THE SETTING
    The South Alabama Jaguars (20-9, 13-4 SBC) return home looking to snap a two game skid on Senior Night against Troy at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.  The Jags, who had won 13 straight, dropped their past two games in Florida this week, ending the second longest winning streak in the nation.  Troy enters with an 12-16 record overall and a 7-10 mark in conference play after a 73-70 win over Middle Tennessee Thursday.

 

A VICTORY OVER TROY WOULD...

?  Give the Jaguars an 21-9 record overall and tie for the most wins in conference play in school history with 14.

?  Give head coach John Pelphrey his 81st victory at the helm of the Jaguar program.

?  Tie last season’s regular season win total.

?  Give the Jags their fifth consecutive win on Senior Night.

?  Remain unbeaten against Troy in six meetings.

 

HONORING THREE SENIORS

The South Alabama Jaguars will be honoring three seniors who will be playing their last game at the Mitchell Center Saturday night.  USA’s lone four year senior Carlos Smith, along with two year players Stephen Cowherd and Leandro Buboltz will be honored before the game.

 

IF THE TOURNAMENT STARTED TODAY...

If the Sun Belt Tournament started today, the Jags will play the winner of the 8/9 matchup on Sunday, Mar. 4 at 12:30 p.m. in Lafayette, La.  Right now, the Jags would play the winner between New Orleans (8) and Troy (9).

 

THE SOUTH ALABAMA JAGUARS
The Jaguars look to get back on the winning track after a pair of losses at Florida International and Florida Atlantic.  USA had a 13-point lead with 10 minutes to play, but were unable to hang on.  Cold first half shooting doomed the Jags against Florida Atlantic on Wednesday.  Last week, USA clinched the East Division title as Western Kentucky lost at home to FAU and then USA earned the top seed in the conference tournament as Louisiana-Monroe lost to Louisiana-Lafayette.

    Leading the way for the Jags this season is Bennett who is averaging a team-best 15.3 points and is second on the team with 5.5 rebounds per game.  He is a team-best 151 of 332 from the field and 68 of 160 from beyond the arc.  Second on the team in scoring is junior Daon Merritt who averages 12.9 points per game.  Merritt had a South Alabama career-high 24 against North Texas Jan. 28 and then tied it against Western Kentucky on Feb. 8 as he hit the game-tying 3-pointer in regulation and game-winning bucket in overtime.  He leads the team with 154 assists this season and has three games of 10 assists this year.  Junior Ernest Little is third in scoing at 12.6 points per game and leads the team averaging 8.7 rebounds per game.  The Mobile native has had a team-high five double-doubles this season, including 15 points and 12 rebounds against Arkansas State on Feb. 11 and tallied a career-high 23 points and 13 rebounds at Middle Tennessee on Feb. 3. 

    In conference play, Bennett leads the team averaging 15.6 points and 5.3 rebounds, while Merritt is second averaging 15.3 points and Little is third averaging 12.8 and a team-best 9.0 rebounds per game.  Bennett leads the team with 89 field goals made, a .453 field goal percentage (89-1187) and has 39 3-pointers.  Merritt leads the team with 74 made free throws for a 77.1 average (74-96).  He was a career-best 9 of 9 from the charity stripe at Denver on Jan. 20.  Little has 20 blocks to lead the team and shoots a team-best .594 on 41 of 69.

    Head coach John Pelphrey is in his fifth season at the helm of the Jaguar program.  He took the team to new heights in 2005-06, winning the division, tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.  Pelphrey was named 2006 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year.  Pelphrey, the ninth head coach in school history, has a 80-64 record at South Alabama. 

 

LAST TIME OUT - AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC

BOCA RATON, FL - Carlos Monroe posted his 10th double-double of the season by halftime and DeAndre Rice scored 23 points on senior night as Florida Atlantic knocked off South Alabama, 79-69, on Wednesday at FAU Arena.

   Monroe led all players with 12 points and 11 rebounds before the break. He was 6-for-11 from the floor. DeAndre Rice was 3-for-3 from behind the arc and converted both first-half free throw attempts for 11 first-half points. Daon Merritt led South Alabama with six in the first half.

