In a season of comebacks, the Jaguars made a practice of rallying from big deficits, some as large as 20 points, to win. But only one of those comebacks came on the road.

Head coach Ronnie Arrow’s team found itself in yet another hole, but once again overcame another huge deficit to defeat Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton, 96-93 in overtime.

Five different South Alabama players scored in double-digits and three had 20 points or more, led by Tim Williams who hit a 3-pointer in the final moments to send the game into an extra frame.

“That was a great win because we were on the road and it was a hostile environment,” said Williams. “They were a good, young team and they took us by surprise in the beginning. But they let us back in the game.”

When the 2010 calendar year started, South Alabama held a 10-4 overall record which included two wins over SEC schools (Arkansas and Florida) and a perfect 2-0 mark in Sun Belt play.

Next on the schedule was a young Florida Atlantic team that had lost four straight, albeit to such high-major institutions such as Georgia, Miami and Maryland.

The Owls were eager to end their losing streak and it showed early. They scored the first points of the contest and never trailed in the first half and posted several double-digit leads.

South Alabama, possibly showing the effects of the playing three straight on the road, shot just 38.1% from the floor in the opening 20 minutes and converted just one of its seven 3-point attempts (14.3%).

“I remember Coach Arrow getting on us pretty hard at halftime,” said Williams. “He said that they weren’t going to lay down for us.”

The turnaround did not begin immediately. USA missed its first two shots while FAU went 2-for-2. A dunk from Brett Royster at the 16:35 mark gave the Owls their largest lead of the contest, 50-35.

The deficit was cut to single-digits on several occasions but FAU still led by 13 with 9:01 left in regulation. A 12-2 run pulled the Jags to within three (73-70) but the margin proved to be a wall they could not break until Williams hit a trifecta with 24.6 seconds left to trail 85-83.

Williams completed the comeback with a 3-pointer from the left wing with 10.4 seconds left, tying the game for the first time since the 18:33 mark of the first half.

“We called ‘knockoff throwback’ and he nailed the shot,” Arrow said after the game. “It takes two to tango; Allyn did a great job of penetrating and pitching back to Tim. That’s what it’s all about – Allyn doing his job and Tim doing his job.”

“When we went into overtime we were thinking that they gave us the opportunity so now we have to take advantage of it,” said Williams.

Williams scored the team’s final eight points of regulation.

The teams traded the lead in the first minute and a half but South Alabama took control for good with 3:19 to go in the contest when Bryan Sherrer converted an old-fashioned 3-point play. Florida Atlantic would cut the margin to two but would get no closer.

Sherrer (21 points), Williams (23) and Allyn Cooks (20) all topped the 20-point plateau. Sherrer and Cooks either set or tied their personal high and added four assists each. Both Cooks and Williams had 16 points apiece after halftime.

“There are certain guys on your team every year that you depend on to show up and have good games,” said Arrow. “In our big wins last year, we had guys do that. They exceeded their expectations for us to win those games.”

The win gave USA a 3-0 start in Sun Belt play for the second time in three years. The victory also completed a three-game road trip. South Alabama had not won three consecutive regular-season games on the road since the 2000-01 season.

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