Game Notes

Game 17 • Trinity Baptist Eagles (5-10) at South Alabama Jaguars (8-8, 2-2)
January 9, 2018 • 7:05 p.m. • Mitchell Center (10,000) • Mobile, Ala.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Matthew Graves (Butler, 1998)
Record at USA: 59-86 (5th year)
Overall Record: Same
Record vs. TBC: 0-0

Trinity Baptist
John D. Jones (Liberty, 1989)
Record at TBC: N/A (7th year)
Overall Record: Same

LAST GAME
South Alabama fell 91-67 at UT Arlington. Trinity Baptist lost its fourth in a row, 72-65 to the University of Bahamas.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars host rival Troy on Saturday. The Eagles will take on Grace Bible on Friday in Kissimmee.

ON THE AIR
Radio: 99.5 FM The Jag; J.D. Byars (pxp)
On the web: 995thejag.com/listen (audio); JagNationTV (video)

RANKINGS (Through Jan. 7)
USA: #215 RPI, #221 Sagarin
TBC: N/A

THE SERIES
First meeting.

OPENING TIP
South Alabama starts a four-game homestand Tuesday, its longest of the 2017-18 season.

The Jaguars lead the Sun Belt in 3-point defense (.298) and blocks (4.7 bpg), and is third in field goal defense (.405). The team allowed a season-high 91 points on Saturday at UT Arlington, and the Mavericks' 48.4 field-goal percentage is the highest by a USA opponent since FIU on Dec. 2.

South Alabama's 3-point field-goal percentage defense is 17th in Division I.

USA had five blocks Saturday, led by a career-high three from Josh Ajayi.

South Alabama is 8-0 when scoring 70 or more in a game, and 0-8 when scoring fewer than 70.

The Jaguars are 8-2 in 2017-18 when leading at halftime, and 0-6 when trailing.

The Jags have hit double-digit 3s four times in their last six outings, and rank fifth in the Sun Belt in 3s per game (8.6). The team had 10 at UT Arlington on a season-high 38 attempts.

Herb McGee went 3 for 6 from distance Saturday, moving him up to fourth in the league in 3-point percentage (.452) and into a tie for 15th in 3s per game (1.8).

Rodrick Sikes has led the team in scoring four times in the last five games, and is averaging 25.2 points over that span after pouring in 16 on Saturday. He has hit double-digit points in his last 15 games, including 16 or more in his last five.

Sikes is sixth in the Sun Belt in scoring (18.2 ppg) and second in 3s per game (3.1). He ranks 43rd in the nation in 3-pointers.

Nick Davis is averaging 7.8 points and 6.5 rebounds, and shooting 58.3 percent from the floor in his last four games. He is tied with Trhae Mitchell for fifth in the Sun Belt in blocks per game (1.4).

Trinity Baptist is 0-3 against Division I schools this season and has lost by an average of 44.7 points while allowing 102 points per contest.

PREVIEWING TUESDAY
Head coach Matthew Graves on Trinity Baptist
On playing a non-conference game after two losses: "I think the game comes at a good time for us as we prepare for our next conference game with Troy. We have a week between Sun Belt games, so we want to get back into a better rhythm offensively, get back to some basic fundamental things that have slipped the last two games. Having a game mid-week before Troy will help that."

On the improvements he wants to see: "Offensively, our spacing was really poor in the last game and half. I thought our shot selection started to go in the wrong direction and we need to clean up that area. Defensively, our rebounding showed to be very poor. An issue that we thought going into the season would be bad, really showed up the last two games. Before that, we had been really good. So we have to get back to rebounding the basketball at an efficient level."

On playing better defense: "Giving up 91 points to a really good UT Arlington team was a two-fold issue. It wasn't just our defense not rebounding the ball well, but it was our poor offensive execution that allowed them to get out and score 32 points in transition that hurt that as well."

On making sure the team stays focused: "Anytime we take the floor, we're playing to a set of standards that we go over after every game. This game is no different. We're playing to a standard – not the scoreboard – and we've got five standards offensively and defensively. That's how we're going to grade this game and our improvement."

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).

Join the Jaguar Athletic Fund (JAF) Priority Fund, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to the Priority Fund directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

—USA—