BOCA RATON, Fla. ? Cold first half shooting doomed the Jaguars in a 79-69 loss at Florida Atlantic on Wednesday night.  USA, who dropped its second straight game, fell to 20-9 overall and 13-4 in conference play, while FAU improved to 15-13 and 10-7 in league play. 

The first half began as a back-and-forth affair and the Jaguars held an 18-17 lead at the 7:43 mark.  FAU went on an 11-3 run to build a 28-21 lead with 2:42 left in the half.  FAU’s DeAndre Rice hit his second 3-pointer at 1:41 to build a 31-22 lead.  FAU held a 35-22 lead at halftime.

FAU went on an 18-4 run to end the half from the 7:43 mark.

For the half, USA was led by six points from junior Daon Merritt.  The Jags, who started hot to begin the game making 5 of their first 10, finished the half making 2 of 20 and were 7 of 30 for the half.  USA was 3 of 16 from beyond the arc and 5 of 6 from the line.

FAU shot an even 50 percent from the floor for the half on 15 of 30.  The Owls also were 3 of 6 from beyond the arc and 2 of 6 from the line.  Carlos Monroe led the way with 12 points in the opening half and Rice added 11. 

The Owls won the battle of the boards in the first half, 27-15. 

South Alabama opened the half with more energy and cut the deficit to 42-32 with 15:34 to play.  Junior Demetric Bennett hit his first two field goals of the game and freshman Charles Tabet added two field goals.  USA opened the half making 5 of its first 7 shots.

A hoop and harm by Tabet cut the deficit under 10 for the first time since the first half at the 13:34 mark at 46-37. 

USA got the closest it had been at 60-52 with 5:24 left.  However, FAU’s Derrrick Simmons scored four points on a foul and a put back to put the Owls up 66-52 with 3:56 left. 

A 3-pointer by Merritt cut the deficit to seven points with 1:26 left.  USA extended the game with fouls, but FAU made its free throws down the stretch.  A 3-pointer by Merritt cut the deficit to six, but that was as close as USA would get. 

USA was led by 18 points from Merritt and Little had 10 points and nine rebounds.  The Jags did shoot better in the second half, making 18 of 37 for 48.6 percent from the floor.  USA was 7 of 29 from beyond the arc and 12 of 18 from the line.

The Owls shot 51 percent for the game on 25 of 49.  FAU was just 4 of 8 from beyond the arc and made up the difference at the free throw line going 25 of 32 and 23 of 26 in the second half.  Rice led the team with 23 points, while Monroe had 21 points and 15 rebounds.

The Jaguars will return home for Senior Night on Saturday against Troy.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.