Ajayi scores 24, South Alabama rallies past Georgia Southern

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) Josh Ajayi scored 24 points, John Pettway added 15 and his driving layup with 3:23 to play put South Alabama in front for good in a 74-68 defeat of Georgia Southern on Saturday.

Ajayi was 8-for-10 shooting, made all eight free throws and grabbed eight rebounds for South Alabama (12-8, 5-4 Sun Belt). Herb McGee made 10 of 11 free throws and finished with 15 points. The Jaguars scored 25 points at the foul line in 28 attempts.

Calvin Wishart led Georgia Southern with 17 points, including five 3-pointers. The Eagles (12-8, 6-3) drained 13-of-36 from distance while South Alabama was 3-for-14. Isaiah Crawley added 13 points and 10 rebounds, his third double-double of the season. Ike Smith had 12 points and six rebounds.

After trailing by 10, South Alabama surged ahead 57-52 with a 9-0 run midway through the second half. Wishart drained a 3 as Georgia Southern wrested back the lead, which lasted until Pettway's drive at 3:23.

South Alabama plays Arkansas State on the road on Thursday. Georgia Southern plays Georgia State at home next Saturday.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com