MOBILE, Ala. — LaShun Watson hit a 3-pointer as time expired Thursday night to give South Alabama a 66-65 win over Florida International at the Mitchell Center.
Watson’s shot was his only 3-point attempt of the game. He led the Jaguars with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and made both of his free throws.
The Final Play
FIU’s Alex Galindo hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining to give the Golden Panthers a 65-63 lead, and South Alabama called timeout with 7 seconds left.
“It was a flare play for (Dominic) Tilford, and Bryan (Sherrer) had enough about him to see they jammed him, but he found LaShun (Watson) and he nailed the shot,” South Alabama head coach Ronnie Arrow said.
First Half
Ronald Douglas scored the game’s first basket on a layup, but FIU led for most of the next three minutes until a Brandon Davis jumper tied the score with 16:41 left in the half. The teams traded short runs over the next five minutes before South Alabama went on an 11-0 run over about four minutes to take a 25-17 lead.
The Jaguars held the lead the rest of the half. FIU hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left before halftime to cut the deficit to 35-32.
Second Half
South Alabama made 7 of its first 11 shots of the second half while holding FIU to 2-of-10 shooting, building a 10-point lead. The Jaguars led by 10 three times, the last at the 5:34 mark.
FIU answered with a 10-2 run that included three consecutive 3-pointers by Galindo, while South Alabama managed only two free throws. C.J. Garner made one of two free throws with 1:15 left for a 62-60 lead, and an FIU layup cut it to one with 1:07 remaining.
Watson missed a jumper with 43 seconds left that would have extended the lead to three. FIU rebounded and called timeout with 33 seconds left, setting up Galindo’s go-ahead 3-pointer.
Statistical Leaders
Brandon Davis had 14 points and 11 rebounds for South Alabama. It was the 10th double-double of his career, the most among active Jaguars, and moved him into ninth place on the school’s career rebounding list. Douglas added 10 points.
Galindo led all scorers with 26 points, going 8 of 15 from the field, 8 of 11 from 3-point range and 2 of 2 at the free-throw line. Russell Hicks had 15 points and 10 rebounds for FIU, and Tremayne Russell scored 12. FIU made 10 of 19 3-point attempts.
Up Next
South Alabama improved to 14-11 overall and 7-7 in the Sun Belt Conference. FIU fell to 10-17 and 5-9.
The Jaguars host Florida Atlantic at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at the Mitchell Center.
