Four Huskies scored in double figures, led by 16 points from Xavier Amos (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) and a double-double 15 points and 10 rebounds from Zarique Nutter (Newark, N.J./Clarendon College) but the Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team fell to South Alabama, 75-66, on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 10) at the Mitchell Center.

The Jaguars made 13 triples and shot 48.1 percent (13-of-27) from beyond the arc to earn the victory over the Huskies.

Zion Russell (Upper Marlboro, Md./National Christian Academy) netted a career-high 13 points and a career-best eight rebounds while Yanic Konan Niederhauser (Fraschels, Switzerland/Ursping) added 12 points and seven rebounds.

A triple from Amos and a bucket by Nutter gave the Huskies a 7-6 lead in the early going. South Alabama answered with the next 10 as the Jaguars took a 16-7 lead just over six minutes into the contest.

The South Alabama lead grew to as much as 11 before another drive to the basket by Nutter and two finishes from Amos gave the Huskies a 6-0 burst and trimmed the Jaguar lead to 22-17 near the midway point of the opening half.

South Alabama (12-13, 4-8 Sun Belt) led by eight before another bucket from Amos, off a feed from Nutter, and a triple from the wing by Konan Niederhauser, cut the deficit back to just three, 26-23, with 7:11 to play in the first half.

Another finish at the rim by Nutter and a free throw from Konan Niederhauser pulled the Huskies even at 26. After the two teams traded baskets, South Alabama used an 8-1 burst to take a 36-29 lead before Konan Niederhauser just beat the buzzer to trim the Jaguar lead to 36-31 at the half.

Amos led NIU with 12 points in the opening 20 minutes, Nutter had 10 points and Konan Niederhauser added eight while Tyrell Jones led all scorers with 13 for South Alabama. NIU shot 48.1 percent (13-of-27) in the first half to just 40 percent (14-of-35) for South Alabama, but the Jaguars made eight triples to just a pair for the Huskies.

Still in front by five, South Alabama used a 7-0 run to take a 47-35 lead with 16:40 remaining.

A corner triple from Nutter capped a 7-1 run for the Huskies as NIU trimmed the South Alabama advantage to 50-44 with a little over 12 minutes left to play.

After the Jaguars advantage grew back to eight, a triple from Will Lovings-Watts (Jeffersonville, Ind./Putnam Science) and a short jumper by Amos brought the Huskies back within three, 52-49, but South Alabama quickly scored the next five as the lead climbed right back to eight, 57-49.

NIU (8-15, 2-8 MAC) trimmed the South Alabama lead to seven, 63-56, on a triple from Russell with a little over four minutes to play, but the Jaguars scored the next seven to take their largest lead of the afternoon, 70-56, and never looked back.

Jones led the Jaguars with 23 points, including five triples, Julian Margrave added 12 points, making four threes, while Elijah Ormiston chipped in 10 points.

NIU will return to conference play on Tuesday night, Feb. 13, when the Huskies welcome Buffalo to the NIU Convocation Center. Tipoff between the Huskies and Bulls is scheduled for 7 p.m. and tickets are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets.