MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — South Alabama basketball rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to beat Middle Tennessee 63-57, its third consecutive victory, behind a career-high 15 points from freshman C.J. Garner.
The Jaguars improved to 16-11 overall and 9-7 in the Sun Belt Conference. Middle Tennessee fell to 15-12 and 8-7.
Back-and-Forth First Half
Middle Tennessee opened with a 7-0 run in the first three minutes, and South Alabama answered with a 6-0 run over the next three. The teams traded baskets until Ronald Douglas gave the Jaguars their first lead with a dunk at the 9:01 mark of the first half.
South Alabama led by as many as three, at 16-13, before the Blue Raiders regained the lead and went to halftime ahead 26-23.
15-2 Run Turns the Game
Middle Tennessee began the second half with an 8-2 run over three minutes to lead 34-25 with 17:06 remaining. Early in the half, South Alabama’s LaShun Watson was struck in the mouth by an elbow; he received five stitches and did not return.
Trailing 41-33 with 11:25 left, the Jaguars went on a 15-2 run over about five and a half minutes to take a five-point lead. Kevin Kanaskie hit a 3-pointer to cut the margin to two, but Middle Tennessee got no closer.
Garner Closes It Out
Garner scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half and made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 38 seconds.
“C.J. is growing up; he’s not a freshman anymore,” head coach Ronnie Arrow said. “We call him an advanced freshman, with all the experience that he’s gotten. He ran his team tonight very well.”
Three other Jaguars scored 11 points. Domonic Tilford went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line and made South Alabama’s only 3-pointer. DeAndre Coleman added 10 rebounds and four blocked shots for his seventh double-double of the season and the ninth of his career. Douglas had five blocks but made 5 of 12 free throws.
Defense and the Free-Throw Line
South Alabama held Middle Tennessee to 36 percent shooting and 4-of-13 from 3-point range, and blocked nine shots. The Jaguars went 28-of-42 from the free-throw line, while the Blue Raiders were 5-of-12.
Middle Tennessee had two players score 15 points, including Desmond Yates, who fouled out with 6:21 remaining. A Blue Raider reserve also fouled out, and two other starters finished with four fouls. Kanaskie scored 11 points on three 3-pointers.
“That was a very, very physical game. Both teams came out and got after it,” Arrow said. “The difference in the game was we held them to 36 percent and we had nine blocked shots. When you have that many blocked shots from guys getting to the hole, that’s almost like a turnover.”
Standings and Next Game
The win moved South Alabama past Middle Tennessee into third place in the Sun Belt’s Eastern Division, three games behind Troy for second.
The Jaguars return home for their regular-season finale against Louisiana-Monroe at 7:05 p.m. at the Mitchell Center.
