ARLINGTON, Texas – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team shot 32.5 percent in the second half in an 86-75 loss at Texas-Arlington Saturday afternoon at College Park Center.

The Mavericks stay on top of the Sun Belt Conference standings at 12-3 and are 22-6 overall. The Jaguars go to 6-9 in the league and 13-15 overall.

"I was disappointed in the first half because I felt like we had a good game plan with how we wanted to guard certain actions and we just were really slow in reacting to what we wanted to do," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "They shot a pretty good percentage in the first half and got a lot of clean looks, which was disappointing.

"I did feel like we kept battling and we really competed better in the second half – we were a lot more active on the ball. We gave ourselves a chance to get back in the game, but never could close the gap to put pressure on them."

South Alabama converted 38.4 percent for the game but went 13 for 40 from the floor after halftime, including 3 for 19 (15.8%) from 3-point land. The Jags trailed by as much as 18 in the second half but could not get within single digits in the final 17:50.

"We were missing some shots that we normally make and we had some good looks," Graves said. "We were taking care of the basketball, which was really encouraging, but tonight we didn't get our shots to fall from the perimeter. We missed a lot of free throws that could have cut it to single digits.

The Mavericks were up eight at halftime and used a 7-0 run to take an 18-point lead midway through the second half. UTA started the half 4 for 4 from the field, en route to a 53.8 conversion percentage in the final 20 minutes.

USA put together a 12-4 run to get within 10 (72-62) with 6:59 left after a layup from freshman Trhae Mitchell (Austell, Ga.), but UT Arlington scored six unanswered to push its lead back up to 16 with 5:53 to play.

The Jags cut the deficit to 11 three times in the final 5:04, but got no closer, thanks in part to shooting 8 for 18 from the foul line after halftime, and 11 for 23 for the game.

"To their credit, we start in zone and Drew Charles got loose twice and made us pay," Graves stated. "It was just a lack of communication on where the shooter was on the baseline. From there, it was back and forth the rest of the night. When you dig yourself a hole against a really good team on their home floor, it certainly makes it a daunting task.

"If we made a few more of those free throws down the stretch, I think possibly we could have cut it to a six or seven-point game, and maybe you get a turnover and a kick-out '3' and cut it to one possession, but unfortunately we weren't able to convert on those free throws."

Senior Nick Stover (Los Angeles, Calif.) had 13 points off the bench. Junior Nick Davis (Mt. Vernon, Ala.) had 12 points on a pair of 3-pointers, and Mitchell and freshman Josh Ajayi (El Monte, Calif.) had 11 points each. Ajayi and Davis grabbed six rebounds apiece.

Four of UTA's five starters reached double-digit points. Erick Neal and Kevin Hervey totaled 16 points each. Hervey added 13 rebounds and a game-high six assists. Drew Charles tallied 13 points and Jorge Bilbao had 12.

The Jaguars travel to Texas State for a 7 p.m. tipoff on Monday.

NOTES: USA senior Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) went 2 for 15 from the field for just four points, ending his double-digit scoring streak at 12; he came into the game averaging 18.3 points in his career against UT Arlington… UTA is 4-0 at home against the Jags since joining the Sun Belt, and has scored 85 points or more in each of the last six meetings… Texas-Arlington won the battle of the boards 47-39; South Alabama has been outrebounded 12 times in 15 SBC games… USA tied its season low with five turnovers and was plus-11 in turnover margin… The plus-11 turnover margin is tied for the team's best since the 2008-09 season… The team set a new season high with 12 steals, including three from junior Shaq Calhoun (Rome, Ga.)… USA converted those turnovers into 20 points, compared to UTA's four… The Jags have shot less than 30 percent from 3-point land in three of their last four outings after hitting 26.7 percent tonight… Senior Don MuepoKelly's (Fontana, Calif.) streak with at least one block was snapped at 10, but he did have a steal, extending his run of games with at least one theft to eight… Mitchell is averaging 12.0 points and 2.0 blocks with a .900 shooting percentage in his last two games… Williams and junior Dederick Lee (Clarksville, Ark.) combined for seven assists and just one turnover… The Jags tied their season highs in field-goal attempts (73) and 3-point attempts (30)… South Alabama lost for just the third time in 12 games when posting a positive assist/turnover ratio (16 assists, five turnovers)... UTA's 46 points tie the most by an opponent in the first half this season.

The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy.  New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12 and ticket books can now be purchased from your school's ticket office.  For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship – Women's Championship – and be sure to follow the #FunBelt on social media - @SunBelt.

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

—USA—