TROY, Ala. — South Alabama at Troy turned into another close loss for the Jaguars, who let a nine-point halftime lead slip away and fell 73-66 in overtime for their fourth consecutive defeat. The loss left South Alabama at 12-11 overall and 4-7 in Sun Belt Conference play.
Tim Williams turned in the best scoring night of his career with 28 points and added 12 rebounds, matching his career high on the boards and recording his second double-double of the season. Gary Redus was the only other Jaguar in double figures with 10 points.
Strong First Half
South Alabama controlled the opening 20 minutes and went to the locker room ahead 30-21. Troy opened the game by making just one of its first nine shots from the field, and the Trojans also went through a scoreless stretch of 5 minutes, 30 seconds late in the half. Scoring was scarce on both ends down the stretch of the period, as the two teams combined for only 13 points over the final 9:13 before halftime.
Troy Rallies in the Second Half
Troy erased the nine-point deficit with a 13-4 run near the midpoint of the second half. From there, neither team led by more than three points the rest of regulation.
A three-point play by Troy with 1:51 remaining produced the final points of regulation. South Alabama had a chance to win it, but Williams missed a three-point attempt with 22 seconds left. At the other end, Troy’s Michael Vogler drove for a potential game-winning layup in the closing seconds, but South Alabama’s Javier Carter blocked the shot to send the game to overtime.
Overtime
The Jaguars scored the first basket of the extra period, but Troy answered with six straight points to go ahead 63-59. Martino Brock made two free throws to pull South Alabama within two, and the Trojans responded with consecutive field goals to stretch the margin to six.
South Alabama twice cut the deficit to three points, but Troy closed out the win by making all six of its free-throw attempts in the final stretch.
By the Numbers
South Alabama outrebounded Troy 43-35 but committed 17 turnovers to the Trojans’ 12.
- Tim Williams: 28 points (career high), 12 rebounds (ties career high)
- Gary Redus: 10 points
- Rebounds: South Alabama 43, Troy 35
- Turnovers: South Alabama 17, Troy 12
Arrow on the Finish
South Alabama coach Ronnie Arrow pointed to the late-game execution after the loss. “We just didn’t get it done at the end,” Arrow said. “We made some good decisions and did some good things but at the end we made some bad decisions. We hurried some shots and didn’t do the things we had to do.”
Up Next
The Jaguars return to action Thursday when they travel to New Orleans to face the Privateers in a 7 p.m. tipoff.
