GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Freshman DeAndré Hersey’s tip-in with 1.8 seconds left gave the University of South Alabama men’s basketball team a 67-66 victory over No. 18/18 Florida Tuesday night at the O’Connell Center.

South Alabama moves to 9-4 overall while Florida loses its third straight to drop to 8-3.

“That was a great game,” said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow. “The people here got to see two really good teams go at it. I told our guys to play for 40 minutes which would allow us to get a really nice Christmas present. I thought that both teams played hard. We had different people make big plays and that’s what a good team does.”

The win is the Jaguars’ first over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 25 Houston 66-62 on Dec. 17, 2005 in Mobile. USA also earns two wins over SEC schools in the same season for the first time since 1983-84. One of the teams that year was Florida.

Hersey’s (Carrollton, Ala.) final basket set a new career-high in points with seven. He also tallied a new personal best with five rebounds and shot 3-for-4 from the floor.

Out of a timeout with 12.7 seconds on the clock, junior Tim Williams (Pontiac, Mich.) drove the lane and missed, allowing Hersey to come in through the lane for a two-handed putback.

“We drew it up for Tim and told everybody to go to the boards,” said Arrow on the Jaguars’ last play. “Hersey listened and what a great tip-in.”

Williams led all players with 21 points and shared game-high honors with seven rebounds.

“Tim went out tonight and played like the player we brought him in to be,” said Arrow. “He played with energy. His ankle is sore but he went out there and forgot about it. Good players show up when it counts.”

USA took a seven-point lead (61-54), its largest of the night, with 7:42 remaining but Florida answered with a 7-0 run. Alex Tyus started it with a dunk and tied the score at 61-61 with two free throws.

A pair of free throws from Chandler Parsons at the 2:04 mark put the Gators ahead for the first time since 12:13 of the second half and UF maintained the lead until Hersey’s basket in the final seconds.

The Jaguars won despite shooting 28.1% in the second half. But the Gators fared worse from the floor after the break, converting just 23.1% and went without a bucket for the final 6:07.

Florida came into the game as the SEC’s leading 3-point defensive team, allowing opponents to hit only 23.3%, but South Alabama went 7-for-11 from distance, including 5-for-7 in the first half.

By comparison, UF made just three of its 22 3-point attempts.

Tyus led a trio of Florida players in double-digits with 16. Kenny Boynton added 14 and Vernon Macklin recorded 13. Tyus and Macklin grabbed seven rebounds each.

South Alabama breaks for the Christmas holidays before returning to action Dec. 31 at Florida International. Start time is noon Eastern.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

NOTES: South Alabama has yet to lose back-to-back games this season… The Jags have alternated wins and losses in their last five outings… USA won for the first time when shooting below 50% in the second half (1-4) and when scoring below 70 points (1-4)… The two teams combined for 86 points in the first half but only 47 in the second.

—USA—