Nov. 29, 2008

Final Stats

MOBILE, Ala. - South Alabama defeated UC Davis, 72-60, Saturday night in the championship game of the USA Classic in Mobile, Ala. Joe Harden led the Aggies with 13 points, but the Jaguars used a 12-0 second half run to pull away from UC Davis. Harden was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 16.5 points in the Aggies' two games.

Kyle Brucculeri added 11 points for UC Davis, and Vince Oliver scored 10. The tournament's most valuable player, DeAndre Coleman, finished with a game-high 19 points and 11 rebounds.

UC Davis (2-5) trailed the defending Sun Belt Conference champions by just three points at the half, but South Alabama (4-3) went on a 12-0 run four minutes into the second half and extended its lead to 53-38 with 12:33 remaining. UC Davis countered with a 9-1 run to close the gap to 54-47 but could get no closer.

"South Alabama is as good of a team as we've played all year," said UC Davis head coach Gary Stewart. "I thought we competed well. There were just some fifty-fifty balls that didn't go our way, and that's critical in a game like this. The effort and intensity were there."

Oliver and Harden combined to score the Aggies' first nine points as UC Davis led 9-4 after a Harden trey with 15:28 left in the half. The Aggies led 14-11 before the Jaguars went on a 6-0 run to take a 17-14 lead at the 10:33 mark.

A three-pointer by Todd Lowenthal tied the game, and South Alabama countered with a 5-0 burst to make it 22-17. Lowenthal, who finished with eight points, stopped the run with another trey before the Jaguars opened up their largest lead of the first half at 26-20 with 7:28 left.

The seesaw half continued as UC Davis went on an 8-2 run, which started with a three-pointer by Adam Malik. After both teams traded buckets, Harden finished the run with a trey and tied the game at 28-28. South Alabama would run off six straight points to retake a six-point lead, but Brucculeri made his second three-pointer with 2:20 left in the half to make it 34-31. A pair of Oliver free throws completed a 5-0 run before the Jaguars closed the half with a 36-33 lead.

South Alabama shot 51 percent from the field and went 18-for-20 from the line. The Aggies were held to 41 percent from the field but shot 9-for-20 from beyond the arc. The Jaguars held a 37-21 edge on the boards.

UC Davis is next in action Dec. 3 when it takes on Sacramento State in Sacramento.