South Alabama vs. Troy Game Notes
After 10 games against non-conference opponents, South Alabama begins Sun Belt Conference action Thursday when it hosts in-state rival Troy.
The Jaguars (7-3) are coming off one of their biggest wins in recent memory, rallying from a 13-point deficit in the second half for a 71-67 victory. Demetric Bennett scored a career-high 39 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Daon Merritt added 14 points and four assists.
Troy (6-4) is coming off a 98-80 victory over Jacksonville on Monday. Sophomore Brandon Hazzard came off the bench to score a career-high 27 points, including 22 in the first half.
Other storylines for today’s game:
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South Alabama has an 18-12 all-time record in conference openers, but has won just three of the last 10. A year ago, the Jaguars lost 73-51 at Western Kentucky in its league opener.
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South Alabama’s seven wins before the Christmas holiday is tied for fourth-most in school history. The 1983-84 Jaguars were 9-1 on Christmas morning.
The Series
South Alabama holds a 5-1 record all-time against Troy, but suffered its first defeat the last time these two teams met. The Trojans posted a 92-88 overtime win on Senior Night at the Mitchell Center last Feb. 24.
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak overall and a three-game run in Mobile.
A complete listing of the series:
Date Site W/L Score
Dec. 14, 1993 Mobile W 109-95
Dec. 19, 1995 Mobile W 70-43
Jan. 7, 2006 Mobile W 88-84
Feb. 16, 2006 Troy W 66-52
Jan. 11, 2007 Troy W 75-64
Feb. 24, 2007 Mobile L 92-88 (ot)
Arrow Against the Trojans
Head Coach Ronnie Arrow faced Troy once during his first stint with the Jaguars, winning the series opener in 1993.
At Home
South Alabama has an 84-34 record all-time at the Mitchell Center, gaining double-digit victories in five of the eight years, including two straight.
The Jaguars are 5-0 this year in "friendly confines," following an 11-3 mark a season ago.
Against the Sun Belt
South Alabama, the last remaining charter member of the Sun Belt Conference, stands 251-198 all-time in 31 years of league play. That equates to a .559 winning percentage.
The Jaguars are 25-8 the last two seasons, including 13-5 in 2006-07.
For Openers, Part II
South Alabama has an 18-12 all-time record in conference openers, but has won just three of the last 10. A year ago, the Jaguars lost 73-51 at Western Kentucky in its league opener.
Award-Winning Week
Senior Demetric Bennett was recognized nationally for his 39-point, eight-rebound effort in the win over Mississippi State on Saturday. He was the run-away choice for Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week honors, but was also named National Player of the Week by rivals.com on Wednesday.
Bennett was chosen runner-up for the national honors given by FoxSports.com.
National Recognition, Too
South Alabama’s win over Mississippi State has also put the Jaguars on the national map. ESPN.com’s Kyle Whelliston published an article Tuesday on Ronnie Arrow’s return to South Alabama, while the Louisville Courier-Journal is running a feature on Domonic Tilford later this week.
South Alabama was ranked 46th in the Sagarin ratings and 49th in the Pomeroy Rankings on Wednesday.
More on 39
Demetric Bennett’s 39 points are rank no lower than a tie for fifth on South Alabama’s single-game scoring chart and were the most since Junie Lewis tallied 41 against Virginia Commonwealth on Jan. 30, 1988.
Here are the four 40-point scoring games in Jaguar history:
Pts. Name Opponent Date
46 Eugene Oliver So. Miss 02/14/74
41 Roger Webb Fla. Tech 12/08/69
41 Junie Lewis Va. Comm. 01/30/88
40 Roger Webb Abilene Chr. 01/11/71
Rebounding Runs
After a three-game success run in the rebounding category, South Alabama has now lost the battle of the boards in three straight games... ironically all wins.
In fact, the last two opponents -- Southern Miss and Mississippi State -- have each gained 42 total rebounds, most by the opponents all season. The Golden Eagles held the biggest margin (16) of the year against the Jaguars.
The Jaguars are now 3-2 when the opponent grabs more rebounds with Miami and Mississippi handing them losses on the boards and in the game.
