MIAMI — South Alabama made a season-high 13 3-pointers Saturday night and beat Florida International 79-68, a win that made Jaguars head coach Ronnie Arrow the Sun Belt Conference’s all-time leader in conference victories.
Arrow had been tied with Gene Bartow for the league record. South Alabama improved to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in Sun Belt play, completing a two-game road swing through Florida. FIU fell to 2-3 and 1-1.
Arrow Passes Bartow
“Coach Bartow was not only a great coach, but a great person, and to be even mentioned in the same breath with him is great,” Arrow said. “I’m really happy, but I’m happy to be 2-0 in the conference.”
Arrow said the team played well overall but still needs to cut down on late fouls. “I thought we had a very solid game and I thought the guys did, in certain situations, what we had to do to win,” he said. “We’re still fouling too much at the end when we shouldn’t be trying to block 3-point shots, and hopefully we’ll get better at that, but the bottom line is, we’re 2-0 in the conference and we’re 2-0 on the road in the conference. That’s what it’s all about, conference play getting you ready for the postseason.”
Hot Shooting
South Alabama shot a season-best 53.3 percent from the floor and 54.2 percent from 3-point range. Eight of the Jaguars’ 13 3-pointers came in the first half, including a stretch of six consecutive field goals from beyond the arc, three straight of them by Mychal Ammons.
That run turned a four-point deficit into a 10-point South Alabama lead with 7:16 left before halftime. The Jaguars pushed the margin to 20 points within the first 11 minutes of the second half.
Ammons Leads Scorers
Ammons finished with a game-high 21 points, five rebounds and two assists. Augustine Rubit scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds, one short of a double-double. Antoine Allen added 13 points, and Freddie Goldstein had 11 points and five rebounds.
Up Next: New Mexico State
South Alabama returns to the Mitchell Center to host New Mexico State, with tipoff set for 7:05 p.m.
