FORT WORTH, Texas – The South Alabama Men's Basketball team fought hard and held a brief lead in the second half but fell 58-49 to Big 12 foe TCU Monday night in the Schollmaier arena. The Jags dropped to 7-4 with the loss, while the Horned Frogs improved to 6-4 on the season.

South Alabama had an impressive start and led for 12 minutes in the first half before faltering and heading into the half down by two. The Jags grabbed an immediate lead coming out of the second half, but they could not find it offensively and scored seven points in the final 11 minutes to record the loss.  

Barry Dunning Jr. led the way for the Jaguars, setting a new career-high with 17 points, shooting 6-of-12 from the field with three triples, and three rebounds. Myles Corey finished a point shy of double figures for the first time this year, scoring nine points with five rebounds and a steal. 

Jayden Cooper had a solid outing scoring eight points with two three-pointers. Cantia Rahming played a season-high 20 minutes and scored five points while grabbing nine rebounds. 

The Jags opened the game by jumping out to its largest lead, 10-6, at the 14:09 mark highlighted by a top-of-the-key triple from Corey and Jayden Cooper rattled in a layup in the paint. 

Neither team gave an inch in the next possessions as the Jags maintained its lead after Dunning Jr. knocked down three-pointers in back-to-back possessions, and Cooper hit a triple from way downtown to lead 23-21 with 5:12 left on the clock. 

TCU picked up some steam and powered its way on a 9-5 run to jump on top 30-28 heading into halftime. 

Coming out of halftime, South Alabama kept fighting and charged forward to regain the advantage 37-35 with 14:05 on the clock as Cooper made a crafty layup through contact and Rahming hit two straight runners in the lane. 

South continued to battle, but the Horned Frogs grabbed all of the momentum and outscored the Jags 16-7 in the final 11 minutes of the game to earn the win. 

Game Notes

• South's 12 turnovers in tonight's game marked the third time this season that the Jags have committed double-digit turnovers in a game. 
• Barry Dunning has scored double figures in six out of the last seven games. 
• The Jags held its opponent to under 40 percent shooting from the field for the ninth time this season. 
• USA tied for its lowest field goal percentage of the season at 33.3 percent. 
• South Alabama struggled in the paint throughout the night, as TCU scored 28 points compared to the Jaguars' 18. Additionally, the Horned Frogs won the rebounding battle 40-30 and corralled 14 offensive rebounds. 
• With 13 assists and 12 turnovers in tonight's game, the Jags have yet to record a negative assist-to-turnover ratio this season. 

Up Next

The Jags will prepare for their conference opener as they host James Madison on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 1 p.m. CT in the Mitchell Center. 

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