The Jaguars rank third in the Sun Belt Conference with a +5.7 rebounding margin, holding opponents to just 31.5 per contest.
Seeing 20-20
South Alabama has had two players reach the 20-point plateau in three of the last five games, although it did not occur vs. Mississippi State in the most recent outing.
Daon Merritt scored 24 points and Domonic Tilford added 22 against Southern Miss. Demetric Bennett tallied 25 points and Tilford added 20 against Vanderbilt, one game after tallying 21 and 26 points, respectively.
The efforts mark the eighth and ninth times that a Jaguar has eclipsed the 20-point mark this season. Bennett has four total, with Tilford (three) and Daon Merritt adding the other five.
Last year’s schedule also featured three games where a pair of players reached 20 points.
The Defense is There
South Alabama is limiting its opponents to just 40.9 percent shooting this season, right at the goal of 41 percent set by Coach Arrow.
After allowing two straight opponents to shatter that mark (Houston Baptist at 45.3 percent and at 46.4 percent), the Jaguars returned to form by holding Southern Miss to 39.7 percent and Mississipi State to 37.7 percent.
The effort marked the fifth time this year that the opponent was held under 40 percent from the field.
Only Mississippi has made at least half its shots, hitting exactly 50 percent.
Turnover Times
With 18 turnovers on Saturday against Mississippi State, compared to only 16 by the Bulldogs, South Alabama had a four-game streak of fewer or the same number of turnovers snapped.
Ironically, Saturday’s game marked just the second time all season that the opponent had fewer turnovers -- the win vs. San Diego also fits the category.
They enter tonight’s contest sixth in the Sun Belt Conference in turnover margin, holding a +1.56 difference.
Douglas Saves the Day
Ronald Douglas, saddled in the locker room with stomach cramps in the first half on Saturday, came to the rescue for the Jaguars.
The junior scored his only basket on a tip-in ith 22 seconds left, breaking a 67-67 tie. He played 11 minutes in the second half, grabbing three rebounds and dishing out an assist.
Double-Double News
South Alabama has had three players earn double-doubles this season, most recently Ronald Douglas.
The junior earned his first career double-double at Vanderbilt with 17 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out. Demetric Bennett had 19 points and a career-high 12 rebounds vs. Grambling, while DeAndre Coleman posted 12 points and 10 boards at Ole Miss.
Bennett For Three...
Senior Demetric Bennett leads the Jaguars in three-pointers this season with 33, 10 more than Domonic Tilford.
Bennett started the season ranked seventh all-time in number of threes made, but passed Mario Jointer for fifth against Mississippi State. He now has 151, two fewer than Carlos Smith’s 153.
The complete listing of career three-pointers at South Alabama:
No. Name 3FGs Years
1. Derek Turner 249 1988-92
2. Chris Young 188 2002-04
3. Richard Law 161 2002-06
4. Carlos Smith 153 2003-07
5. Demetric Bennett 151 2005-
6. Mario Jointer 150 2004-06
7. Jeff Hodge 145 1985-89
8. Demetrice Williams 117 1999-2003
9. Ravonte Dantzler 116 1999-2001
10. Toby Madison 105 1996-98
And Nearing 1,000
Demetric Bennett enters tonight’s game with 958 career points, moving him into the top 15 all-time. He needs just 42 more points to become the 13th Jaguar in history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
The complete listing of career scoring leaders at South Alabama:
No. Name Points Years
1. Jeff Hodge 2221 1985-89
2. Terry Catledge 1866 1982-85
3. Ed Rains 1801 1977-81
4. Rory White 1726 1978-82
5. Junie Lewis 1726 1986-89
6. Demetrice Williams 1350 1999-2003
7. Andy Denny 1352 1969-72
8. Roger Webb 1309 1968-71
9. Derek Turner 1238 1988-92
10. Virgil Stanescu 1126 1998-2001
11. Henry Williams 1074 2000-04
12. Michael Gerren 1028 1982-84
13. Kent Carson 988 1969-72
14. Richard Law 960 2002-06
15. Demetric Bennett 958 2005-
Jaguars For Three
South Alabama hit 10 of 17 three-pointers against Mississippi State on Saturday, its best percentage of the year at 58.8 percent.
