South Alabama rallied from a six-point halftime deficit and held on to defeat Arkansas-Little Rock 74-71 in the Jaguars’ Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball opener, played before a national television audience on ESPN2.
Bryan Sherrer scored a career-high 21 points to lead all scorers, and South Alabama outrebounded the Trojans 47-29.
Second-Half Turnaround
South Alabama held a small early lead before Arkansas-Little Rock went on a 12-0 run to take control. The Trojans led by as many as 10 points in the first half before the Jaguars trimmed the margin to 34-28 at halftime.
The Jaguars opened the second half with an 11-3 run to regain the lead and did not trail again. Arkansas-Little Rock pulled within one point late, but the Trojans’ leading scorer in the game missed the first of two free throws with 13 seconds remaining, ending their chance to tie.
Gary Redus was fouled on South Alabama’s next possession and made both free throws for a 74-71 lead with seconds left. The Trojans’ final 3-point attempt missed.
Leading Scorers
Redus added 16 points for South Alabama, and Martino Brock scored 11, giving the Jaguars three players in double figures. South Alabama held Arkansas-Little Rock to under 40 percent shooting.
Coors Classic Next
South Alabama plays UAB on Saturday in the Coors Classic at the Mitchell Center in Mobile. The Jaguars and Blazers tip off at 5:30 p.m., and Alabama faces Kansas State 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
Television Schedule Additions
South Alabama announced Thursday that two more of its games will be televised and that one tipoff time has changed.
- The Dec. 22 game at Florida in Gainesville will be televised by CSS and streamed online at ESPN360.com.
- The Jan. 7 home game against Western Kentucky in Mobile will air on Fox College Sports and the Hilltopper Satellite Sports Network. Tipoff for that game has been moved up to 5:05 p.m.
