LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Mychal Ammons hit a key layup in the final minute and followed with a key blocked shot as South Alabama held off Arkansas-Little Rock 70-66 on Saturday.
Augustine Rubit and Antoine Allen each scored a game-high 17 points for the Jaguars, who improved to 12-9 overall and 9-4 in the Sun Belt Conference. UALR fell to 14-10 and 8-5, its first league loss at home this season.
Standings Picture
South Alabama remains second in the Sun Belt’s Eastern Division and now holds sole possession of second place in the overall conference standings, three games behind Middle Tennessee (20-4, 12-1).
UALR dropped into a tie with Arkansas State for first place in the Western Division. Both hold a four-game lead over third-place Louisiana-Lafayette (8-16, 4-9).
Defense Builds an Early Cushion
South Alabama led by as many as 15 points in the first half. During one stretch of about four and a half minutes, the Jaguars forced five straight missed shots and two turnovers during a 7-0 run that produced a 12-point lead.
UALR shot 34.4 percent from the field, the lowest by a South Alabama opponent this season. The Trojans shot 32.4 percent in the second half and made 4 of 17 3-point attempts after halftime.
Trojans Rally, Ammons Answers
South Alabama led by 13 with 6:38 remaining, but UALR cut the deficit to two points in less than five minutes.
Coming out of a Jaguars timeout, Ammons drove the right baseline for a layup that made it 66-62 with 48.3 seconds left.
“We were up two, called a play, got good execution and got a great basket from Mychal,” interim head coach Jeff Price said.
On UALR’s next possession, Ammons blocked a shot, which led to a layup by Allen with 33 seconds remaining. South Alabama missed three of its last four free throws to let the Trojans pull within one possession, but Ammons made his final free throw with 10.9 seconds left to set the final margin.
Statistical Leaders
Rubit recorded his 12th double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and he made 9 of 12 free throws. Allen went 3-of-7 from 3-point range and added three assists.
Ammons finished with 16 points, one shy of the game high, and made his only 3-point attempt.
Ben Dillard led UALR with 15 points, Josh Hagins scored 13, and Will Neighbour had a team-high 10 rebounds.
Price: Team Followed the Game Plan
“I’m just really proud of our team,” Price said. “We did a great job of following the game plan. … I thought we were extremely patient on the offensive end, which is what we talked about, we held them to 34 percent, we won the battle at the free throw line and they just did what we asked them to do.”
“Our team is always going to be better when we’re making perimeter shots,” Price said. “Antoine shot the ball well and it certainly helps, and I thought he was solid on the defensive end too.”
Price said the team focused on defense after Thursday’s game at Arkansas State. “We watched tape, we talked about it and I didn’t think we did a very good job at Arkansas State,” he said. “We did a really nice job of guarding the ball. They’re a very set-oriented team.”
“Home teams are going to make runs,” Price said. “These guys hadn’t lost a league game at home yet, so you know they’re going to make a run. … I thought our guys did a good job of sticking their chest out, being resilient and fighting off the run at the end of the game.”
Up Next
South Alabama returns to the Mitchell Center to open a three-game homestand against Troy.