   Florida Atlantic shot 50.0 percent in the opening 20 minutes, while holding South Alabama to 23.3 percent. FAU out-rebounded USA 27-15. The Jaguars hit just two of their last 20 attempts from the floor in the opening session.

   Two USA free throws by Brandon Davis gave the Jaguars a 18-15 lead with 7:58 left in the first half, but the Owls would finish the frame on a 20-4 run that saw Rice score eight of his 11 first-half points.

   The Owls led 44-32 with 15 minutes remaining in regulation following a pair of free throws by Monroe, who finished with 21 points and 15 boards, but a Charles Tabet three-point play cut the lead to 46-37 with 13:30 to play.

   For the game, FAU held USA, who was shooting 37 percent as a team from deep, to just 7-of-29 on the night, a 24.1 percent clip. FAU made 51.0 percent of its field goals while USA hit just 37.3 percent of its attempts. The Owls finished with a 44-34 rebounding edge and shot 78.1 percent (25-32) from the free throw line, 88.5 percent (23-26) in the second half.

   FAU (15-13, 10-7 SBC) clinched their second consecutive winning season, the first time the team has accomplished that since moving to Division I.

 

TROY TROJANS

   Troy enters the game with a 12-16 record overall and a 7-10 record in conference play.  The Trojans snapped a two game skid with a 73-70 win over Middle Tennessee Thursday.   

   The Trojans have five players averaging double figures, led by O’Darian Bassett who is averaging 14.8 points per game.  He leads the team in field goals made with 150 and is second in 3-pointers made and free throws made.  Second on the team in scoring is Richard Chaney who is averaging 14.5 points and leads the team pulling down 7.4 rebounds per game.  Sammy Sharp is third on the team at 11.2, followed by Cedric Jackson at 11.0 and Boo Ramsey at 10.9 points per game.

   Chaney leads the team in conference play averaging 14.1 points and 7.3 rebounds, followed by Sharp and Bassett at 12.3. 

   Head coach Don Maestri is in his 25th year at the helm of the Trojan program.  He has a 423-293 record at Troy.  Maestri welcomes back three starters from last season’s 14-15 squad that finished 6-9 in the Sun Belt West Division.

 

INSIDE THE SERIES

This is the sixth meeting between the two teams and the second meeting this season.  USA posted a 75-64 come-from-behind victory at Troy on Jan. 11.  USA leads the all-time series 5-0, including 3-0 in Mobile.

 

LAST TIME THEY MET - JAN. 11, 2007

TROY, Ala. -With 18 points and six assists, game high scorer Daon Merritt led South Alabama to a 75-64 victory over Troy Thursday night.

   The Trojans (7-10, 2-4 SBC) were ahead for much of the game, leading by as much as 14 points in the first half. But the Jaguars (10-7, 4-2 SBC) grabbed the lead on a layup by Demetric Bennett with 13:58 left in the second half and never gave it up.

   South Alabama had three other double digit scorers. Bennett and Carlos Smith had 15 points each, and Ernest Little chipped in with 14.

   Cedric Jackson and O'Darien Bassett led Troy with 15 points each, while Justin Jonus helped out with 14 points.

 

SMITH MOVING UP

Senior Carlos Smith currently stands at seventh all-time in assists with 289.  In addition, Smith ranks fifht all-time in school history in steals with 133. 

 

MERRITT DOING THE DISHES

The 154 assists by junior Daon Merritt this year ranks seventh in school history in a season.  Merritt is averaging 5.5 assists per game.

 

COLD SHOOTING IN FLORIDA

Normally a decent shooting team, the Jaguars started hot against Florida Atlantic making five of their first 10, but went 2 of 20 the rest of the half in a 79-69 loss Wednesday.  It was just the sixth time this season that USA has shot under 40 percent for a game.

 

WINNING STREAK SNAPPED

South Alabama’s second longest winning streak in the nation was snapped on Sunday with a 69-67 loss at Florida International.  USA had a 13-point lead with 10 minutes to play, but were unable to hang on.

 

SOLID SHOOTING DEMETRIC

Junior Demetric Bennett had one of his best shooting performances of his career against FIU on Sunday. Bennett went 8 of 10 from the floor and a perfect 4 of 4 from beyond the arc and two free throws for a team-high 22 points.  It was his eighth 20-point outing of the season and his 20th double-digit scoring outing.

