TROY, Ala. — South Alabama shot 36 percent from the field and committed 17 turnovers in a loss to Troy in the regular-season finale, dropping the Jaguars to 17-12 overall and 10-8 in the Sun Belt Conference.
Troy improved to 19-11 and 14-4 in league play. South Alabama will learn its first-round opponent in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament when pairings are announced Sunday.
Troy Holds Off Repeated Rallies
The Trojans opened with an 11-3 run over the first six and a half minutes. A 3-pointer by Domonic Tilford sparked a South Alabama rally, and the Jaguars tied the game at 16 midway through the first half.
Troy pulled ahead by seven with 5:31 left in the half. South Alabama closed to 29-26 with 2:52 remaining, but the Trojans led 36-29 at halftime.
Tilford opened the second half with a 3-pointer, but Troy’s lead reached eight four minutes in. Another Tilford 3 made it 45-41 with 13:55 remaining before the Trojans answered with a 6-0 run for their largest lead, 51-41.
After the teams traded baskets, South Alabama went on a 7-0 run over three minutes to pull within 53-50. Troy responded with a 6-1 burst to lead 59-51. The Jaguars made one more push, outscoring the Trojans 7-2 to get within three with 25 seconds left.
LaShun Watson fouled with 19 seconds remaining, and Troy made both free throws for a 63-58 lead. Tilford missed a 3-point attempt with 14 seconds left, and Ronald Douglas fouled after Troy secured the rebound.
Individual Statistics
Tilford led South Alabama with 17 points on 5-of-17 shooting, all from 3-point range in 12 attempts, and made both of his free throws. Bryan Sherrer added 12 points, going 4 of 7 from the field and 4 of 4 at the line.
Troy had four players in double figures: Michael Vogler with 13 points, Brandon Hazzard with 12, and Antywan Jones and Mario Telfair with 10 each.
Team Numbers
Troy shot 45 percent to South Alabama’s 36 percent and held advantages of 36-20 in points in the paint, 17-6 in points off turnovers and 10-4 in fast-break points. South Alabama outrebounded the Trojans 45-34.
The Jaguars held Troy 15 points below its season scoring average and 31 points below its total in the teams’ earlier meeting at the Mitchell Center.
Arrow: Back to the Drawing Board
“Offensively we just didn’t make enough plays,” South Alabama coach Ronnie Arrow said. “We didn’t attack the zone good, we had some guys that didn’t play well tonight and now we’ve got to go back to the drawing board. We have to have all of our guys show up ready to play for the tournament.”
Milestones
Tilford’s 74 3-pointers this season rank seventh on South Alabama’s single-season list. DeAndre Coleman is one rebound shy of 500 for his career.
