TMOBILE, Ala. –   The South Alabama men's basketball team struggled defensively throughout the night and fell to Georgia State  90-76 Saturday afternoon in the Mitchell Center. The Jags dropped to 8-7 overall and 1-2 in Sun Belt play, while Georgia State improved to 7-7 on the season, and 2-1 in conference play.

Tyrell Jones led with a new season-high of 22 points and picked up his fourth double-digit game in a row. Jones shot 4-of-7 from behind the arc, swiped two steals, and had a block. Samuel Tabe had a strong outing, finishing with 17 points, hitting 7-of-9 free throws, and grabbing two rebounds. 

Georgia State shot 55.0 percent from the field and had six players finish with double figures in scoring. Lucas Taylor and Toneari Lane fueled the Panther offense. Taylor scored 22 points, and Lane finished with 20 points. The Panthers also shot 46.7 percent from behind the arc on the night. 

Isiah Gaiter continues to tear things up, scoring 16 points, corralling three rebounds, and dishing out two assists. Thomas Howell was a workhorse the entire night for the Jaguars, setting a new career-high with 17 rebounds and putting up two steals. 

Game Facts (How it Happened) 

• Georgia State started the game off fast, earning a 11-2 lead at the 16:40 mark in the first half. 
• The Jags answered with a Gaiter three-pointer, a Jones jumper, and a Tabe And-one layup to bring the deficit to 13-10 with 14:35 left in the half. 
• Jones would connect on a triple and a mid-range jumper, and Gaiter knocked down a layup inside the paint to cut the Panthers advantage to 20-19 with 11:19 on the clock. 
• Following a 6-2 run from Georgia State, South Alabama would blast out on a 8-5 run highlighted by a Jones three-pointer and an Elijah Ormiston ankle-breaking fast break dunk to take its first lead of the game, 28-26 with five minutes remaining in the half. 
• Both sides traded jabs back and forth down the stretch, but the Panthers would take the narrow lead heading into halftime, leading 42-40. 
• Georgia State continued to push forward out of the break, leaping out on a 9-5 run to extend its lead to 51-45 with 17:21 remaining in regulation. 
• The Jaguars found a response as Tabe muscled in two tough layups, and Howell crashed the boards for a put back layup to make the score 53-51 at the 14:29 mark. 
• As the half progressed, the Jags continued to fight, but the Panthers kept things rolling and stretched its lead to 70-59 with eight minutes left in the contest. 
• GST put the game out of reach in the next few possessions and push out to its largest lead, 80-65, at the under-five minute media timeout. 
• The Jags fought hard, but the Panthers offensive attack was  too strong and secured the 90-76 victory. 

Notes

• Howell set a new career-high in rebounds with 17, including a season-high eight offensive boards. This marks his fourth game in a row with nine or more rebounds. 
• Jones earned a new career-high for the second straight game and tied his season-high in three-pointers (4). He has totaled 15 or more points in the three of the last four games. 
•  South Alabama dominated the bench battle, scoring 30 points compared to Georgia State's 14 points. 
• The Jaguars shot below 70 percent from the free throw line (13-19) for the first time since Nov. 30 against Jacksonville State. 
• Gaiter has scored double figures in 13 out of 15 games this season. 
• South Alabama capitalized on 11 Panther turnovers to earn a game-high 13 fast break points. 
• The Jags allowed Georgia State to shoot 47.6 percent from behind the arc, which is the second-highest opponent three-point percentage this season. 

Head Coach Richie Riley 

On tonight's defensive struggles 

" We were really bad defensively for the second game in a row. We struggled to find stops and let them shoot 55 percent tonight from the field, and it's hard to win games when that happens. It's hard to win games giving up those numbers, and it doesn't equal out unless you force turnovers. I thought we got some pretty good looks tonight offensively. We didn't finish at the rim, and we missed a bunch of two-footers and still managed to score 76 points. It's a bad weekend for us. When you get swept in this league at home it's tough because these teams will make you pay on the road. You have to be special to win on the road in this league, and we have to find a way to hold on, moving forward and do a better job. 

Forward Thomas Howell 

On the teams struggles tonight 

" We are playing hard, but the defense is not coming along like it should be. We are doing some good things offensively, but we have to find that same "Want too" and will on the other end of the court. We were trying to find some stops and didn't finish on some rebounds. It's defensively oriented, and it's a "Want too". That's all it is."

Up Next

The Jaguars will now open a two-game road stretch, taking on James Madison on Thursday, Jan.11 at 6 p.m. CST in Harrisonburg, Va., before traveling to West Virginia to battle Marshall on Saturday, Jan.13 at 6 p.m. CST.