 

TURNOVERS KILL

Despite shooting one of its best percentages of the season against FIU on Sunday (55.3), South Alabama had an uncharacteristic season-high 20 turnovers in the loss to the Golden Panthers.  The Jags have not had more than 15 turnovers since a 73-51 loss at Western Kentucky on Dec. 22, 2006.

 

STRONG SECOND HALF SHOOTING

The Jaguars shot a season-best 65 percent in the second half against FIU on Sunday.  USA was 13 of 20 from the floor in the second half against the Golden Panthers.

 

TOP SEED IN THE SUN BELT TOURNAMENT

With a loss by Louisiana-Monroe a week ago Thursday at Louisiana-Lafayette, the Jaguars clinched the top seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Tournament beginning Mar. 2 in Lafayette, La.  Last season USA was the top seed in the West Division in the tournament and went on to win it in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

 

JAGS WIN 20

With the 66-61 win at Houston on Wednesday, USA won its 20th game in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2001.  USA has won 20 or more games 13 times in school history. 

 

DIVISION CHAMPS...AGAIN

With a Western Kentucky loss against Florida Atlantic Wednesday, the South Alabama Jaguars won back-to-back Division titles.  This time, USA won the East Division as it had a four game lead on WKU with three games to play.  It is the first time in Sun Belt history that a team won a division title in one division and then won the title in the other division the next year.

 

12 CONFERENCE GAME STREAK

USA won 12-straight conference games before a 69-67 loss at FIU last Sunday.  It ranks as the fifth longest streak in conference history.  New Orleans won 19-straight from Mar. 1, 1992 to Jan. 8, 1994, followed by 18 from Western Kentucky and 13 by South Alabama from Feb. 23, 1978 to Jan. 5, 1980.

 

MOST SBC ROAD WINS IN LAST FIVE YEARS

South Alabama is tied for the most conference road wins in the last five years. USA is 20-19 in road conference games during the span.  Middle Tennessee also has 20 road wins. 

SEVEN-STRAIGHT ROAD WINS

With a 66-61 win at Houston on Feb. 14, the Jaguars won their seventh road game of the season.  USA started the season 0-5 on the road.

 

PELPHREY WINS 80TH

With a 66-61 win over Houston on Feb. 14, head coach John Pelphrey won his 80th career game at South Alabama.  Pelphrey is in his fifth season at the helm of the Jaguars and has an 80-64 record.  During the last two years, Pelphrey has gone 44-16.  During his first three years, he was 36-48.

 

SIZZLIN’ SMITH

Senior Carlos Smith led the Jags with 15 points on 5 of 8 from the floor and 3 of 5 from beyond the arc in the 66-61 win at Houston on Feb. 14.  Smith hit the go ahead 3-pointer with under just under three minutes left to put the Jags up for good.

 

DOUBLE-DOUBLE ERNEST TIMES FIVE

Junior Ernest Little recorded his team-leading fifth double-double of the year against Arkansas State on Feb. 11.  Little, who leads the team in rebounds, pulled down 12 boards to go along with 15 points.  Little almost had the double-double in the first half, scoring 10 points and nine rebounds.

 

MERRITT AND COWHERD WITH THE ASSISTS

Junior Daon Merritt and senior Stephen Cowherd each had six assists against Arkansas State on Feb. 11.  It is the first time this season that USA has had two players with five or more assists in the same game. 

 

DYNAMIC DAON

Junior Daon Merritt tied his career-high with 24 points against Western Kentucky Feb. 8 in the Jags’ 73-71 overtime victory.  Merritt hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 21 seconds left in regulation after Western Kentucky rattled off a 15-0 run to take the lead down the stretch.  Merritt then came back in overtime and scored the game winner with 2.2 seconds left.  Merritt’s previous career-best came against North Texas where he hit a 3-pointer with less than 30 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.

 

JAGS SHOW CHARACTER

USA got up on Western Kentucky by as many as 12 points during the first half and led for much of the second half by 10 points.  However, WKU went on a late 15-0 run to take the lead in regulation, but the Jags’ heart and character really showed as they battled back and forced the game into overtime where they eventually won.

