Game Notes

Game 16 • South Alabama Jaguars (8-7, 5-2) at North Texas Mean Green (6-11, 1-5)
January 12, 2013 • 7 p.m. • The Super Pit (10,500) • Denton, Texas

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Jeff Price (Pikeville, 1981) - Interim
Record at USA: 3-2 (1st year)
Overall Record: 296-188 (18th year)
Record vs. NT: 0-0

North Texas
Tony Benford (Texas Tech, 1992)
Record at NT: 6-11 (1st year)
Overall Record: Same

LAST GAME
South Alabama needed two overtimes to overcome Louisiana at Lafayette 91-89. North Texas fell 67-53 on the road vs. Arkansas at Little Rock.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars start a three-game home stand Thursday against Louisiana at Monroe. The Mean Green travel to Florida International.

ON THE AIR
Radio: 105.5 WNSP; Lee Shirvanian (pxp)
On the web: www.wnsp.com (audio)

RANKINGS (Through Jan. 9)
USA: #216 RPI (RealTimeRPI), #186 Sagarin
NT: #279 RPI (RealTimeRPI), #257 Sagarin

THE SERIES
USA leads 13-7.

Current streak: North Texas, Won 3
USA’s last win in series: 68-65 (2/5/09)
Last meeting: North Texas 78, South Alabama 73 OT (1/5/12)
USA’s last win at the Super Pit: 89-67 (1/28/06)
NT’s last win at the Super Pit: 82-79 (2/17/11)
USA’s record at the Super Pit: 5-5
USA’s away streak: Lost 3
USA’s longest winning / losing streak in series: 6 / 3

Notes: North Texas’s win in 2008 ended USA’s 13-game win streak… The last six games in the series have been decided by eight points or less with two going into overtime… South Alabama’s six-game win streak in the series spanned 2004-07… The Mean Green have won four of five since dropping six straight to the Jags… USA averaged 86 points during that streak… NT’s Tony Mitchell totaled 34 points and 16 rebounds in last season’s OT victory.

OPENING TIP
South Alabama’s double-overtime game Thursday was the program’s first since November 2007, losing to Vanderbilt by the same 91-89 score they defeated ULL.

The Jaguars rallied from a six-point deficit in the final three minutes, the largest second-half comeback by the team this season.

North Texas’ current three-game win streak vs. the Jags is the Mean Green’s longest in series history.

USA’s Augustine Rubit goes from a matchup against the second-best double-double producer in the Sun Belt Conference in ULL’s Shawn Long to the league’s preseason player of the year in Tony Mitchell. Mitchell ranks seventh in the league in scoring (14.6), fourth in rebounding (8.9) and second in blocks (2.5).

Last season Mitchell erupted for 34 points and 16 rebounds against the Jaguars, the most combined points and rebounds in a game by an NT player since 1982.

Rubit grabbed six rebounds in last season’s matchup before leaving midway through the first half with an injury.

Rubit’s streak of double-double games ended at six Thursday with a game-high-tying 26 points but only nine rebounds. He is currently tied at the top spot in the league with Long with nine double-doubles.

Rubit has reached the 20-point mark five times in his last seven games, including a 32-point outing at ULM, and is second in the conference and 22nd in the nation in scoring at 19.7 ppg. His poured in 21 of his 26 points at ULL Thursday after halftime.

While he was unable to reach double digits in rebounds, Rubit moved into second place at South Alabama in career rebounds, passing Ed Rains, and currently has 742. Rubit has grabbed nine or more rebounds in 13 of the team’s 15 games and led the team in rebounding 11 straight times before Thursday. He is ninth in the nation and first in the conference with a 11.1 rebounding average. Two more rebounds will place Rubit in the Sun Belt top 20 for a career.

Mychal Ammons broke Rubit’s rebounding streak with 11 boards and recorded his third double-double of the season with 10 points, including the game-winning basket with 19.3 seconds left. He also tied his career high with three steals. Ammons is fifth in the SBC in rebounding (7.8) and first in 3-point percentage (45.9).