TUSCALOOSA, Ala.  – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team lost at No. 14 Alabama 73-68 on Tuesday night at Coleman Coliseum.
 
Charles Manning Jr. led all scorers with a career-high 23 points for the Jags (1-2). Kayo Goncalves added 12 points and Javon Franklin posted 11 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.
 
Jaden Shackelford and Keon Ellis led Alabama's scoring attack with 18 points each. Jahvon Quinerly put the Crimson Tide (3-0) out front late on a tightly contested layup as Alabama held on for the victory.
 
Date: 11/16
Place: Coleman Coliseum
Final Score: South Alabama 68, Alabama 73
Records: South Alabama (1-2), Alabama (3-0)
 
GAME FACTS
- Alabama opened the game on a 10-2 run over the first 4:29.
- South forced seven turnovers in the first six minutes and Manning Jr. hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 10-10 with 13:10 remaining.
- USA went on a 14-9 run, hitting six straight shots during the run, including back-to-back three-pointers from Goncalves to take a 24-19 lead.
- Manning Jr.'s layup with less than three seconds remaining in the first half gave the Jags a 34-31 lead heading to the break.
- The Crimson Tide started the second half with four-straight points to grab a 35-34 lead with 18:45 left on the clock.
- Goncalves and Diante Smith hit back-to-back treys to retake the lead, 43-40 at the 14:42 mark.
- After both teams traded buckets, Alabama's Keon Ellis drained a three-pointer to put the Tide back on top, 52-51 with 10:30 left.
- Alabama went on a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to extend the lead to eight.
- Manning Jr. scored seven of South's next 10 points, including a three-pointer to tie the game at 62-62 with 3:09 remaining.
- Quinerly put the Crimson Tide back out in front for good, 64-62 as UA finished the game on a 9-4 run to hold on for the victory.
 
NOTES
- South held Alabama to its lowest point total of the season with 73 points, including a season-low 31 points in the first half.
- Alabama came into the game averaging 11 turnovers per game. The Jags forced the Crimson Tide to turn it over 22 times, including 14 in the first half.
- The 22 turnovers forced were a season-high for South Alabama.
- USA held Alabama to season lows in points (73), field goal percentage (.443), three-point percentage (.259) and made three-pointers (7).
- Manning Jr.'s 23 points were the most scored by a Jag this season, while he also led the team with four assists. 
- Franklin posted his second straight game with a double-double.
- All four of Goncalves' field goals came from beyond the arc.
- Alex Anderson finished with nine points and five rebounds in a career-high 30 minutes.
 
THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richie Riley
On tonight's biggest takeaway:
"I'm incredibly proud of our guys. We are missing our two point guards who are really good players [Tyrell Jones and Greg Parham]. We're also missing Lance Thomas who is a good player. We played at Wichita State Saturday and then traveled here and basically played five to six guys. I'm just so proud of our kids. They fought like crazy. We don't focus on moral victories, but we do learn from every win and every loss. I think there is a lot you can take away from this when you play in this kind of atmosphere and play one of the best teams in America down to the wire. We had opportunities to win but we just couldn't finish the job."
 
On the spark Kayo Goncalves brought defensively:
"He's worked on playing defense and he's not going to go 4-for-14 a lot of nights. He's an elite shooter, but he played pretty much the entire game and he was tired because he was working so hard defensively. We got him some open shots that he normally makes, but his legs were tired. I'm incredibly proud of him."
 
On the energy Alex Anderson provides off the bench:
"He is not scared and he's a fearless dude. He's so confident in his game, he's a little bit dangerous sometimes because he isn't scared of any moment. He showed that tonight by playing 30 minutes against one of the best teams in the country and he produced and did some really good things. He's going to have a great career. I think the more he plays, he will continue to get better and better because he loves basketball."
 
UP NEXT
- South Alabama will return home to take on Mobile at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Mitchell Center.
 
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).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give
 
—USA—