COLUMBIA, S.C. — A rough second half did in No. 19 Union College men’s basketball as it dropped a 96-84 decision to host Allen University (S.C.) in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play on Saturday.

The loss drops the Bulldogs to 14-6 overall and 11-3 in the AAC, while the Yellow Jackets improve to 12-6 overall and 11-6 in conference play.

REVERSAL OF FORTUNES

Union appeared to be in control at the break, leading 52-40 at the half. However, the Bulldog offense went cold during the final 20 minutes while the Yellow Jackets heated up.

An Anthony Butler 3-pointer capped a 27-13 surge, putting Allen up 67-65 with 10:50 to play. Jakobe Wharton sank a pair of free throws to tie the game at 67-all, but Allen took the lead and never looked back. Shylier Ringgold scored to bring Union within 76-75 at the 6:09 mark; yet, Allen countered with an 11-0 run to open up an 87-75 cushion by the 3:26 mark.

From the point on, Union was not able to get the deficit back to single-digits as Allen collected the 96-84 victory.

STAT OF THE GAME

Allen hit 71.4 percent from the field in the second half, going 20-of-28 from the floor. The Yellow Jackets finished the game with a 54.0 shooting percentage (34-of-63 shots). Meanwhile, Union made 9-of-27 shots (33.3 percent) in the second half and missed all five of its 3-point attempts. The Bulldogs finished the game 28-of-59 (47.5 percent) from the floor.

BULLDOG OF THE GAME

Blake Ervin led Union in scoring with 19 points, going 6-of-8 from the field and 4-for-4 from 3-point range.

BULLDOG NOTES

Four Bulldogs scored in double figures. Joining Ervin was Wharton with 14 points, while Richard Brown and Kelvin Jackson each had 11.

Austin Cummins matched his season-high for assists with six. He also accomplished the feat on Nov. 13 at Kentucky Christian University.

All three of Union’s conference losses have come on the road.

NEXT FOR THE BULLDOGS

Union returns home to host Kentucky Christian on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.