 

SOLID DEFENSE

The South Alabama defense tightened and did not let go as it allowed a season-low 10 second half points against Middle Tennessee Feb. 3.  USA trailed in the game 28-27 at halftime, but outscored the Blue Raiders 34-10 in the second half for a 61-38 win.  USA held MT to 5 of 20 from the field in the second half and 0 of 8 from beyond the arc.

 

CAREER-HIGHS FOR ERNEST

Junior Ernest Little had South Alabama career-highs against Middle Tennessee on Feb. 3.  Little scored a career-high 23 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in the Jags’ 61-38 victory.  He also was a career-best 9 of 13 from the field. 

 

 

 

JAGS FORCE THE TURNOVERS

South Alabama forced 20 or more turnovers for the fifth time this season against  Middle Tennessee lon Feb. 3  The Jags forced the Blue Raiders into 20 turnovers en route to a 61-38 win. USA forced UC-Irvine into a season high 25 turnovers on Nov. 10  South Alabama has forced 414 turnovers by its opponents in 27 games compared to 316 by USA.  USA is +3.6 in turnover margin.

    

FEW FREE POINTS

The Jaguars held Middle Tennessee to just two free throw attempts.  Both attempts came in the first half of USA’s 61-38 win.  It was the lowest free shooting that the Jaguars have given up this season. 

 

JAGS START QUICKLY

South Alabama changed its trend of getting down early with an 11-0 start a 76-58 win at New Orleans on Feb. 1.  USA then used a 17-0 spurt to take control of the game midway through the first half.  The Jaguars had trailed at some point during the last six games, but led wire-to-wire against UNO.

 

ERNEST RETURNS IN A BIG WAY

Junior Ernest Little who missed the North Texas game on Jan. 28 returned to the Jag lineup and scored 12 points on 4 of 7 from the floor and 4 of 5 from the free throw line at New Orleans. 

 

USA HOLDS MCCALEBB DOWN

The Jaguars held the nation’s fourth leading scorer in Bo McCalebb to just 11 points through 36 minutes of basketball Feb. 1.  McCalebb was just 4 for 12 for the game and 12 of 13 from the free throw line. McCalebb scored nine points in the final four minutes of the game after it was already decided.

 

JAGS OVER 50 PERCENT

South Alabama shot 50 percent for the game against Florida International on Sunday.  It was the sixth time this season that USA has shot over 50 percent for the game.  The Jags are 5-1 in those games.

 

OVERTIME JAGS

USA won its second overtime game in as many seasons against North Texas.  USA came from as many as 12 points down in the second half to defeat the Mean Green in the extra period, 90-89.  USA then needed the extra time to defeat Western Kentucky 73-71 last Thursday.  It was the first time in the Pelphrey era that USA has had two overtime games in the same season and first time since 2001-02.

 

CAREER-HIGHS FOR DOUBLE D’S

Juniors Demetric Bennett and Daon Merritt had South Alabama career-highs against North Texas Sunday.  Bennett led all scorers with 29 points on a career-best 11 of 17 from the field and 5 of 6 from beyond the arc.  Merritt had 24 points and hit one of this three 3-pointers with four seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 81. 

 

CARDIAC JAGS

With the 90-89 overtime win over North Texas on Jan. 28, the Jags again showed that they are not out of a game until the final buzzer.  USA has now come back from double-digits down in five of its last six games for wins to that point.

 

CLOCKWORK COWHERD

Senior Stephen Cowherd played all 40 minutes against Louisiana-Monroe Jan. 25 as he ran the point for the Jags due to the three players who were suspended.  Cowherd had 10 points and a career-high eight assists in the Jags’ 64-57 come-from-behind win.

 

JAGS RANK IN NCAA STATISTICS

The Jaguars rank among the NCAA’s best in two different areas.  USA is 19th nationally turnovers per game as the Jags are averaging 12.0 turnovers.  USA also ranks in the top 30 in 3-point field goals per game. South Alabama is 30th in that area with 8.3 treys per game.

