MOBILE, Alabama -- South Alabama played one of its nest games of the season, but it wasn't good enough to end its losing streak as the Jaguars fell to Arkansas State 63-60 in overtime at the Mitchell Center Tuesday night. It was the season-opening Sun Belt Conference game for both teams.

The Jaguars (2-9 overall, 0-1 in league play) held a 33-28 halftime lead but Arkansas State bounced back to tie the game in regulation at 53-all. In the extra period, Cameron Golden sank a 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer and moments later Charles Waters produced a slam dunk putback to give the Red Wolves (6-4, 1-0) a five-point edge, 60-55.

Taishaun Johnson's 3-pointer put the Jags within two, but a ASU free throw bumped it back to three points. USA had the ball in the final seconds but two 3-point tries missed the mark.

The loss is the sixth straight for the Jags while ASU has now won its past four games in a row.

South Alabama was led by Dionte Ferguson's 18 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots. He had one turnover and one steal. Taishaun Johnson scored 17 points and John Brown, coming off an injury, added 10 points. ASU was led by Anthony Livingston's 16 points and 13 rebounds, with Nouhoum Bocoum and Golden scoring 14 points and grabbing six rebounds each.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Golden's 3-pointer in overtime at the shot clock buzzer -- and with Barrington Stevens III applying strong defensive pressure -- was a killer for the Jags. It was a shot that hit the mark even though he was falling back and shooting a desperation attempt. The basket gave the Red Wolves a three-point lead at 58-55 with just more than a minute to play in the extra period.

BY THE NUMBERS

1: Total field goals made by South Alabama's Ken Williams for the second consecutive game. He was 1 of 9 from the floor and 0 for 6 from 3-point range. Barrington Stevens III was just 2 of 11 and 0 for 6 from behind the arc. The guard combined for six points.

34: South Alabama's points in the paint, outscoring Arkansas State which finished with 28. The Red Wolves were also outscored on fastbreak points 6-0. ASU's 12-of-16 showing at the free throw line, compared to the Jags' 6 of 12, helped even the matter.

16: Turnovers by the Jags, including nine in the second half. The Jags didn't have a turnover int he overtime period, but ASU had only 12 total turnovers and outscored USA 14-8 off turnovers.

COACHSPEAK

"What a tremendous start to the Sun belt season. I thought it was a great game. Arkansas State played well and I thought we did some really good things as a team. The guys really defended their butts off. ... They defended and we defended and it came down to somebody making a play or two and No. 5 (P.J. Hardwick) banked in a shot and Golden ended up getting an off-balance three as the shot clock expired. There were a couple of plays that could have gone either way. ... (But) I'm really proud of our effort tonight. We stayed together and we played hard and we played through some adversity.'' -- South Alabama head coach Matthew Graves.

"Overall at the end of the day, we win it in overtime and find a way to win it. We weren't at our best but we made enough big plays for Cam, a big shot from PJ, a big shot from Waters and good rebounding -- at the end of the game we got a couple big ones." -- Arkansas State head coach John Brady

PLAYERSPEAK

"It's disappointing. That's probably the best game we've played all year. I thought we had a real chance there. I feel we were that close to putting it all together, a full 40-minute game. There was a stretch when they hit a couple of shots I think were greatly contested and they just went down.'' -- South Alabama senior Dionte Ferguson.

"We've just got to shake it off. Tomorrow's a new day. We just have to get back to practicing for our next game and keep playing hard as a team, together. ... We have to play like that every day; no days off. We can't have the next game on Saturday, we can't play slow and just lollygag around. We have to play exactly like we played tonight, hard and competitive.'' -- South Alabama guard John Brown.

WHAT'S NEXT?

South Alabama hits the road again for a pair of Sun Belt games, starting Saturday at Texas-Arlington. Arkansas State returns home to Jonesboro where it will face Appalachian State on Saturday.