MOBILE, Ala – Despite 48 combined points from Isiah Gaiter and Elijah Ormiston, the South Alabama men's basketball team could not find consistency on the offensive glass and fell to Louisiana 88-79 Saturday evening in the Mitchell Center. The loss drops the Jaguars to 10-9 on the year and 3-4 in the Sun Belt Conference, while Louisiana improved to 11-8 and 4-3 in conference play. 

Gaiter powered the Jags' offense, scoring 25 points, pulling down two rebounds, grabbing two steals, and shooting a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Ormiston set a new Jaguar career-high, finishing with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field, a team-leading six rebounds, two assists, and a steal. 

Samuel Tabe added 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists. 

Louisiana out-rebounded the Jags 39-22, including a 16-4 margin on the offensive glass, leading to 15 second-chance points. The Ragin' Cajuns had four players finish with double figures and shot 10-of-20 from three-point range to help secure the victory. 

Game Facts (How it Happened)

• South Alabama started this game on fire, jumping out on a 7-0 run off of an Ormiston triple, a layup through contact, and a Thomas Howell mid-range jumper at the 18:35 mark. 
• The Ragin Cajuns answered with an immediate 9-0 to take the lead back at 16:06 left in the half. 
• Both teams traded jabs back and forth and tied the game at 18-18 with 9:02 remaining in the first half. 
•  Gaiter would hit a three-pointer and two free throws from Tyrell Jones to give them a 25-21 advantage at the 7:26 mark. 
• Louisiana rifled back out onto a 9-0 run to earn a 30-25 lead with under three minutes left in the half. 
• The Cajuns would hold a 37-34 advantage into halftime. 
• Coming out of the halftime break, Louisiana extended its lead to 43-37 with 17:05 left on the clock. 
• The Jaguars pulled back within two points after an Ormiston layup and a Tabe finish through contact, trimming the deficit to 43-41 with 16:22 in the half. 
• Louisiana pushed its lead to double digits, 51-41, with 14:14 remaining in regulation. 
• After Gaiter and Ormiston splashed two three-pointers to slow the momentum, Louisiana would connect on three triples in four possessions to extend to its largest lead, 60-49, with 10:45 left in the game. 
• South would get within three points after Gaiter scored back-to-back buckets, and Tabe muscled in a layup, cutting into the lead, 63-60 at the 7:30 mark. 
• That would be the closest that the Jags would get as the Ragin' Cajuns stretched their lead back out to double digits and pushed the game out of reach, securing an 88-79 victory. 

Notes

• Gaiter has now scored double figures in 17 out of 19 games and logged his sixth 20-point game this year. 
• Ormiston set a new season high in points (23) and three-point field goals (3). 
• The Jags had an efficient night from the field, shooting 52.7 percent from the field compared to Louisiana's 48.7 percent on the night. This is the first time this season that South Alabama has lost a game shooting a higher percentage than their opponent, and finished with a field goal percentage above 50 percent. 
• Despite being out-rebounded, the Jags had the advantage in the paint, scoring 40 points.
• The Jags played at a blazing tempo in tonight's game, scoring a season-high 20 fast break points. 
• Marshall Kearing recorded a game-leading three blocks all on one possession. 
• Samuel Tabe has scored double figures in five straight games. 

Head Coach Richie Riley

On the defensive struggles from tonight

" I'm just disappointed in our fight and toughness. The message we've been trying to deliver is that we lost to these guys in the championships last year– and we talked about the fight it was going to take to get one against these guys. We didn't have many tough plays and had very little toughness about us. We scored some points, as we usually do. We shot a good percentage and turned it over a little bit too much, but we showed no fight, defensively on the glass. We have to get better with those things because you aren't going to beat those guys without any fight. We didn't play nearly hard enough or show the toughness we needed to win that game. I have to get these guys playing with more toughness and force defensively, and that's what we will work on." 

Forward Elijah Ormiston

On the mentality of the team after this result

" There's not much to say. This one meant a lot because of how things ended last year. Our mentality tonight was to step on their throats and get some revenge. They were hitting shots and punished us down low, getting rebounds. I'm proud of the way we fought. I still believe in this team. We've had such an up-and-down season, but I know we will respond. This group of guys will come out on Monday and prepare hard for the next couple of games." 

Up Next

The Jags will begin a four-game road trip next week at ULM on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m. before heading to Troy to face off against the Trojans for the second time in seven days on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 4 p.m.