JONESBORO, Ark. – The South Alabama men's basketball team used a dominant defensive effort to push past Arkansas State 60-56 Wednesday night in First National Bank Arena. With the win, the Jags grab control of first place in the Sun Belt and improve to 19-9 this season and 11-4 in conference play. The Red Wolves fell to 19-9 this year and 10-5 in Sun Belt play. 

The Jags put the clamps on the conference's top offensive team the entire night, holding Arkansas State to a season-low in points (56) and three-pointers (6-for-19) (19%), while forcing 19 Red Wolves turnovers to secure the win and the season sweep over Ark State.

Barry Dunning Jr. led the Jags in scoring, finishing with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field with a team-high eight rebounds and two assists. Judah Brown came up clutch in several clutch moments, finishing with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the floor and a perfect 3-of-3 from the free throw line with four rebounds. 

Two Jags finished with eight points a piece. Jayden Cooper had an impressive first half, shooting 2-of-4 from three-point range and swiping a season-high four steals while dishing out two assists. Myles Corey had a big second half, hitting 4-of-5 free throws and recording four assists with two steals. Cantia Rahming played huge inside the paint the entire night, finishing with seven points, five rebounds, two huge blocks, and two steals. 

South Alabama came out with the victory tonight despite being outrebounded 46-32 and missing 11 of its 22 attempted free throws. However, the Jags got substantial production from its entire squad as they totaled 31 bench points and held Arkansas State's bench scoreless. 

After trailing by 9-1 early in the first half, South Alabama rallied back and took a 21-13 lead with 6:49 left in the first half behind a three-pointer, a pick-and-roll layup from Elijah Ormiston and a corner triple from Dunning. 

Arkansas State would fight back and trim the lead, but the Jags carried that momentum into the half with a 25-21 advantage. 

The Red Wolves found more answers coming out of the break, an 8-0 spurt to take the lead back 29-25 at the 18:01 mark. 

Both teams traded jabs back-and-forth, as the Jags reclaimed the advantage 42-40 with 9:18 on the clock with a pair of Rahming free throws and a crafty move from the senior under the basket for a layup. 

Things would get tight down the stretch, as South led by six with 90 seconds remaining. The Jags struggled to put the game away, as the Red Wolves knocked down three free throws and one layup to pull the score within three points, 58-55, with five seconds remaining. 

Ark State went to the line after the Jaguars intentionally fouled and sunk one free throw before deliberately missing the other for another chance at an open shot. After a scramble for the rebound, the Jags pounced on the rebound and iced the game with two free throws from Corey on the other end with two seconds remaining. 

Notes 

• The Jags have won two straight games despite being outrebounded 96-67. 
• Dunning Jr has grabbed six rebounds or more in the 11 out of the last 12 games. 
• South Alabama has a 4-1 record against the three other teams in a four-way tie for first place in the Sun Belt, giving them the tiebreaker edge. The Jags swept Ark State, defeated James Madison, and split with Troy. 
• South Alabama has forced 61 turnovers in the last four games. 
• Arkansas State committed a season-high 19 turnovers.