JACKSONVILLE – Jax State fell to Louisiana Tech on Saturday 74-57 in a showdown between two of the tougher teams in Conference USA.
 
With the setback, the Gamecocks fall to an even 2-2 in league play and 10-9 overall with consecutive losses for the first time since early December. The Bulldogs (13-6) improve to 3-1 and could sit tied atop the CUSA standings by the end of the night.
 
A Juwan Perdue layup with 12 minutes remaining in the game tied things up at 43-43 after a back-and-forth battle that featured seven lead changes in the opening 28 minutes. From there, LA Tech used a 9-0 run to take control down the stretch and finished outscoring Jax State 31-14 in the final dozen minutes overall.
 
For the second-straight game Jax State allowed its opponent to score at least 44 points in the second half, the first and only two times it has happened this season. Perdue fouled out late trying to will his squad back into contention. The Sumter, S.C., senior matched KyKy Tandy for a team-high 14 points and had five rebounds. Mason Nicholson, led on the glass with six boards and pitched in seven points, including a pair of thunderous dunks.
 
The Gamecocks managed to outscored a physical Bulldog bunch 34-30 in the paint, but didn't do themselves any favors at home giving up 11 fastbreak points and going 10-of-19 at the charity stripe.
 
After Perdue and Tandy staked Jax State to a 6-0 lead out of the gate, LA Tech responded with a 20-4 stretch to grab a double-digit lead in the opening half. The Gamecocks clased to gap to 30-25 by halftime, and took an early lead in the second stanza with a 6-0 start out of the locker room.
 
Jax State heads to Middle Tennessee Wednesday night to continue CUSA action.