MONROE, La. — Louisiana-Monroe outscored South Alabama 36-21 in the second half and beat the Jaguars 71-54 on Thursday night, though Augustine Rubit moved into second place on South Alabama’s career scoring list.
South Alabama shot 26.9 percent from the field after halftime and finished with its lowest point total of the season. A 16-3 Warhawks run late in the game decided it.
Records
South Alabama fell to 9-19 overall and 3-12 in the Sun Belt Conference. Louisiana-Monroe improved to 9-14 overall and 6-9 in league play.
Rubit Reaches Second Place
Rubit was the only Jaguar in double figures with 14 points. That total gave him 1,868 career points, moving him into second place on South Alabama’s all-time scoring list and into ninth place in Sun Belt history.
Balanced Warhawks
All five Louisiana-Monroe starters scored in double figures. Jayon James had a game-high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Chinedu Amajoyi added 12 points and eight rebounds, Nick Coppola had 11 points and six assists, and Tylor Ongwae and Marvin Williams scored 10 points apiece.
Graves on the Second Half
Head coach Matthew Graves said his team knew the game was important to its hopes of reaching the conference tournament. He said the Jaguars recovered from a 10-point first-half deficit to tie the game, but three turnovers in the final four minutes of the half allowed Louisiana-Monroe to find a rhythm.
“At the start of the second half I was really disappointed in how we came out of the locker room,” Graves said. “They were the more physical, more aggressive team, and nine times out of 10 when that happens, you’re not going to come out on the side you want.”
Up Next
South Alabama plays its final road game of the regular season Sunday at Louisiana-Lafayette. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WNSP radio and will also be available on the Sun Belt Network.