 

MERRITT AND BENNETT IN NCAA STATISTICS

Junior Daon Merritt ranks 20th in the NCAA in assists per game with a 5.6 average according to the latest NCAA Statistics released Monday.  Merritt leads the team with 154 assists and has three games of 10 assists this season.  Junior Demetric Bennett is 20th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage at 43.9 percent.  He is 68 of 155 from beyond the arc as of Feb. 18.

 

TAYLOR MADE

Freshman Brooks Taylor scored a career-high 10 points in 25 minutes of action against Louisiana-Monroe on Jan. 25.  He also was a career-best 6 of 7 from the charity stripe to help preserve the win.

 

BENCH POINTS

USA played without three of its top four scorers against ULM, but the rest of the team stepped up and got the job done.  USA outscored ULM 25-4 in bench points as sophomore Brandon Davis had 13 points and freshman Brooks Taylor had 10.

 

JAGS SHOW GREAT CHARACTER

Despite not having three starters, USA found a way to win.  The Jags posted their fifth consecutive come-from-behind victory and fourth from double-digits down.  USA trailed ULM 13-4 to start the game, but used a 27-17 run the rest of the half to pull within one at intermission.

 

BIG TIME BRANDON

Sophomore Brandon Davis had one of his best games as a Jaguar scoring 13 points and had seven rebounds off the bench against Louisiana-Monroe.  He was 4 of 7 from the field and 5 of 7 from the line.

 

LITTLE NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Junior forward Ernest Little earned Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week honors for his efforts this past week.  Little had back-to-back double-doubles helping the Jaguars to their season-long fifth and sixth victories.  Little had a career-high 20 points and 10 rebounds at Louisiana-Lafayette on Jan. 16 and followed that with 13 points and a career-high 12 rebounds at Denver Jan. 20.

 

JAGS PUT CLAMPS ON LEADING REBOUNDER

USA put the clamps down on the nation’s leading rebounder in Rashad Jones-Jennings from UALR Jan. 13.  Jones-Jennings tied his second season-low with just seven rebounds and had a season-low four points.  Prior to the game, he had been averaging 12.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game.

 

NICE SHOOTIN’

After a dismal shooting performance in the first half against UALR Jan. 13, the Jags came out on fire in the second half, shooting a season-high 71.4 percent for the half on 15 of 21 from the field.  USA ended the game shooting 47 percent after shooting just 28 percent in the first half.

 

STARTER DOUBLE FIGURES A PLENTY

USA has had nine of the 10 starters in double figures in back-to-back games. USA had all five starters in double figures for the first time since Feb. 25, 2003 against Florida Atlantic on Jan. 6 and then at Troy on Jan. 11, the Jags had four starters in double figures.

 

DOUBLE, DOUBLE-DOUBLE

USA had its first game of two players with double-doubles Jan. 11 at Troy.  Juniors Demetric Bennett and Ernest Little each had double-doubles as Bennett had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Little had 14 points and 11 rebounds.  Both players had career-highs in rebounds.

 

HITTIN’ THE CENTURY MARK

For the first time since Feb. 25, 2003, USA hit the century mark against Florida Atlantic this past Saturday.  The Jags scored 101 points against the Owls in a 101-76 victory.  USA has scored 100 or more points in 83 games in school history.  In addition, the 101 points ties the Sun Belt Conference season-best mark.  Louisiana-Monroe had 101 points against Wesley College on Dec. 19.

 

SEASON-HIGHS AGAINST FAU

The Jags set a number of season-highs against Florida Atlantic Jan. 6.  USA shot a season-best 58 percent from the field, including 60 percent in the second half, scored 101 points and had a season-high 14 3-pointers.  In addition, USA scored 51 points in the second half against the Owls which is the highest output for a half this season and had a season-high 21 assists.

 

DEMETRIC DEADLY FROM DOWNTOWN

Junior Demetric Bennett had a career night from long range against FAU.  Bennett was 9 of 14 from the field including a career-best 7 of 9 from beyond the arc.  Bennett leads the team with 127 made field goals and 57 made 3-pointers.

