MOBILE, Ala. – After 15 lead changes, the University of South Alabama men's basketball team fell to Appalachian State, 83-77, Saturday evening in the Mitchell Center.

The Jags were led by Michael Flowers with 27 points, seven assists, three rebounds and a pair of steal. Kayo Goncalves added 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from behind the arc with Tyreke Locure posting 12 points, five rebounds and a team-high three steals. Jamal West collected 10 rebounds to go with five points, a couple of blocks and an assist.

Adrian Delph notched 28 points to lead all scorers and the Mountaineers. Justin Forrest, Michael Almonacy and Michael Eads were also in double figures for the visitors.

GAME FACTS
- The contest was back and forth early with five lead changes in the first five minutes. The teams were tied at nine at the first media break (15:16).
- Still close through 12 minutes of the first half, USA claimed a two-point lead, 22-20, at the under-eight media break. The contest had eight lead changes and three ties to that point. Flowers lead all scorers with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field.
- USA took a four-point lead into the locker room at halftime after connecting on 4-of-4 field goals to end the frame. The first half featured 12 lead changes and six tied scores. Each team lead for over eight minutes of the half.
- After a pair of lead changes early in the second half, South took advantage of a6-0 run during an App State scoring drought to go up 44-39 at the under-16 media break. Flowers hit three free throws with Goncalves draining a three on the next offensive possession for the six points.
- App State got within two of USA (61-59) with 6:30 left in the contest after a 7-0 run over 2:47.
- The Mountaineers outscored the Jaguars 28-16 in the final 9:18 to grab an 83-77 win.
- App State connect on 21-of-22 Free throw attempts to USA's 6-for-7.
- The Mountaineers registered 17 assists on 23 made field goals.
- The visitors committed only three turnovers in the second half with eight total in the contest.

NOTES
- With the loss, USA has split the weekend's games with App State as well as the last four contests in the overall series.
- This was the second Sun Belt Conference series split this season after taking one game at Georgia Southern. Both wins were in game one, played on Friday.
- This was the first loss in conference at home since a 73-71 loss to Little Rock on Jan. 25, 2020.
- The Jaguars recorded 13 blocks in the pair of games against the Mountaineers and had 37 in the previous 13 games.
- Flowers scored above 20 in back-to-back games for the fourth time this season.
- West recorded rebounds 23 rebounds on weekend and is averaging 8.33 rebounds per game in conference play with coming off the bench in five-of-six appearances.

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richie Riley
Opening Statement: "Our behavior is inconsistent with how we are playing right now. The things that made us good last night in that win, especially defensively, we didn't do them today. We did not see anything different, we were prepared for what we were going to see, we just didn't give the effort and have the focus. At this point, there are no excuses, we have to be more focused and play harder to compete at a level to win the game.
On fatigue and the short bench: "We're going as deep as we can in the bench. We have a couple more bodies, but they are not prepared for a game like that, not right now. We have guys playing high minutes but that's where we are. Any of the midseason guys we have added, they are not allowed to play right now. There's nothing we can do but dig deeper and work. We have more in the tank, and we have to find that extra reserve to play to the point of exhaustion for us to have a chance to win, especially on Saturdays. Saturdays are really tough for us to win, and we know that, our approach to do has to be that much better."
On Jamal West: "He is growing up and he has some things in his game we are working on to improve, but as far as rebounding the ball he has done that at an elite level. He competes every single day, in practice he works really hard and every possession he competes so that gets him out there for as many minutes as we can keep him out there because I know what I'm going to get with him: I know that he's going to play hard, I know that he cares about winning, I know that he's going to fight and scrap to do everything in his power to help us win. He has earned more minutes and the start today, and grabbed 10 rebounds for us today."

Up next: South Alabama will stay in Mobile to face Georgia Southern for the home series of games. Friday's contest will tipoff at 6 p.m. with the Saturday game scheduled to start at 4 p.m.

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

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