South Alabama basketball moves on to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, beating the number one seed Southern Miss. The final score 78-61. Owen White had himself a game, as the Jags took a one point deficit at halftime and turned it into a 17 point victory.
South Alabama started a little slow, getting on the board first (3-0) at the 18:35 mark.
grabbing a 6-0 lead before USM would get on the board. The Jaguars would trail by as much as 6 points (27-21) at the 2:54 mark of the 1st half. The Jags would answer back. Owen White would hit a big three pointer, to bring the Jaguars back to within a 1 point halftime deficit. The Jaguars trail 27-26.
As the second half gets going the Jaguars and Golden Eagles go back and forth. The Jags would grab a 5 point lead and Southern Miss would close the gap to 1. At the 8:47 mark Southern Miss took a two point lead with 8:47 left in the game. That would be the last time Southern Miss would lead. It was all Jags for the rest of the game.
South Alabama would build a steady lead of 19 with 2:07 remaining which included an 17-2 run by the Jaguars. They once again led by 19 with 58 seconds left in the game. The Jaguars would score 52 points in the second half to put the Golden Eagles away.
Despite the loss Southern Miss should still get an NIT bid. The Jags however would most likely have to win the tournament to advance to March Madness.
The Jags were led in scoring by…
Owen White- 23 points ( season high) including shooting 45% from the 3 point line, along with 6 rebounds.
Isaiah Moore- 17 points and 5 rebounds.
Kevin Samuel- 10 points and 5 rebounds.
South Alabama shot just 20% from the 3 point line in the 1st half. The second half however was a totally different story. The Jags would shoot 60% behind the 3 point line in the second half.
South Alabama’s record would improve to 18-15 overall. They move on to the Semifinals tomorrow versus James Madison at 5pm. James Madison moves on after beating the Jags other rival, Troy today in the 2nd quarterfinals game. The Jags beat JMU 63-62 earlier this season in a game played in Mobile. Kevin Samuel would block a last second layup to secure the Jaguar victory.
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