NEW ORLEANS – Down as many as 17 in the second half, the University of South Alabama men's basketball team got as close as six in the final six minutes but couldn't complete the rally in a 79-67 loss to Texas State Friday in the Sun Belt Tournament quarterfinals at Lakefront Arena.

After the Bobcats (24-8) went up 52-35 with 12:55 left, the Jaguars (17-17) answered with 11 straight points – all from junior Herb McGee and senior Rodrick Sikes – only to see Texas State respond with a 7-0 run. USA then scored seven unanswered themselves to get it back down to six with 5:12 on the clock but Texas State scored the next five points from the free-throw line.

A layup from McGee made it a 67-60 contest at the 2:07 mark. The Bobcats came back with a layup – their only field goal in the final 8 ½ minutes – and two free throws to push their lead back to double-digits. The Jags got within eight twice in the final 1:07 but no closer.

McGee led the Jaguars with 25 points – one shy of his career high – and four assists. He shot 6 for 8 from the floor, 10 for 11 from the free-throw line and made all three 3-point attempts. Sikes added 15 points on four 3-pointers and became the 17th member of the school's 1,000-point club, finishing with 1,007.

GAME FACTS
- South Alabama led just once for a total of 26 seconds in the entire game after going up 8-6
- Texas State responded to that lead with six straight points, and after a McGee triple, went on a 14-1 run over a stretch of 7:18, holding the Jags without a field goal for over 8 ½ minutes for a 26-12 lead
- USA closed the first half on an 8-2 run to go into halftime down 34-28
- After a 3-pointer from junior Josh Ajayi, the Bobcats scored 14 of the next 16 points, capped off with five in a row from Nijal Pearson for their largest lead of the contest, 52-35 with 12:55 left
- The Jaguars didn't quit and came back with 11 unanswered points – eight from Sikes and a 3-point play from McGee – to trim the deficit to 52-46 midway through the period
- The two teams traded 7-0 runs for a 59-53 scoreline with 5:12 to play
- Texas State poured in its next seven points at the charity stripe as South Alabama missed a pair of shots and committed two turnovers
- USA scored five points in just eight seconds on a '3' from Sikes and a layup from McGee to get within 67-60, but a tip-in on TXST's next trip down the floor and two more free throws pushed the lead back up to double-digits; the closest the Jags would get the rest of the way was eight
- Graduate Kory Holden tallied 11 points on a pair of treys
- Tre Nottingham poured in a team-high 19 points and Alex Peacock added 17

NOTES
- South Alabama's 17 wins this season matched its most since 2008-09
- Junior Trhae Mitchell blocked four shots to give him 71 on the season, fifth most in school history and the second most by a junior; he has 138 in his career which is fourth in school history and one away from third
- Sikes' career scoring average of 15.3 ppg is second by a USA player since 2000, and he ranks fifth in career 3s (168) and 3-point attempts (469)
- Sikes has 80 triples this season, 10th most in school history; he is one of three players to have two seasons in the top 10 in that category
- Holden's 3-point percentage of .467 is fourth in school history
- Mitchell is the first player ever at South Alabama to start 34 games in a season
- USA's total of 285 3-pointers is a new school record and the 761 attempts is second

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richie Riley
Opening statement: "Hats off to Texas State. From start to finish, I thought they physically whipped us. Offensively they bothered us with their physicality and their ball-pressure; we didn't handle it very well. We made them miss some first shots, especially early and early in the second half, and they dominated the offensive glass. They finished with 15 offensive rebounds and outrebounded us by 14. We beat them a few weeks ago at our place and kind of messed up their regular-season championship, and they came in with a chip on their shoulder and handled their business. I think they have an excellent chance to win this thing."

On Herb McGee's performance: "I was proud of Herb. He was one of the guys we had out there that was really fighting. You could tell he wasn't ready for it to be over. I thought he was locked in all night and played his heart out. He's a competitive guy and it showed tonight. This was a tough-dude game. They're the most physical team in our league and he really gave everything he had to try and keep us around."

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