JONESBORO, Ark. — South Alabama basketball let a 24-point second-half lead slip away but regrouped in the final three minutes Thursday night, beating Arkansas State 81-76 to secure a place in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
The Jaguars entered the game controlling their own postseason path. The win improved South Alabama to 10-20 overall and 8-11 in Sun Belt play. Arkansas State fell to 11-17 and 6-13.
Lead Disappears, Then Returns
South Alabama built a commanding second-half advantage before Arkansas State answered. Over a span of 8:17, the Red Wolves outscored the Jaguars 29-7, closing with a 15-2 burst that tied the game 73-73 with under three minutes to play. Anthony Livingston scored six of the final 10 points in that run for Arkansas State.
Sophomore Ken Williams responded on the next possession with a 3-pointer from the corner to put South Alabama back in front. After an Arkansas State turnover, Williams scored on a layup for a 78-73 lead with 2:11 remaining.
Arkansas State hit a 3-pointer to pull within two with 1:13 left. Freshman Taishaun Johnson made a free throw with 38 seconds remaining for a 79-76 lead, and after the Red Wolves missed a 3-point attempt, Williams grabbed the rebound, was fouled and made both free throws to seal the win.
Four in Double Figures
- Senior Dionte Ferguson led South Alabama with 20 points.
- Williams scored 18 points, 12 of them after halftime.
- Johnson had 17 points, nine rebounds and a career-high seven assists.
- Freshman Abdul Lewis added 15 points.
Graves: ‘This Team Is Starting to Grow Up’
Second-year coach Matthew Graves said the finish reflected his team’s progress.
“I can’t begin to say enough about how proud I am of this team and what they’ve accomplished,” Graves said. “They hung tough and made some tough plays in those last couple of minutes to secure the victory.”
“This team is starting to grow up,” he said. “Certainly it’s been frustrating at times, but if you look at us a month or two months ago, we would not have won this game. There’s no question about that. We would have ended up getting beat by six or eight points down the stretch.”
Graves added that the win gave the team “one more home game for our two seniors.” “We need to be focused and ready to go on Saturday,” he said.
Senior Night Against Troy
South Alabama closes the regular season Saturday against Troy on Senior Night at the Mitchell Center in Mobile. Tipoff is set for 4:05 p.m.
South Alabama entered the game in Jonesboro at 9-20 overall and 7-11 in the Sun Belt, having lost three straight games to the top three teams in the conference. The Jaguars had a week to prepare after Arkansas State beat them in overtime at the Mitchell Center on Dec. 30.
Arkansas State had won two of its previous three games, both at home against conference co-leaders Louisiana-Monroe and Texas-Arlington, after a five-game losing streak. Livingston came into the game averaging a double-double, ranking sixth in the Sun Belt in scoring at 15.6 points per game and second in rebounding at 10 per game. He had 16 points and 13 rebounds against South Alabama in December.
Williams entered ranked seventh in the conference in scoring at 15.4 points per game and second in 3-pointers per game, with nine 20-point games this season. His 77 3-pointers moved him to eighth in school history and are the most by a South Alabama sophomore.
