MOBILE, Ala.-- The South Alabama men's basketball team fell to Nicholls 102-97 in a triple overtime slugfest Thursday night at the Mitchell Center. With the loss, the Jaguars fell to 1-3 on the season, while Nicholls improved to 2-2 on the year. 

South Alabama had several players secure double-digits in the losing effort. Marcus Millender recorded a double-double, scoring 23 points and dishing out ten assists. Millender finished a rebound shy of a triple-double, grabbing nine. Tyrell Jones and Isiah Gaiter combined for 35 points and had key moments throughout the night. Jones scored a season-high 18 points with six rebounds, while Gaiter finished with 17 points and seven rebounds.  

Maxwell Land and Marshall Kearing had efficient nights. Land scored 13 points on 5-11 shooting, and Kearing set a new season high with 11 points and a new career high of four blocks. 

Game Facts (How it Happened) 

• South Alabama started the game on a high note, jumping out on a 5-0 run after Judah Brown drained a three-pointer and Millender found some space for a smooth jumper. 

• The Jaguars continued to cook as Jones, Kearing, Margrave, and Millender all connected from three-point range to help extend South's lead to 24-13 at the 9:55 mark in the first half. 

• Nicholls kept the Jaguars within reach after Jamal West Jr. and Jalen White splashed jumpers to cut into the deficit and make the score 28-22 with 4:54 left in the half. 

• Coming out of the media timeout, the Jaguars began to catch fire as Gaiter hit a jumper and a pair of free throws before Land knocked down a three to give South Alabama its largest lead, 39-22. 

• Right before halftime, Nicholls jolted to a 6-2 spurt to trim the deficit to 40-28 heading into the half.

• Following the halftime break, the Jags stayed composed and extended their lead back to 17 points off a Millender three-ball and two mid-range jumpers from Kearing and Land, giving USA a 48-31 lead early in the second half.  

• The Colonels started to find momentum from that point on as they'd explode out on a 15-4 burst to bring the deficit back to single digits, 52-45, with 10:05 left on the clock. 

• Nicholls began to pick up steam and exploded on a 12-3 run, bringing the game within one point, 60-59, with 2:24 to play. 

• Both teams would trade jumpers down the stretch as South Alabama took a 68-66 lead with 37 seconds left in regulation. After a missed Jaguar jumper, Nicholls regained possession, and Jamal West Jr would sink a floating layup at the buzzer to send the game into overtime 68-68. 

• In the first overtime, Nicholls grabbed its first lead of the contest and charged forward, taking a 79-76 lead with one minute remaining. 

• South would not give in as Millender would hit two free throws with 35 seconds left to bring the score to 79-78, in favor of the Colonels. 

• After Nicholls missed a three-pointer on the following possession, Tyrell Jones came barreling down the court and drew contact near the rim, securing two free throws with 1.7 seconds on the clock. 

• Jones drilled both free throws to take an 80-79 lead. However, with little time to spare, Nicholls launched a prayer down the court, which found Jamal West Jr, who drew a foul of his own and received two free throw attempts.

• West sank one of the two free throws, sending the game into double overtime 80-80.

• In double overtime, both offenses started to sputter, and the Jags had another chance to clinch the victory, holding an 87-84 lead, following a Maxwell Land three-point play with under a minute left in the period. 

• Off the inbound, the Colonels would hit a game-tying three-pointer to make the score 87-87 and push the game into triple overtime. 

• In triple overtime, South Alabama held the game close, but it wasn't enough as Nicholls took control and secured the 102-97 victory. 

Postgame Notes

• Millender is the first Jag to record ten assists since November  of 2018. 

• In his first appearance of the season, Julian Margrave had a new career high in scoring after logging eight points on 2-5 shooting from behind the arc. 

• Tonight marks the first time since March of 2021 the Jags lost a game after leading by 15 points or more. 

• South Alabama totaled a new season-high in free throw percentage. The Jaguars shot 81.0 percent from the charity stripe. 

• The Jags won the rebounding battle for the first time this season, snatching 49 rebounds compared to Colonels 36. 

• South got significant production from its bench players. The Jaguar bench outscored the Colonels reserves 41 to 12. 

• Isiah Gaiter scored double figures for the third time in four games. 

• Millender swiped two steals for the fourth time in as many games. 

Up Next 

The Jags will be back in action tomorrow for the second game of the Jaguar Classic against the University of Denver Pioneers at 3 p.m. CT. 

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