MOBILE, Ala. — Dre Conner’s steal in the closing seconds preserved South Alabama’s 60-58 men’s basketball victory over Florida International, completing a sweep of a three-game homestand at the Mitchell Center.
The win lifted South Alabama to 11-8 overall and 8-3 in the Sun Belt Conference and extended the Jaguars’ winning streak to three games.
Rubit Posts 11th Double-Double
Augustine Rubit recorded his 11th double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Conner tied his career high with four steals, including the game-sealing takeaway, and set a career best with six assists.
Antoine Allen scored 11 points, and Barrington Stevens III added 10, making all three of his 3-point attempts. Mychal Ammons had nine points and five rebounds.
Jerome Frink and Malik Smith scored 12 points apiece for FIU.
How It Happened
South Alabama led 31-22 at halftime and was ahead 37-30 with 15:12 remaining when FIU went on a 15-2 run over roughly three and a half minutes to take a 45-39 lead.
Allen answered with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit in half. With just under five minutes to play, Conner converted a three-point play to give the Jaguars a 52-51 lead, and Stevens hit a 3-pointer with 3:29 remaining to put South Alabama ahead for good.
Only one field goal was made by either team over the final 3:29, and neither side scored in the last minute and a half.
Price: ‘A Great Team Effort’
“That was fun,” interim head coach Jeff Price said. “It was probably a lot more fun to watch than to coach. I just can’t say enough about our guys on how resilient they are, and how they fight and continue to overcome things.”
Price said the Jaguars tired in the second half before rallying. “But we found a way to fight back. It was just a great team effort, I’m just really happy for our guys,” he said.
Price also pointed to Stevens’ shooting. “We’ve got to start relying more on Barrington to have a two-guard mentality because he’s a really good shooter,” Price said. “We have five guards and we can move Mychal out there if we have to. We feel like Mychal is more effective inside, though.”
FIU coach Richard Pitino credited the Jaguars. “South Alabama is a very good team with really good players,” Pitino said. “Jeff is a very good coach. They hit some good shots because they are good players. You have to give all the credit to them.”
Standings and Up Next
FIU fell to 11-9 overall and 6-5 in league play. South Alabama remains second in the Sun Belt’s East Division, two games behind Middle Tennessee and two games ahead of third-place FIU.
The Jaguars now begin a two-game road trip through Arkansas, starting Thursday at Arkansas State in Jonesboro with a 7:05 p.m. tipoff. Arkansas State won the teams’ first meeting 63-54 on Dec. 29 in Mobile.
