Official Game Statistics
South Alabama vs. West Florida Game Notes
MOBILE, Ala. ? Head Coach Ronnie Arrow promised tenacious defense as part of an uptempo style in his return to South Alabama and the Jaguars delivered in their season opener. USA limited West Florida to 27.3 percent shooting and just 17 points in the first half enroute to a 73-41 victory over the Argonauts Saturday night at the Mitchell Center. The game counted as an exhibition for the Division II school from Pensacola, Fla.
Daon Merritt scored seven of his nine points and Domonic Tilford and B.J. Ford each added six points in the opening period as the Jaguars (1-0) opened a 31-17 lead at the break. They held a 19-9 rebounding advantage and forced 11 turnovers. Tilford finished with a team-high 15 points.
South Alabama led 5-4 at the 17:42 mark when Merritt and Tilford hit back-to-back jumpers for a 9-4 lead. After a pair of UWF free throws, the Jaguars used an 18-3 to open its biggest lead of the first half, 27-9 with 5:33 to play. However, the Argonauts tallied the next eight points to close back to within 10 at 27-17, but didn’t score again and trailed by 14 at intermission.
The lead steadily climbed throughout the second stanza despite the fact that the Jaguars’ shooting percentage dropped from 47.8 to 42.4 percent. However, they had just two turnovers in the period and maintained their rebounding edge, finishing the contest up 47-21. The biggest margin came with 18 seconds remaining when Ford canned his third three-pointer to push the score to 73-39.
The 41 points allowed equaled the second-fewest in a season opener in USA history and the fewest ever allowed in the nine-year history of the Mitchell Center.
“I liked our defensive effort against a pretty good offensive team,” Head Coach Ronnie Arrow said. “Our inside guys did a good job guarding the basket. On the other side, we weren’t very patient on the offensive end. I am happy with the way we played overall, but I think we still have a lot of work to do.”
The contest marked the first for Arrow as the Jaguars head coach since Dec. 14, 1994, when USA lost 110-64 at Evansville. He was replaced the next day. He was rehired for a second stint on April 17 of this year.
“It was fun to walk out of the tunnel before the game and see old friends, but when the game started it was just another game,” Arrow said of his return. “I have chosen to be a basketball coach as my profession, so I will always coach somewhere. But I do have some very fond memories of my first stay here.”
After Tilford, two other Jags reached double figures ? Brandon Davis and Demetric Bennett with 12 points each. DeAndre Coleman and Merritt finished with seven rebounds apiece, while Merritt dished out a team-best five assists. Vitor Boccardo tallied 14 points and Charles Bouie added 10 to lead West Florida.
South Alabama gets its first road test of the 2007-08 season on Tuesday when it travels to Southeastern Conference member Mississippi. The Jags return home next Saturday against Grambling.
