Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men’s basketball team returns to the Mitchell Center and will take on Central Michigan Saturday night at 7:05 p.m.

At halftime the USA football team will be honored for their second consecutive undefeated season. Head coach Joey Jones and director of athletics Dr. Joel Erdmann will feature as guest speakers during the ceremony.

The Jaguars will attempt to put a loss to Southern Miss on Wednesday behind them and face a Chippewas team that is defending Mid-American Conference West Division champions.

“We’ll know today how we bounce back when we come to practice,” said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow. “Our true character will show. We just got our tails kicked. I thought we guarded well early but we couldn’t score. When we couldn’t score then we stopped playing defense. When you don’t score and don’t play defense, bad things will happen. We showed some bad self-discipline at the end of the game and didn’t keep our composure.

“The bottom line is, we have to have our returning guys show up ready to play,” Arrow continued. “Tim (Williams), Martino (Brock), Allyn (Cooks) and Gary (Redus) have a lot of game experience and this team will go as they go. They have the most experience and have got to come ready to practice every day, ready to lead every day and they have to show up to games and get the job done for us.”

Saturday will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools. USA currently holds a 3-3 record against MAC schools but has lost its last two games.

Central Michigan enters with a 1-2 mark and has yet to play a home game. The Chippewas competed in the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic in Hawai’I last weekend and will be traveling over 1,000 miles to Mobile.

“If you’ve got to go somewhere, I can’t think of two better places than Hawai’I and Mobile,” said Arrow. “I’m sure they made that trip to help their kids grow up and I’m sure they got a lot of experience out there.”

CMU boasts the sixth- and seventh-leading scorers in the Mid-American Conference, led by freshman Trey Zeigler, son of head coach Ernie Zeigler. The 6-5 freshman averages 18.7 points per outing and is coming off a 24-point performance against Hawai’i.

“He’s one of the top freshmen in the country,” said Arrow. “He likes to have the ball and wants to make the big play. He’s involved in a lot of their offense. For us to be successful we have to stop him; however, we can’t let the rest of the team go free. We need to use him as a challenge go right at him.”

Central Michigan’s Jalin Thomas ranks one spot behind Trey Zeigler at 16.7 per outing. He poured in 21 points in the season opener against Cal State Fullerton.

South Alabama senior Tim Williams (Pontiac, Mich.) bounced back from a seven-point outing vs. Spring Hill to post a team-high 17 Wednesday, a total that included two 3-pointers. His output ended a two-game stretch with less than 10 points, tying his career high.

“Tim is getting there,” said Arrow. “He’s working in practice, but he needs to work on his shot selection.”

Sophomore Javier Carter (Dallas, Texas) set a new personal best with 14 points and tied his career high with eight rebounds. He made 4-of-7 shots from the floor and was the only USA player to shoot over 50 percent. He also added two blocks and two steals.

“Javier played really well at Southern Miss,” said Arrow. “He needs to continue to do that.”

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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