Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – Winners of two straight games and currently in the midst of a four-game homestand, the University of South Alabama men’s basketball team will look to continue its strong play when it welcomes Alabama A&M to the Mitchell Center Saturday night.

The third meeting between the two schools—and first since 1999—will tip at 7:05 p.m.

While the two-game win streak may seem modest, South Alabama (3-2) has vanquished an SEC opponent in LSU and ended a six-game losing streak to in-state rival UAB.

“That’s what we’re looking for, to see the improvements that we’ve made in practice and the games,” USA head coach Ronnie Arrow said. “It’s a learning process. Our guards are getting better and our defense was tremendous (Wednesday). But when you play someone else, they do different things, so our scheme for Alabama A&M will have to change, yet keep the same intensity level.”

One of the guards showing improvement is junior Freddie Goldstein (Milwaukee, Wis.), who in his first career start, tied his personal best with 11 points and dished out four assists with no turnovers.

“I thought he played really well,” Arrow said. “He only had four assists, but the good part is he didn’t have any turnovers in 34 minutes which is really good. He still needs to work on his shot selection—he’s a much better shooter than going 1-for-7 from the 3s. I thought he forced some of those and he knew that he did, but overall he did well.”

Goldstein and backcourt mate Xavier Roberson (Houston, Texas) (14 points) contributed at the guard spots, but it was the Jaguars’ interior play that did the damage against the Blazers. Sophomore Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) had 14 points to lead the team in scoring for the fifth straight game and added three blocks, to tie his career high, only to be outdone by junior Javier Carter (Dallas, Texas) who rejected seven shots, the most by a USA player since 1994.

Carter has shot up the Sun Belt Conference blocks leaders and currently leads the league averaging 3.0 blocks per contest. In Arrow’s mind, his play was a major reason why the Jags were able to knock off UAB.

“It relieves so much pressure off the guards knowing that somebody back there is lurking,” Arrow noted. “He probably could have had two more blocks and he altered at least five shots. So you’re looking at 12 shots—24 points—they got zero on. That’s why we held them to 31 percent shooting.”

Alabama A&M enters Saturday with a 2-2 mark, but are 0-2 against Division I opponents. The Bulldogs are in the midst of an eight-game road trip that lasts until Jan. 7 and will make stops at Michigan, Georgia Tech and UAB.

“By far, they’re the quickest team we’ll play,” said Arrow. “They push the ball quicker than anyone we’ve seen. We have to not give up any transition buckets, slow their guards down and make them take bad shots. They can go 6-(foot) 10 or seven-feet inside if they want to. Our presses were good on Wednesday; we just have to get better at them.”

The big men Arrow refers to are 6-10 Jerome Hunter and 7-0 Justan Banks. Hunter pulls down 4.5 rebounds per outing and is shooting 53.8 percent from the floor.

AAMU averages 70.8 points per game and are paced by two players in double-digit scoring. Casey Canty has scored 10 or more points in each game and leads the Bulldogs with a 15.5 point-per-game average. Defensively he has a team-high eight steals and is tied for second with 4.5 rebounds per contest.

Demarquelle Tabb averages a near double-double on the year with 13.0 points and 8.5 rebounds and had 25 points against Talladega, the most by an AAMU player this season. He has also blocked a team-best eight shots.

“They’re very good, very solid players,” Arrow said. “They’re not the biggest or the strongest, but they’re solid. They do what they have to do to get the job done.”

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

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