 

REJECTION CENTRAL

Through 28 games this season the Jaguars have 66 blocks.  Sophomore Brandon Davis leads the team this season with 24 blocks, junior Ernest Little has 21 and junior Kenny Hooks has 12.  Last season two players tied for the team lead in blocks with 12 and as a team, had 43 for the season.  The Jags had six blocks against Florida International Jan. 4 and Little had a career-high three rejections.

 

 JAGS SET SEASON-HIGHS

With an 80-56 win over Texas College on Dec. 19, the Jags set a number of season-highs against the Steers.  USA posted 51 rebounds, including 29 on the offensive end, along with a season-best 20 steals.

DAON DISHES

Junior Daon Merritt tallied a career-high 10 assists and his first double-double as a Jaguar against Morehead State (Nov. 17) with 12 points and 10 assists, becoming the first Jaguar since Demetrice Williams (1/9/03) to record 10 assists in a game.  He followed that performance with another 10 assist outing against West Florida Nov. 22.  He leads the team with 147 assists and a 5.5 average.

STEALIN’ JAGS

The Jags have been coming up with the steals this season as they have a 170-106 advantage in that area, including a 17-4 performance against UC-Irvine in the season opener and a season-best 20-11 performance against Texas College on Dec. 19.  USA has 205 steals  this season compared to 139 by its opponents.

 

BOMBS AWAY

The Jaguars had 11 3-pointers in the season opener against UC-Irvine and had 10 against Winston-Salem State and tallied a season-high 15 3-pointers against West Florida (Nov. 22).  The Jags have nine games thus far this season of 10 or more three pointers, including 13 against North Texas on Sunday.  USA had 10 games in 2005-06 with 10 or more 3-pointers including a season-high 14 at Troy (2/16/06).

 

KNOCKING DOWN THE TREY

USA has hit a three-pointer in 238 consecutive games.  The  last time the Jaguars were held without a trey was Feb. 6, 1999 in a 44-43 win over Arkansas-Little Rock.  USA averaged 8.8 three-pointers a game in 2005-06 and averaged 7.4 in 2004-05.  USA hit 11 treys in an 67-63 victory over UC-Irvine in the season opener and followed that up with a season-best 15 treys against West Florida on Nov. 22 and 14 3-pointers against Florida Atlantic last weekend.  The Jags have 182 made 3-pointers through 22 games, compared to 148 by their opponents.

 

DOUBLE-DOUBLE DEMETRIC

Junior Demetric Bennett had his first career double-double as a Jaguar against Samford on Dec. 2.  Bennett led the team with 21 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in a come-from-behind victory over Samford, 59-54. 

 

JAGS SIGN THREE DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD

The Jaguars signed three players during the early signing period.  USA signed a pair of high school teammates in LaDarius Hall and Jamar Moore from Thomasville High School in Thomasville, Ga.  In addition to them, the Jags also signed DeAndrae Ross from Lynnhaven, Fla. and Rutherford High School.  All three are guards and could have an immediate impact in 2007-08.

 

ON THE RADIO AND INTERNET

All South Alabama basketball games are broadcast on WNSP 105.5 FM out of Mobile.  This season, fans will have the opportunity to get live web streaming of all home basketball games and selected away contests.  Log onto www.usajaguars.com for more information.

 

JAGUAR NATION LIVE AND ON DEMAND

This season Jaguar fans anywhere in the world can watch home and selected road men’s and women’s basketball games on their computers.  Log onto www.usajaguars.com for more information on how to sign up for Jaguar Nation Live and On Demand.

 

INCHING UP THE CHARTS

Jag coach John Pelphrey, the ninth head coach hired in Jaguar history, moved into fourth on the all-time wins list at USA with 80.  Former USA and Auburn coach Cliff Ellis is the all-time winningest coach in Jag history with 171 victories. Here’s the breakdown:

              

      1.      Cliff Ellis                   171-84         .671

      2.      Ronnie Arrow           114-93         .551  

      3.      Bob Weltlich              81-65         .555

      4.      John Pelphrey        80-64        .556

      5.      Jimmy Taylor              76-53         .589  

      6.      Mike Hanks                45-43         .511

      7.      Bill Musselman            35-22         .614

      8.      Rex Fredrick               19-29         .396

       9.      Judas T. Prada             8-15         .348