MOBILE, Ala. – The Texas State men's basketball team locked South Alabama down in the first half defensively but the Jaguars came back to defeat the Bobcats 72-67 in overtime Saturday afternoon in the Mitchell Center.
 
Texas State drops to 9-7 overall and 2-2 in the Sun Belt Conference while USA is now 9-8 on the season and 2-2 in conference play.
 
"It was a very disappointing defeat. South Alabama hit some big shots and made their free throws down the stretch while we didn't," said head coach Danny Kaspar. "You can't give up 42 points in a half. That is my contention with the team. We have to play defense for 40 minutes, not 25 or 30."
 
Neither team started out shooting the ball well in the opening stanza. The Jaguars went up 9-6 with just under 13 minutes left in the half. Six straight points were tallied by the Bobcats with Nijal Pearson accounting for four of them to put the Bobcats in front.
 
After a layup from USA's Josh Ajayi at the 2:44 mark to knot the score 18-18, Texas State scored the final five points of the period with Ojai Black and Immanuel King converting layups.
 
The second half began with the Bobcats making three straight layups with the last coming with 18:07 on the clock from Bobby Conley. His bucket gave the team its largest lead of the game, 29-18.
 
USA responded by outscoring Texas State 18-6 over the next 5:06 to go back in front.
 
Marlin Davis answered with a five points in less than a minute. In between his two baskets, Nedeljko Prijovic made a layup that gave the Bobcats a six-point advantage.
 
Texas State would maintain the lead or see the game be tied the rest of the regulation. Two free throws by Shaq Calhoun tied the game 60-60 with 2:09 on the clock with two free throws. Those would be the final points of the half as neither team could find the bottom of the bucket the rest of the half.
 
King made a layup a minute and half into the extra period to put the Bobcats in front by two. The Jaguars followed by going on an 8-2 run that was capped off by Ken Williams hitting a three-pointer while trying to draw a foul on Pearson.
 
A free throw from Ojai Black and a layup by Pearson cut the Bobcats' deficit to 68-67 with 18 seconds remaining. Ajayi made two free throws to give USA a three-point advantage. A long three-pointer from Kavin Gilder-Tilbury rattled in and out. The rebound was retrieved by Ajayi, who hit both charity stripe attempts to seal the game for the Jaguars.
 
Pearson led the Bobcats with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting and converted all three of his free throw attempts. The freshman also grabbed seven rebounds and tied his career-high with four steals.
 
Conley added 13 points with a 5-for-10 performance from the field with two three-pointers. Gilder-Tilbury netted 10 points, grabbed four rebounds and blocked a shot.
 
Both Black and King contributed eight points apiece. Black finished with three assists and two rebounds while King posted game-highs in rebounds (9) and blocks (2).
 
Texas State shot 42.1 percent from the field but were just 5-for-20 (25.0%) from beyond the arc and made 14-of-21 (66.7%) at the charity stripe. The Bobcats held USA to just 35.2 percent shooting but allowed them to make 10 three-pointers. The Jaguars also shoot a season best 80.0 percent (24-30) at the free throw line that saw them go 20-for-23 after halftime.
 
On the glass, Texas State held a slight advantage, 37-35, and led 14-11 in second chance points and 32-12 in scoring in the paint.
 
Next up for the Bobcats is a 7 p.m. tip at Troy on Monday that will air on ESPN3.
 
For the latest on Texas State men's basketball, visit the official website of Texas State athletics at www.txstatebobcats.com, follow the team on Twitter at @TxStateMBB, Instagram at @TxStateMBB and like on Facebook at /TexasStateMensBasketball.