Having expended much of its energy to tie the game at the end of regulation, South Alabama apparently had none left for overtime.

Appalachian State pulled away in the extra period for a 91-84 victory on Thursday night at the Mitchell Center, snapping the Jaguars’ four-game winning streak. South Alabama (8-6 overall, 1-1 Sun Belt Conference) also missed a chance to begin league play with back-to-back wins for the first time in five years.

The loss was South Alabama’s first since losing at Jacksonville State on Nov. 30 and first at home since falling in triple overtime to Nicholls on Nov. 16. The Jaguars opened Sun Belt play with a 61-59 win at Old Dominion on Dec. 30.

App State (11-3, 2-0) shot 56% from the field, but nearly let the game get away with some sloppy free-throw shooting late. The Mountaineers led by as many as nine points in the second half, but the Jaguars continually chipped into the lead and briefly went on top on an Isiah Gaiter 3-pointer with 4:03 to play.

Gaiter also helped the Jaguars tie the game in the final seconds of regulation, getting his own rebound and dishing off to Thomas Howell for a dunk to make it 82-82 with 1.9 seconds left. Gaiter had a season-high 29 points to lead all scorers.

App State dominated the overtime period, however, with C.J. Huntley scored six of his team’s nine and Christopher Mantis hitting a 3-pointer for the remainder. Gaiter’s 2-point basket accounted for South Alabama’s only bucket of the extra period.

Tyrell Jones added 19 points for South Alabama, while Howell had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Elijah Ormiston added 10 points and five rebounds for the Jaguars, who made 11 of 12 free throws in the game.

Tre’Von Spillers led App State with 23 points and nine rebounds. Terence Harcum (15 points), Hunter (14), Gregory Donovan (13) and Myles Tate (14) were also in double-figures scoring for the Mountaineers.

South Alabama led by eight early, but Appalachian State shot 59% in the first half to take a 44-43 lead into the locker room. The Jaguars stayed in the game by going 5-for-8 on 3-pointers and 6-for-6 on free throws in the first 20 minutes.

South Alabama stays home on Saturday, hosting Georgia State at 3 p.m.