MOBILE, Ala. | South Alabama men's basketball (8-13, 2-7 SBC) dropped another close matchup, this time to Old Dominion (12-9, 4-5 SBC), 66-64 at the Mitchell Center Thursday night.
 
Isaiah Moore led the Jaguars with 19 points in addition to three assists and two steals. Chaunce Jenkins paced the Monarchs with 16 points, and Mekhi Long added 11 points and 13 rebounds.
 
The teams exchanged the lead three times in the final minute, and Long made 1-of-2 free throws with five seconds left, opening the door for South. Greg Parham II grabbed the rebound of the miss, and his half-court heave as time expired bounced off the backboard, then the front of the rim before falling to the court.
 
GAME FACTS (HOW IT HAPPENED)

• The Jags held an 11-7 lead at the 15-minute mark.
• The two teams played it close the next 10 minutes, with South holding a slim 23-21 lead with six minutes to go in the first half.
• The Monarchs took the lead off a 9-to-0 run from 7:41 to 3:42, led by Baker's five points to lead 28-23.
• A turn-around baseline jumper from Mekhi Long as time expired gave the Monarchs a 34-29 lead at the half.
• At the 15:30 mark in the second half, the Monarchs maintained a nine-point lead, 43-34, behind Jenkins' six second-half points.
• The Jags clawed back over the next four minutes, trailing by only two at the 11:35 mark, 45-43.
• The Monarchs extended their lead back to six at the under-8 media timeout, holding a 52-46 advantage.
• Parham made a three-pointer from the top of the key to cut the lead to one, 55-54, forcing an ODU timeout with 5:07 to go.
• ODU still held a one-point lead with 2:00 to go, 61-60.
• Jones's two free throws with 1:35 to go gave the Jags their first lead of the second half.
• ODU's Long made two free throws with 47 seconds to give them a 63-62 lead.
• After a Moore layup to give South the lead again, the Monarchs made two more free throws with 25 seconds to go to take the lead back once again.
• Williams blocked Moore's layup attempt with five seconds to go, and Long made 1-of-2 free throws.
• Parham's half-court attempt as time expired bounced off the rim, and the Monarchs escaped with a 66-64 victory.

 
NOTES

• The Jags have lost four straight games by four points or less.
• Moore led the Jaguars in scoring for the 13^th game this season.
• Parham had his ninth game scoring double figures.
• The Jags outscored the Monarchs, 28-24, in points off the bench.
• The 28 bench points is the second-highest output by the Jags this season (39 vs. Mobile).
• Tyrell Jones recorded a career-high five steals.

 
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Richie Riley:
"To be honest, it's game to game with this team. We have not been really consistent, outside of Isaiah Moore. It's been a different guy that shows up each game. We're trying our best to find consistency, and we just haven't found it yet. It's frustrating. I apologize. This is certainly not what I'm here to do…I've got to find a way to help us do something more to help us win these games."

UP NEXT
The Jaguars next hit the court Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Mitchell Center when they take on in-state rival Troy.
 
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