62 Thursday night in the Mitchell Center. The Jags move to 12-4 overall and remain undefeated in conference play at 4-0. The Red Wolves dropped their second game in a row and fell to 11-5 on the season with a 2-2 Sun Belt record. 

After turning the ball over five times in the first five minutes of the game, South Alabama locked in and held Arkansas State to 31 percent shooting from the floor, while five Jaguars finished with double figures in scoring to help win their fifth straight game by double digits and claim sole control over first place in the Sun Belt. 

Ormiston was lights out throughout the night, hitting 4-of-5 three-pointers while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out two assists. Myles Corey finished with 11 points, including a thunderous highlight reel poster dunk with a game-high six assists. Judah Brown knocked down three three-pointers to finish with 11 points. John Broom added 10 points and nine rebounds, and Barry Dunning Jr. logged his 10th straight game in double figures with 10 points of his own. 

"That was a high-level game,"  head coach Richie Riley said. " They were picked No.1 in the preseason for a reason, and they are a good ball club. For us to find a way to win tonight is a step in the right direction for our team. For our guys to respond the way that they did coming off the road and knowing how important it was to hold home shows the type of maturity they have. We got off to a slow start, but a timeout got us refocused, and our guys responded. What an unbelievable group of selfless dudes that we have running around here. It means something to them to win this game for South Alabama. We operate with a chip on our shoulder, and I'm just happy it's paying off. We've got a long way to go and must get better, but that was a good win for our team." 

South shot lights out the entire night, shooting 12-of-24 (50%) from three-point range while holding Arkansas State to 24.5 percent from behind the arc on a season-high 49 three-point attempts. 

Three straight turnovers at the beginning of the game that led to Arkansas State points forced a timeout from head coach Richie Riley at the 18:30 mark. 

Brown got the Jags their first lead off back-to-back possessions with triples, opening an 18-15 advantage with 11:01 on the clock. 

After ASU responded with a 6-2 spurt, the Jags opened up a commanding 13-2 run highlighted by triples from Broom and Ormiston and a fastbreak finish off the window from Corey to extend their lead to double digits 33-23 with under three minutes remaining. 

Ormiston would take control down the stretch of the first half, drilling a stepback three-pointer before hitting a-and-one corner triple to give the Jags a 41-31 lead at the break. 

USA's sluggish start to the game would not continue in the second half as they extended their lead to 56-39 at the 10:24 mark after Brown hit a mid-range jumper and a three-pointer in two straight possessions. 

South ignited a dominant run to put the game away. Corey, Broom, and Ormiston all knocked down three-pointers during a 14-5 run to earn their largest advantage of the game, a 74-53 lead. 

Arkansas State fought to stay in the game, but the Jags walked away with a convincing 76-62 win. 

Notes

• South Alabama has won five straight games by double digits, including a 24.25 average margin of victory in the Sun Belt conference. 
• Dunning Jr. has tallied double figures in 10 straight games in a row. 
• The last time the Jaguars went 4-0 to start Sun Belt Conference play was in 2008. This was the program's last appearance in the NCAA Tournament. 
• Corey has logged 74 total assists so far this season. 
• South is 10-2 in games that Brown makes two three-pointers or more. 
• Broom has grabbed seven or more rebounds in nine games this season. 
• With the win, the Jags are the only remaining unbeaten team in Sun Belt Conference play. 

Up Next

The Jags return to the Mitchell Center on Saturday, Jan.11 at 2 p.m. CT to take on Old Dominion.

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