Domonic Tilford scored a game-high 27 points and South Alabama led from start to finish in a 74-69 Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball win at Florida Atlantic.
Brandon Davis added 11 points for the Jaguars, the only other South Alabama player to reach double figures. C.J. Garner sealed the victory with a blocked shot and a layup in the final seconds.
Hot Start, Quiet Finish to First Half
South Alabama shot 54 percent from the field in the first half and made 4 of 7 attempts from 3-point range. Tilford scored 12 points before halftime.
The Jaguars built a 32-22 lead when Davis answered a Florida Atlantic 3-pointer with a dunk with less than five minutes left in the half. South Alabama did not score again before the break, and the Owls closed to 32-30 at halftime.
Owls Keep It Close
South Alabama opened the second half with a 3-pointer to push its lead back to five, but Florida Atlantic pulled within one point three times over the first seven minutes of the half. The Jaguars then went on a 7-2 run in just over a minute to take a 50-44 lead.
The Owls answered with a short run over two minutes and trailed 52-50 midway through the second half. South Alabama gradually stretched its advantage to 67-58 with 4:40 remaining.
Leading by eight with less than four minutes to play, the Jaguars gave up six straight points as Florida Atlantic cut the margin to 69-67 with about a minute and a half left.
Free Throws and a Late Block
Sherrer made two free throws for South Alabama. Florida Atlantic’s Monroe answered with two free throws of his own, and Garner made one of two from the line to put the Jaguars ahead 72-69.
With four seconds left, Garner blocked a 3-point attempt by Florida Atlantic’s Carderro Nwoji. Garner then scored on a layup at the other end to close out the game.
By the Numbers
- South Alabama shot 57 percent from the field to Florida Atlantic’s 46 percent.
- The Jaguars made 46 percent of their 3-point attempts; the Owls made 15 percent.
- Florida Atlantic outrebounded South Alabama 31-22 and made 19 of 22 free throws.
- The Owls held a 15-7 edge in second-chance points.
- South Alabama had a 12-11 advantage in points off turnovers and outscored Florida Atlantic 8-0 in fast-break points.
- The Jaguars’ bench outscored the Florida Atlantic reserves 22-5. Florida Atlantic got all five of its bench points from one player.
Middle Tennessee Next at the Mitchell Center
South Alabama returns home to host Middle Tennessee at the Mitchell Center on Saturday, with tipoff scheduled for 7:05 p.m. It will be the Jaguars’ first conference game at home since they played Western Kentucky on Dec. 18.
South Alabama and Middle Tennessee were picked to finish first and second in the Sun Belt’s East Division in the preseason, and they enter the game as the conference’s top two scoring teams.
Tilford leads the Sun Belt in scoring at 19.3 points per game and in 3-pointers made with 3.25 per game. Middle Tennessee’s Desmond Yates is second in the league in scoring at 19 points per game and leads the conference in field goal percentage at 62 percent.
The Jaguars are coached by Ronnie Arrow.
