University of South Alabama Athletics

DENTON, Texas – South Alabama men's basketball erased a nine-point deficit and took the lead with 30 seconds left, but North Texas scored the go-ahead basket late to hand the Jaguars a 66–65 loss Saturday at the Super Pit. Samuel Shoptaw, Stephen Williams and Jalen Langsy finished with 15 points apiece as South Alabama fell to 2–3. North Texas improved to 3–1.

Williams went 7-of-8 from the field and added six rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks. Shoptaw went 6-for-10, including 2-for-4 from beyond the arc to earn a new scoring career-high, while Langsy added five rebounds and two assists in 40 minutes.

Diego Roman finished with nine points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Peyton Law added nine points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists without a turnover.
The Jaguars shot 51.0 percent from the field and outscored North Texas 40–18 in the paint. The Mean Green countered with 12 three-pointers and 23 second-chance points.

KEY MOMENTS

• North Texas built a nine-point first-half lead, but South Alabama stayed within reach. Williams converted a three-point play with six seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 33–29 at halftime.
• The Jaguars opened the second half with 12 unanswered points. Langsy and Shoptaw knocked down consecutive three-pointers before baskets from Law, Williams and Roman gave South Alabama a 41–33 lead with 16:53 remaining.
• After Williams' putback restored the eight-point advantage at 43–35, North Texas answered with a 9–0 run to move ahead 44–43 with 14:21 left.
• South Alabama responded with six straight points and regained a 49–44 lead on Williams' layup at the 10:13 mark.
• Back-to-back three-pointers from Je'Shawn Stevenson turned a 58–56 South Alabama lead into a 62–58 North Texas advantage with 3:39 remaining.
• The Jaguars rallied again in the final two minutes. Roman dunked with 1:48 left, Law scored with 54 seconds remaining, and Roman converted a driving layup with 38 seconds left to put South Alabama ahead 65–64.
• Aeneas Alexander answered with a layup with 30 seconds remaining for the final margin. Langsy's three-point attempt with three seconds left was off the mark.

KEY STATS

• South Alabama finished 26-of-51 from the field (51.0 percent), including 16-of-29 (55.2 percent) in the second half.
• The Jaguars held a 40–18 advantage in points in the paint and shot 22-of-36 (61.1 percent) on two-point attempts.
• Williams scored 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting and collected five offensive rebounds among his six total boards.
• Shoptaw scored 10 of his 15 points after halftime and finished with two assists and a steal.
• South Alabama recorded 14 assists against seven turnovers, forced 13 turnovers and collected 10 steals.
• North Texas outrebounded the Jaguars 39–28, including an 18–9 edge on the offensive glass, and led 23–14 in second-chance points.
• The Jaguars went 4-of-15 from three-point range and 9-of-19 at the free-throw line. North Texas finished 12-of-35 from beyond the arc and 8-of-15 at the stripe.
• Stevenson led North Texas with 26 points and seven three-pointers. Alexander added 23 points, while Reece Robinson grabbed 13 rebounds.

UP NEXT

South Alabama returns home to take on Spring Hill on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. CT

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