Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team will host an exhibition contest Friday night at 7 p.m. against Mobile.

Tipoff at the Mitchell Center is set for 7:05 p.m. Live stats and a videostream on USAJaguars.com will be available for free, plus updates will be provided on Twitter at @SouthAlaMBK.

"I'm very excited, maybe even more so than our guys because you get a chance to not only play somebody different, but you've got a crowd too," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "The start of the season is always something you're looking forward to, to see what the new year holds. I'm anticipating a great effort from our team."

Eight letterwinners and three starters return from last season, including the team's top four scorers. While it will be the unofficial start to the 2016-17 season, preparation for Friday's exhibition began all the way back in the summer with the team's trip to Europe.

"I feel like we are further along than we've been in the past as far as what we have in offensively and defensively," Graves said. "We are somewhat ahead, but what having that Europe trip allowed us to do is spend more time on basic fundamentals and not feel rushed through these last 20-25 practices leading into our game with Mobile. It's been nice to not feel like you have to squeeze everything in at the last minute."

Leading the team's returning scorers is senior Ken Williams (Houston, Texas), a Second Team Preseason All-Sun Belt selection who averaged a team-best 15.5 points per game, to rank eighth in the league. He enters his final season at USA 11th in school history in career points (1,279) and third in 3-pointers (203).

The Jaguars' second and third returning scorers are also seniors. Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) was second with 10.4 ppg, and first on the team and fifth in the conference in rebounding at 7.4 per contest. He also ranked fifth in field-goal percentage (.505) and had seven double-doubles. Nick Stover (Los Angeles, Calif.) averaged 10.1 ppg and converted 32 times from 3-point distance.

"What we need is to set a standard for how we want to play," Graves stated. "We certainly are competing to win the game, but also more importantly, playing to a standard that will allow us to compete for championships down the road. We have to understand and play each possession. Those guys have heard me say that before and they need to continue to echo that for the young guys as well."

Mobile, led by 18th-year head coach Joe Niland, went 15-16 last season and enters Friday's exhibition with a 1-1 record. The Rams lost four of their top five scorers from last year, but bring back Brandon Barnes who averaged 9.8 ppg.

"They're extremely well coached," Graves said. "I think Coach Niland does a terrific job. He's got several guards that are capable of scoring the basketball and that will present a challenge for us defensively because some of our bigger guys aren't used to guarding out on the perimeter. They're going to have to adjust and be able to adapt to that. We're looking forward to that challenge."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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