BOCA RATON, Fla. — Tim Williams hit two 3-pointers in the final 24 seconds of regulation, and South Alabama came back from a 15-point second-half deficit to beat Florida Atlantic 96-93 in overtime.
The victory was the 171st for Jaguars head coach Ronnie Arrow in his 11 seasons at South Alabama, tying Cliff Ellis for the most in school history. South Alabama improved to 11-4 overall and 3-0 in the Sun Belt Conference, while Florida Atlantic fell to 5-9 and 1-2.
Owls Build Big Lead
Florida Atlantic stretched its lead to a game-high 15 points early in the second half and still led by double digits at about the eight-minute mark.
South Alabama trailed 81-76 with about 50 seconds remaining. Bryan Sherrer made two free throws with 43 seconds left to make it 81-78, but the Owls hit two free throws after a Gary Redus foul to go back up 83-78 with 34 seconds to play.
Williams scored on a layup with 32 seconds left to make it 83-80. LaShun Watson fouled on the inbounds play with 27 seconds remaining, and Florida Atlantic again made both free throws for an 85-80 lead.
Williams Forces Overtime
Following an Owls timeout, Williams hit a 3-pointer with 24 seconds left to cut the deficit to 85-83. Redus fouled Raymond Taylor with 19 seconds remaining, and Taylor made the first of two free throws for an 86-83 lead.
Watson rebounded the missed second free throw, and Williams hit another 3-pointer at the other end to tie the game 86-86 with 17 seconds left.
South Alabama forced a turnover with three seconds remaining, but Allyn Cooks missed a 3-point attempt, sending the game to overtime.
First Lead Comes in Overtime
The Jaguars scored the first basket of the extra period to take their first lead of the game. South Alabama led by five with 27 seconds remaining, and Florida Atlantic scored only once more.
Three Jaguars Score 20 or More
Williams led all scorers with 23 points, shooting 9-of-16 from the field and 2-of-4 from 3-point range. Sherrer scored 21 points and Cooks added 20. Redus finished with 11 points and Watson had 10.
Arrow: ‘It Takes Two to Tango’
Arrow said his team was not ready at the start.
“We didn’t show up ready to play, number one, for whatever reason,” Arrow said. “Give FAU credit, they have a bunch of young guys that were hungry to play and came out and hit shots. I thought it showed a lot on our part to come back and win like that.”
Arrow said the late 3-pointers came on a called play. “We called ‘knockoff throwback’ and he nailed the shot,” Arrow said. “It takes two to tango; Allyn did a great job of penetrating and pitching back to Tim. That’s what it’s all about – Allyn doing his job and Tim doing his job.”
Up Next
South Alabama returns to the Mitchell Center to host Western Kentucky on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 5:05 p.m., and the game will be televised on Fox College Sports.
