MOBILE, Ala. -- South Alabama
used its size advantage to wear down ULM in the second half en route to a 71-56
victory on Thursday inside the Mitchell Center.
The game was tied at 27 at halftime, but a 13-2 South Alabama run to
open the second half gave the Jaguars the lead for good as they defeated the
Warhawks for the second time this season. South Alabama (9-9, 6-3 SBC) shot
62.5 percent in the second half with 20 of its 44 second-half points coming off
ULM turnovers.
Augustine Rubit scored a
game-high 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting to lead South Alabama. Freddie Goldstein added 16 points and Antoine Allen and Mychal Ammons each chipped in 10 points for the Jaguars.
Junior guard Marcelis Hansberry
paced the Warhawks with a season-high 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Junior
guard Amos Olatayo had his string of
four straight games in double figures snapped as he finished with nine points
and six rebounds.
The Warhawks (3-11, 2-6 SBC) shot 55.6 percent in the second half and
finished at 47.7 percent for the game. Both teams finished with 20 turnovers, but South Alabama outscored ULM by 10 off turnovers.
ULM used a 13-0 run to battle back from an early double-digit deficit in
the first half. Hansberry capped the run with a made jump shot to give the
Warhawks their first lead of the game at 22-20 with 5:13 remaining in the first
half.
The Warhawks appeared to be headed to halftime with a lead, but a 3-pointer
by South Alabama's Freddie Goldstein at the buzzer tied the game at 27-all at
the break.
ULM continues its two-game road trip on Saturday at Arkansas State.
Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.
