MOBILE, Ala. — Freshman Martino Brock posted team highs of 18 points and 12 rebounds, and South Alabama held Florida International without a field goal in overtime to earn a 69-65 Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball victory at the Mitchell Center.
The win lifted the Jaguars to 14-12 overall and 6-8 in the Sun Belt. FIU fell to 7-20 and 4-10 in league play.
Sherrer Exits With Knee Injury
South Alabama lost senior Bryan Sherrer early in the first half to a knee injury, and he did not return. Brock stepped forward in his absence to lead the Jaguars in scoring and on the boards.
FIU Rallies Late
South Alabama built a double-digit lead and held the advantage for nearly 17 minutes of the second half before FIU used a 9-3 run to go ahead for the first time in the game.
The teams exchanged free throws down the stretch, and Brock tied the game at 60 in the closing moments of regulation. FIU had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but Gary Redus blocked the Golden Panthers’ shot to force overtime.
Jaguars Close It Out in Overtime
FIU scored first in the extra period on two free throws. Redus answered with a layup to tie the game, and Brock then hit two free throws to give South Alabama the lead for good. With 40 seconds remaining, DeAndre Hersey grabbed the rebound of a missed Brock shot and dunked it to put the Jaguars ahead by four.
FIU went 0-for-8 from the field in overtime and shot 33.3 percent for the game. South Alabama shot 33.8 percent.
Arrow on the Finish
Head coach Ronnie Arrow said his team handled the closing minutes differently than it had in earlier close games.
“At the end of this game, we got some stops that we haven’t been getting in other games,” Arrow said. “We made our free throws, for the most part, and didn’t turn the ball over. That’s entirely different than what we’ve been doing in these other games where we’ve gone down to the wire. It was completely reversed tonight. We got some big buckets by different players and won the game.”
Arrow said Sherrer’s injury forced the Jaguars to adjust their offense.
“We tried to spread it and get it to the hole. When Bryan went out, we had people playing in positions they haven’t played before,” Arrow said. “We had to go to our spread offense and try to get to the hole and pitch to the open man. We’re probably going to have to do more of that now with Bryan being out. We have some key guys who are out, and it’s given other guys opportunities that they need to take advantage of.”
Up Next
South Alabama closes its homestand Saturday against Louisiana-Lafayette, with tipoff scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at the Mitchell Center.
