South Alabama basketball begins homestand by throttling Arkansas Stat…

South Alabama started its four-game homestand with one of its best defensive efforts in recent memory.

The Jaguars routed Arkansas State 63-45 at the Mitchell Center, holding the Red Wolves to just 16 made baskets and 27.6% shooting. The victory was the first of the season in Sun Belt Conference play for South Alabama, who snapped a two-game losing streak and turned the ball over only six times all night.

“Defensively, it was as good as we’ve played here,” South Alabama coach Richie Riley said. “They made 16 shots, and probably half of those were contested and tough. What that tells me about our group is they were not only listening to what we were telling them, but they made it their mission to come out and play with that competitive fight, with that energy and attention to detail.

“I’m really proud of our guys. They competed at a fierce level. But I told them after the game ‘one thing that this does is, it raises expectations. I need you to guard similarly every single…