03/01/06– FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JAGUARS PLACE TWO ON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM; PELPHREY NAMED COACH OF THE YEAR

CONTACT: Kit Strief

MOBILE, Ala. - Following a 21-6 regular season and the 2005-06 Sun Belt Conference West Division Championship, the Jaguars earned some postseason hardware landing seniors Mario Jointer on the second team all-conference and Richard Law on the third team, the league office announced Wednesday. Head coach John Pelphrey also took home some hardware as he was named the 2006 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year.

The awards were selected by coaches, sports information directors and selected members of the media from around the league.

The Jackson, Miss., native Jointer averaged a team high 13.9 points per game and 4.4 rebounds a game, while being the only player to play and start in all 27 games. During his final season with the Jags, Jointer ranks fifth in the school annals with 135 made 3-pointers, including a team-high 50 this season. He has a career-high 47 steals and 77 assist to lead the team, along with a team high 122 made field goals. He also has 120 rebounds to lead the team.

Law is in his final season with the Jags and averages 10.7 points per game and 4.3 rebounds. Despite missing five conference games due to injury, the Houston, Texas, native has come back in a big way, scoring in double-figures in three of the last four games of the season. Law is second on the team with 44 made 3-pointers. He is fourth in annals with 153 career trifectas over his four year career. Law is 44-of-96 from beyond the arc for a team-high .458 average.

Pelphrey, is in his fourth year as head coach of the Jags, guided the squad to 21 wins, the most since the 2000-01 squad finished with 22 victories. He stands at 57-54 overall in his career at South Alabama. The 21-6 record is the best regular season finish for the Jaguars since the 1980-81 season. The Jaguars also won nine road games which ties for the fourth best of all 334 men's division I basketball teams.

"I feel very fortunate to win the award," Pelphrey said. "There are some great coaches in this league...Basketball is a team game and any award that I win is a direct reflection on how hard our team works," Pelphrey said.

The Jaguars are the number one seed in the West Division and will play the winner of Arkansas-Little Rock and North Texas on Sunday at 6 p.m. in Murfreesboro, Tenn., in the quarterfinal round of the 2006 Aeropostale Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

2005-06 Sun Belt All-Conference Team

1st Team
Bobby Dixon, G, Sr, Troy
Courtney Lee, G/F, So., Western Kentucky
Dwayne Mitchell, G, Sr., Louisiana-Lafayette
Yemi Nicholson, C, Sr., Denver
Anthony Winchester, G, Sr., Western Kentucky

2nd Team
Ivan Almonte, F, Sr., Florida International
Kendrick Davis, G, Jr., North Texas
Mario Jointer, G, Sr., South Alabama
Michael Southall, C, Sr., Louisiana-Lafayette
Dereke Tipler, G, Sr., Arkansas State

3rd Team
Rashad Jones-Jennings, F, Jr., Arkansas-Little Rock
Richard Law, F, Sr., South Alabama
Jaime McNeilly, G, Jr., New Orleans
Zack Wright, G, Jr., Arkansas-Little Rock
Adam Vogelsberg, G, Jr., Middle Tennessee

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Anthony Winchester, Western Kentucky
DEF. PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Yemi Nicholson, Denver
NEWCOME OF THE YEAR: Kendrick Davis, North Texas
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Lekheythan Davis, UALR
COACH OF THE YEAR: John Pelphrey, South Alabama