Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men’s basketball team continues its three-game homestand Thursday when Western Kentucky comes to Mobile for a 7:05 p.m. tip-off.

The game can be seen on Fox College Sports and heard on 105.5 WNSP and WNSP.com. A videostream will be available to Jaguar Athletics All-Access subscribers on USAJaguars.com.

WKU has won five straight in the series, winning every meeting since the start of the 2008-09 season. The first four wins were by eight points or less, but last year’s 99-69 victory in Bowling Green is the largest by either team in 57 games.

Both perennial Sun Belt Conference powers come into the game with a losing record. South Alabama (7-9, 1-4) has dropped three straight while Western Kentucky (5-11, 0-4) is in the midst of its longest skid (six) since the 1997-98 season. The Hilltoppers were picked to win the SBC East Division in the conference’s preseason poll.

“I think our two programs right now are somewhat alike,” USA head coach Ronnie Arrow said. “We’re both hurting in depth—I don’t think they have the depth they’ve had in the past. We don’t have the depth we’ve had in the past either. They have good players and so do we, but it just hasn’t come together. This is going to be a very physical game. This is a game where we must shut their big three guys down and not let (Kahlil) McDonald or (Cliff) Dixon have a big game against us.”

Those ‘big three’ guys are Sergio Kerusch, Juan Pattillo and Steffphon Pettigrew, who account for 61.8 percent of the team’s scoring. Kerusch and Pattillo average a team-best 14.6 points per game (seventh and eighth in the Sun Belt, respectively), while Pettigrew averages 13.6 per contest. WKU is the only school in the league with three players in the top 15 in scoring.

“Those are three very good players,” said Arrow. “They could be excellent players for 90 percent of the schools around the country. They’re very strong and agile, and they can go inside and outside. We’ve got to stop those guys. This is a team where you can’t go by their record. We have to show up and play hard for 40 minutes.”
 
Pattillo ranks in the league’s top 10 in scoring, rebounding (9.6), steals (1.9) and blocks (1.4). He tied his season high of 24 points Jan. 6 at Denver, but has scored only 22 points in the two games since.

“He’s very versatile,” said Arrow. “He’s strong, can put the ball on the floor, he can muscle you and he can get around you. The two other guys they have are a lot like that. They have a scoring mentality.”

The Jaguars have a triple-threat of their own. Sophomore Martino Brock (Memphis, Tenn.) is sixth in the conference in scoring (14.7) and is averaging 19.5 per contest since missing the Florida Atlantic game on Jan. 6. Senior Tim Williams (Pontiac, Mich.) averages 13.8 ppg and redshirt freshman Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) remains the league’s top rebounder at 10.7 rpg and has back-to-back 20-point scoring games, including a career-high 23 Saturday vs. Louisiana at Monroe. His scoring average is up to 12.5 ppg.

“Aug, Martino and Tim bring the bulk of our scoring,” noted Arrow. “They’ve got to be able to score for us. That doesn’t mean just mean going out and shooting 3s. That means steals, lay-ups, offensive rebounds, put-backs, getting fouled and going to the free throw line.”

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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