The No. 6 South Alabama Jaguars defeated the No. 11 Troy Trojans on Saturday evening, 87-81, to kick off the 2012 Sun Belt Tournament. The Jaguars will now play the No. 3 Denver Pioneers on Sunday afternoon.

The Jaguars held a 10-point lead at the end of the first half, 44-34, but lost the second half, 47-43. South Alabama, though, received big performances from both its starters and its bench. Augustine Rubit powered the starters with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Freddie Goldstein had a game-high 25 points off the bench while Antione Lundy scored 12 points and pulled down 11 boards. Dallas Jones needed just seven minutes to score 11 points.

Will Weathers led Troy with 17 points, but Alan Jones (13 points off the bench) and R.J. Scott (12 points) were the only other Trojans able to join him in double digits.

Denver and South Alabama will play the final game on Sunday at 7:45 p.m. MT.

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