FRESNO, Calif. ? The South Alabama Jaguars dropped a 73-63 decision to host Fresno State on Saturday night in the second game for both teams in the Fresno State Classic.  USA was led by a career-high 14 points and seven rebounds by sophomore Trajinski Grigsby.

The game was a nip-and-tuck affair for the first 20 minutes of play as neither team established more than a four-point advantage for the entire half.  The half saw six ties and Jaguar junior Daon Merritt hit a trey at the buzzer to cut the Bulldogs lead to one point going into halftime.

The Jags were led by nine points from Merritt in the opening half as he was 4-of-7 from the field and 1-of-1 from beyond the arc.  The Jags were 12-of-38 from the field and were just 3-of-14 from beyond the arc in the half.  FSU countered with eight points from Hecton Hernandez to lead the way and were 11-of-27 from the field as a team.  

Last night Fresno State shot 67 percent for the game against Winston-Salem State and were equally effective from beyond the arc.  Tonight was a different story as the Bulldogs were 0-for-10 from beyond the arc for the first half.

Fresno State opened the second half with a 10-4 run through the first four minutes.  The Bulldogs opened an eight-point cushion with 14:32 to play highlighted by a dunk from Shawn Taylor.

Fresno increased the lead to as many as 14points with eight minutes to play, but a 7-0 run by the Jags got USA back into the game with 5:44 to play.  Another key dunk by Taylor pushed the lead to nine with 4:39 left.  Sophomore Trajinski Grigsby cut the deficit to eight with 1:58 left, but the Jags could get no closer.  Grigsby hit a couple of treys down the stretch to cut the deficit to 10 at 73-63.

USA will now play Winston-Salem State (0-2) at 5 p.m. Central time Sunday to conclude the tournament.