Game Notes

Game 9 • South Alabama Jaguars (5-3) at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders (1-5)
December 15, 2011 • 7 p.m. • American Bank Center (8,100) • Corpus Christi, Texas

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Ronnie Arrow (Southwest Texas State, 1969)
Record at USA: 194-147 (13th year)
Overall Record: 328-238 (21st year)
Record vs. TAMUCC: 0-0

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Willis Wilson (Rice, 1982)
Record at TAMUCC: 1-5 (1st year)
Overall Record: 220-251 (17th year)

LAST GAME
South Alabama hit the century mark in its 102-62 win Sunday over Alcorn State. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi lost 87-66 at Houston on Dec. 3.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars host Georgia Southern Dec. 19. The Islanders travel to West Virginia Saturday as part of the Las Vegas Classic.

ON THE AIR
Radio: 105.5 WNSP; Lee Shirvanian (pxp)
On the web: www.wnsp.com (audio); GoIslanders.com (PPV video)

RANKINGS (Through Dec. 11)
USA: #110 RPI (RealTimeRPI), #92 Sagarin
TAMUCC: #247 RPI (RealTimeRPI), #263 Sagarin

THE SERIES
Thursday is the first meeting between the two schools.

OPENING TIP
USA head coach Ronnie Arrow will be making a return to the school where he started the basketball program in 1999. He went 134-91 in eight seasons for the Islanders, including a Southland Conference title and NCAA Tournament berth in 2007.

USA’s 102 points Sunday are the school’s most since tallying 123 against William Carey on Feb. 23, 2003. All 11 players in uniform scored a point.

On Sunday, South Alabama improved to 4-1 on the year when outrebounding its opponent, winning the battle of the boards 53-31. The plus-22 margin ties the team’s high this season and the 53 rebounds are a season best. The Jaguars have outrebounded their opponent in each of the last four games by an average of 13.3 per game.

The Jags had Augustine Rubit partially to thank for their dominance on the glass, as the sophomore had 10 rebounds to go along with a career-high 31 points for his third double-double of the season. He shot 13-for-22 from the floor (both career highs) and added two blocks. His 31 points are 10 more than he had in his previous two games combined (8 vs. Alabama A&M, 13 vs. Southern Miss).

Rubit had two of USA’s nine blocks Sunday and was one of seven players with a rejection. The Jaguars are averaging 9.0 blocks in the last four games and have at least seven in a game over that span. South Alabama leads the Sun Belt in blocks (6.4 bpg) and have two in the league’s top 15, including Javier Carter who is second with a 3.3 per-game average (13th in the nation). He had two vs. Alcorn State, his fewest since Nov. 20.

The Jaguars’ top scoring threat off the bench, Antione Lundy has set or tied his career high in scoring in each of the last three games, including 18 vs. Alcorn State. He converted 7 of 8 from the floor Sunday, the team’s best shooting percentage this season, moving him up to second in the SBC in field goal percentage (57.4%). He is third on the team in scoring with 10.0 ppg, despite not starting a single game this year.

Mychal Ammons is averaging 13.5 points when coming off the bench (two games) and 4.3 in a starting role (six games). He had 12 Sunday vs. Alcorn State.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi ranks 333rd in Division I in scoring offense (53.0 ppg) and 334th in field goal percentage (35.3%). The Islanders’ highest point total this season is 66 and they have scored more than 58 points just once.