MOBILE, Ala. - Faulkner trimmed a 15-point lead to 3 in the closing minutes but could never get over the hump, as Mobile took advantage of a key Eagles's miscue down the stretch en route to a 69-58 Southern States Athletic Conference victory here Monday night at the Pharr Gymnasium.

The double-digit deficit was down to 54-51 with just under five minutes left, and Robert Baltruns' 3-pointer to tie it rattled out. The Eagles had two putbacks rim out, but committed a turnover after a third offensive rebound that led to a conventional three-point play by Mobile's D.J. Hill that doubled the lead to six. Faulkner never got any closer the rest of the way.

A 3-2 zone in the second half allowed Scott Sanderson's team to claw back, but missed opportunities at the rim and poor free-throw shooting spelled doom for the Eagles. Faulkner hit only 14-of-23 attempts from the stripe. After getting outrebounded by nine in the opening 20 minutes, which ended with the Rams holding a 13-point lead, Faulkner closed the gap to only one at the game's conclusion.

"Our effort was there, but we've just got to start shooting the ball better and making better decisions late in the game," Sanderson said. "Our zone did exactly what we wanted it to do. We did a really good job on our first-shot defense. They got some second-chance points that hurt, and then the costly turnover that led to points proved to be the difference."

Nick Drake had 21 points and Monta Sanford 17 for the Eagles, who fell to 3-4 overall and 0-2 in the league. Sanford had seven rebounds, as did Lucas Luttrell and Jose Jimenez. Luttrell had seven of his nine points during the second-half comeback. Dominique Lawrence led the Rams (6-0 overall, 2-0 SSAC) with 16 points, while Daouda Soumaoro added 15.

Sanderson says for his team to be successful, another scorer must emerge.

"We need more than just Nick and Monta scoring," he said. "I don't know who that's going to be yet, but it has to be somebody."

Faulkner got off to a slow start shooting, not scoring in the first four minutes of the game as Mobile grabbed control. The Rams slowly stretched the lead, building an eight-point cushion on a Will Hornsby basket with 8:21 to play in the half. Lawrence took charge from there, finishing the half with 12 points as Mobile took a 32-19 advantage to the locker room.

The Eagles host Carver College Monday night at 7.