MOBILE, Ala. — Arkansas State erased an 11-point second-half deficit and beat South Alabama 63-60 in overtime at the Mitchell Center in the Jaguars’ Sun Belt Conference opener.
The loss was the sixth straight for the Jaguars, who fell to 2-9 overall and 0-1 in league play. The Red Wolves won their fourth consecutive game.
Ferguson Sets Career High
Dionte Ferguson led South Alabama with a career-high 18 points and also blocked five shots. He grabbed 13 rebounds, tying for the game high, to post his second double-double of the season.
Red Wolves Rally
South Alabama built a lead of as many as 11 points in the second half before Arkansas State came back. Over a 10-minute stretch, the Red Wolves outscored the Jaguars 15-4, holding South Alabama to 1-of-10 shooting from the field and forcing eight turnovers while making 6 of 13 shots themselves. The run tied the game 45-45 with 6:13 to play.
The game went to overtime, and South Alabama trailed by three in the closing seconds of the extra period. The Jaguars missed two three-point attempts that would have tied the game and forced a second overtime.
Graves: ‘Both Teams Really Defended’
Second-year South Alabama head coach Matthew Graves praised both teams’ defensive effort.
“What a tremendous start to the Sun Belt season,” Graves said. “That was a great game. I thought Arkansas State played well. I thought we did some really good things. Both teams really defended their butts off. Anytime teams are held to under 40 percent on field goals, you give yourself a chance.”
Graves pointed to a pair of Arkansas State baskets down the stretch, saying PJ Hardwick banked in a shot and Cameron Golden hit an off-balance three-pointer as the shot clock expired.
“I am really proud of our effort tonight,” Graves said. “We stayed together and played hard. We played through some adversity, and when it came down to it we didn’t make enough shots from the perimeter. We had really good looks and sometimes you can’t control whether you make the shot. You can control whether it is a good shot. We took good shots, for the most part, we just didn’t make enough of them tonight.”
Brady: ‘We Stole the Win’
Arkansas State head coach John Brady credited his team’s resilience.
“We stole the win, but you have to give our team credit for having that toughness and the grit to keep fighting and keep coming back and making them miss and get some rebounds,” Brady said. “Then we made enough big plays to win it.”
Road Swing Ahead
South Alabama plays its next two Sun Belt games on the road. The Jaguars visit Texas-Arlington on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. and then play at Arkansas-Little Rock on Monday, Jan. 5, with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m.
Pregame Notes
South Alabama entered the 7:05 p.m. game at 2-8 and on a five-game losing streak following its nonconference schedule. South Alabama was averaging 62.8 points per game, while Arkansas State was averaging 68.2.
Arkansas State came in at 5-4 with a three-game winning streak that began with a Dec. 17 road win at Mississippi State in Starkville. The Red Wolves were the only Sun Belt team with three players among the league’s top nine scorers: Anthony Livingston ranked fourth at 16.4 points per game and second in rebounding at 8.4 per game, Cameron Golden was eighth at 15.3 points and Sean Gardner was ninth at 14.9. Livingston had 20 points and 20 rebounds against Marshall on Dec. 20, and Gardner had scored at least 20 points in each of his previous three games while ranking third in the league with 2.7 3-pointers per game.
For South Alabama, freshman Taishaun Johnson had averaged 17.5 points over his previous two games. Against Howard, he led the team in scoring with a career-high three 3-pointers, went 6-for-6 at the free-throw line and had a career-best four steals.
Only the top eight teams in the Sun Belt standings qualify for this season’s conference tournament in New Orleans.
