MONROE, La. – South Alabama built as much as an 18-point lead as the Jaguars never trailed in a 72-64 win over ULM Saturday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
 
Isaiah Moore led USA (11-13 overall, 5-7 Sun Belt Conference) with a season-high 31 points (13-of-19 field-goal attempts) while adding six rebounds and four assists. Tyrell Jones added 13 points and Judah Brown had 11 for the Jags, all in the first half. ULM (11-14, 7-5) was led by Jamari Blackmon's 23 points (8-16 field-goal attempts, 3-of-5 3-point field-goal attempts), while Tyreke Locure added 15 points against his former team. Locure played for USA from 2019-21.
 
"We struggled to score inside the 3-point line, and it put a lot of pressure on our defense," ULM head coach Keith Richard said. "Moore is a really good player. He's almost a post player, the way he backs you down in there. He's strong.
 
"On the offensive end, they don't give you a lot of 3-pointers. We shot 13. They do that to everybody. They stay out defensively because they've got (Kevin Samuel) inside and they can stay out some. It was tough. We had some guys that usually make some of the shots that they took, but it just wasn't enough inside the 3-point line to give us a chance to get this game close."
 
The Jaguars scored the first five points of the game, and ULM was never closer than three points the rest of the day. USA claimed a 14-4 lead on a jumper by Jones with 13:55 left in the first half. ULM used a 9-0 run to cut the gap to three, 20-17, on a finger roll at the rim by Savion Gallion with 5:34 to go in the half. The Jaguars responded with a bucket by Moore and a 3-pointer by Brown to stretch the lead back to eight. A layup by Moore took the lead back above double digits late in the half, 34-23, but two free throws by Blackmon brought ULM back within nine at halftime, 34-25.
 
South Alabama scored the first nine points of the second half, with a 3-pointer by Owen White giving the Jaguars their largest lead of the game at 18, 43-25, with 16:26 left. ULM slowly chipped away at the lead, using a 7-0 run to get within eight, 49-41, on a fall-away jumper by Locure from just inside the free-throw line with 7:41 to go. However, USA answered on the next possession with a traditional 3-point play by Moore to push the lead back to 11, 52-41.
 
ULM made another push, getting within nine, 54-45, on Locure's layup. However, Moore picked up another 3-point play to take the lead back to 12, 57-45, at the 5:28 mark of the second half.
 
Blackmon caught fire late for ULM, as a 3-pointer brought ULM within eight again, 63-55, with 1:51 left. USA knocked down its free throws in the final two minutes, with a layup by Blackmon getting ULM as close as six, 68-62, with 50 seconds left. USA held off the late rally to pick up the 72-64 win.
 
USA shot 46% (26-of-56) from the floor, 22% (4-of-18) from 3-point range and 76% (16-of-21) from the free-throw line. ULM was 39% (22-of-56) from the field, 31% (4-of-13) from the 3-point line and 84% (16-of-19) at the free-throw line. The Jaguars outrebounded ULM, 37-30.
 
"It was tough," Richard said. "We just got to tip our hat to them, wipe it off, and come back Monday, ready to go."
 
ULM concludes a three-game homestand at 6:30 p.m. Thursday against App State at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.