Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – Following a tough road trip in Arkansas, the University of South Alabama men's basketball team returns home to welcome Georgia Southern to the Mitchell Center Saturday for a 7:05 p.m. start.

Video will be available on JagNationTV.com and ESPN3, and the game can be heard on 99.5 FM The Jag or on iHeartRadio.com. Updates will be provided on Twitter (@SouthAlaMBK) and via live stats on USAJaguars.com.

The Eagles will come into the weekend as the lone undefeated team in the Sun Belt Conference at 7-0 and are two games up on the three-way tie for second. GS is 14-6 overall.

"Obviously it will be a very tough challenge, but it's certainly not a daunting task," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "We played them well in Statesboro less than a month ago. We are going to be on our home floor, but just because of those two things, it won't be easy. We have to go out and execute on both ends of the floor, especially defensively; we're going to have our hands full because they are an explosive offense."

One bright spot for the Jaguars last week was the play of freshman Josh Ajayi (El Monte, Calif.). In two games, Ajayi averaged 13.0 points and 5.0 rebounds, and went 4 for 6 from 3-point land. He had 17 Monday night at Arkansas State on three triples and added two assists.

"Josh is starting to show more and more consistency," Graves stated. "Once you get 20-plus games into a season, you're really no longer a freshman. He was here last year as well, sitting out. He has some experience and has been through a complete season – he just needs to understand, as long as he keeps coming to work every day, the results will speak for themselves. I'm really proud of the work he's put in and we hope that he'll continue with the consistency that he's starting to show."

South Alabama (9-11, 2-5 SBC) took Georgia Southern down to the wire in the first meeting on Jan. 9, an 84-79 GS overtime victory. The Jags led by four in the final minute, but 3-pointers from Jake Allsmiller and Mike Hughes sent the game into an extra period.

The Jaguars led by four again early in OT but went 0 for 5 at the free-throw line and couldn't hold on.

"I think we had a solid gameplan, in terms of how we guarded their actions," Graves said. "I thought we did a pretty good job guarding their on-balls (screens), playing without fouling and rotating. We've just got to finish the game. If we do that, we'll put ourselves in a position to be successful. They've improved over the last few weeks and we need to have a few adjustments in place as well."

The Eagles are led by the talented duo of Ike Smith and Tookie Brown, who have led the team in scoring in every game but one, and rank first and second in the league in scoring, respectively.

Smith averages 19.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while Brown averages 18.5 points and a team-high 4.2 assists per contest, which is fourth-best in the Sun Belt.

The pair combined for 49 points in the first meeting this season, 26 from Brown and 23 from Smith.

"They are extremely tough to defend because of their versatility," Graves noted. "They both can shoot with deep range and are shooting a great percentage from 3. They both have the ability to break you down with their athleticism and get into the paint. That makes it really tough because they can score in a lot of ways. Brown's numbers from the free-throw line are unbelievable, in how many times he gets there.

"The final layer of that is, they have some really good pieces around them in Allsmiller and Hughes that can spread the floor, so you've got a lot of different people you have to cover. Brown and Smith are really tough because they can score inside and out."

The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy.  New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12 and ticket books can now be purchased from your school's ticket office.  For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship – Women's Championship – and be sure to follow the #FunBelt on social media - @SunBelt.

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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