STATESBORO, Ga. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team fell to Georgia Southern, 62-49, Saturday afternoon in the Hanner Fieldhouse splitting the pair of games in the first weekend of conference play.

Michael Flowers led all scorers with 16 points and five rebounds with an assist. John Pettway was the only other Jaguar in double-digit scoring with 14 points, four rebounds and a steal. Jamal West pulled down 12 rebounds on the afternoon.

Three Eagles made it to double figures as McCadden and Bryant chipped in 12 points with Boone dropping 11. McCadden also pulled down 10 rebounds for a double-double on the day.

GAME FACTS
- After a slow start, South trailed 15-10 at the 11:07 mark of the first half. Pettway had four of the 10 Jaguar points on 2-of-2 shooting. South was shooting under 30 percent outside of Pettway's pair of field goals.
- USA tied the game at 24 after Flowers connected on his second three of the game, but a Georgia Southern 7-2 run to end the half had the Jaguars trailing 31-26 after the first 20 minutes. Second chance points afflicted South as the home team had a 15-2 advantage at the break due in part to nine offensive rebounds.
- A 9-0 run put USA into its first lead of the contest, 39-38, after Goncalves hit his second three at 14:42 in the second half. The previous six points of the run were from back-to-back threes from Flowers.
- GS would take advantage of poor shooting from South to get back in front 46-39 with 7:47 left in the game.
- The Eagles held South at bay to close out the game for a final score of 62-49.
- The Jags shot 18-of-53 from the field for 34 percent.
- GS outrebounded USA 40-33 and held a 19-5 advantage on second chance points.
- USA was turned over 18 times to Southern's 14 with GS creating 19 points on those turnovers to South's five.

NOTES
- With the split on the weekend, South has won the last two of four games in the Hanner Fieldhouse, and three of the last four in the series with Georgia Southern.
- Flowers lead all scorers for the sixth time in a Jaguars uniform and in both Sun Belt games with 44 points on the weekend.
- Pettway grinded out 14 points on six field goals with a pair of free throws. The redshirt senior has been in double figures in three of the last four contests.
- West set a new single-game team-high for the season with 12 rebounds. The last freshman to pull down 12 or more rebounds in a single game was Josh Ajayi who grabbed 13 rebounds at Georgia Southern on 1/9/17.

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richie Riley
- Opening Statement: "We couldn't do anything that leads to winning a game. There were loose balls we didn't get, balls that got ripped out of our hands and nothing tough. Nothing that we did last night came in here today. We missed a bunch of layups and open shots. We are fighting to get more production out of more guys because we have a limited number, but we need the guys we have to start producing a little more."
- On Foul trouble: "We basically play six players until [Zondrick] Garrett gets to where he is comfortable on the court. So if one of them gets in foul trouble, we essentially don't have somebody else to put in the game that is ready to help us win right now. We didn't play the game the right way. We just did not play well, and as good as we played last night, we played equally that bad today."
- On Coastal Carolina: "We need to get guys more comfortable with doing something that helps us win. Loose balls and rebounds go without saying, but we need guys to be more comfortable to catch the ball and shoot it in or catching the ball at the rim and laying it in. It's hard to find baskets in a game like today's because the shots weren't going in, and they did a good job of taking Flowers away. Our other guys need to make some plays, we're going to work on it and we have a week to get better."

Up next: South Alabama will travel to Conway, S.C., for a pair of games at Coastal Carolina on Jan 8 and 9. Friday's game will tip at 5 p.m., and Saturday's game is scheduled to start at 2 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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