The 10 treys marked the fourth time this year that the Jaguars have reached double figures in the category -- they had 11 against bother Ole Miss and Chattanooga and 10 vs. Vanderbilt.
Slow Starts
South Alabama has made a habit of slow starts this season, trailing before the clock starts after the first media timeout seven times in 11 games (including the exhibition).
Against Mississippi State, the Jags trailed 6-5 when the teams went to their benches the first time at 15:46.
The scores this season at the first media timeout:
Game Clock Score
Spring Hill (ex). 15:33 0-4
W. Florida 15:47 5-4
Ole Miss 15:17 0-11
Grambling 15:36 8-11
Miami 15:47 4-6*
San Diego 15:58 4-6
Chattanooga 15:57 12-6
Vanderbilt 15:59 8-8
Houston Baptist 15:58 9-10
Southern Miss 14:12 7-4
Mississippi State 15:46 5-6
*teams went into the break before free throws that broke a 4-4 tie
Arrow Among the Elite
Head Coach Ronnie Arrow begins his second stint in the Sun Belt Conference tonight looking to improve on a stellar mark.
When Arrow left the league in 1995, he ranked second on the coaches win list with 69, but has since been passed by two others. He will climb back into third place on the list if the Jaguars can finish at least .500 during the conference season.
The top five winningest coaches in Sun Belt Conference history:
1. Gene Bartow, UAB 111
2. Dickey Nutt, ASU 98
3. Jessie Evans, ULL 77
4. Ronnie Arrow, USA 69
5. Marty Fletcher, ULL/DU 66
A Tale of Two Halves
South Alabama had two different outcomes for its shooting on Saturday night.
The Jaguars hit 61.5 percent from the field in the second half on Saturday, its second-best 20-minute effort of the season.They hit 65.4 percent before intermission against Chattanooga.
However, South Alabama hit just 37.0 percent in the first half against the Bulldogs, the fourth-lowest total of the season for a half.
Block Party
Ronald Douglas and Brandon Davis have both reached double figures in blocks this season. Douglas has a team-high 16 following his three swats against Southern Miss, while Davis gained his 11th with one block against Mississippi State.
The six blocked shots recorded by the Jaguars against Southern Miss were the second-highest total of the season after seven against Vanderbilt.
At the Charity Stripe
South Alabama suffered its second-worst effort at the free throw line on Satuday, hitting just 42.9 percent (9 of 21). That comes on the heels of a string of four of five games over 70 percent.
South Alabama entered the game hitting 101 of its previous 137 (73.7 percent) attempts at the line, including 77.8 percent vs. Chattanooga and 76.7 percent vs. San Diego.
The worst mark of the season was 38.1 percent (eight of 21) vs. Miami.
13 Times 10
South Alabama has strung together 13 double-digit scoring runs in 10 games this season, including a 13-point surge against Mississippi State. That equalled the second-longest of the year behind a 15-point run vs. West Florida.
The Jaguars had three such runs against both San Diego and Chattanooga.
Recently, runs have been harder to come by... the Jags entered the Mississippi State game without a double-digit run in three straight games, the longest drought of the season.
Some Stellar Shooting
South Alabama has has two of its top five shooting games of the year the last two games, hitting a season-best 53.3 percent against Southern Miss and 49.1 percent vs. Mississippi State.
Combined, the Jaguars have hit 51.0 percent over the last two games, their best back-to-back efforts of the season.
Three-Point Bombers
South Alabama has now hit a three-pointer in 251 straight contests, dating back to the 1998-99 season.
The last opponent to hold the Jaguars without a make from behind the arc was UALR on Feb. 6, 1999.
Welcome Back
Junior Daniel Hayles made his return to the active roster on Saturday, playing 18 minutes against Mississippi State.
Hayles began the season with the team, but was forced to the sidelines when personal issues forced him to drop two classes. His resulting "part-time" status makes him ineligible to participate in any athletic activity.
