Game Notes

Game 11 • San Diego Toreros (5-6) vs. South Alabama Jaguars (7-3)
December 22, 2011 • 2:05 p.m. PST • South Point Casino • Las Vegas, Nev.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Ronnie Arrow (Southwest Texas State, 1969)
Record at USA: 196-147 (13th year)
Overall Record: 330-238 (21st year)
Record vs. San Diego: 2-0

San Diego
Bill Grier (Oreon, 1990)
Record at SD: 60-81 (5th year)
Overall Record: Same

LAST GAME
South Alabama used a strong inside game and a tough defense to defeat Georgia Southern 70-57. San Diego fell 75-55 at Stanford.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars close out the 2011 calendar year at Middle Tennessee. The Toreros will also be in action on New Year’s Eve, traveling to BYU.

ON THE AIR
Radio: 105.5 WNSP; Lee Shirvanian (pxp) - tape delayed
On the web: www.wnsp.com (audio)

RANKINGS (Through Dec. 19)
USA: #107 RPI (RealTimeRPI), #92 Sagarin
USD: #294 RPI (RealTimeRPI), #268 Sagarin

THE SERIES
South Alabama leads 2-0.

Current streak: USA, 2 wins
Last meeting: USA 77, San Diego 55 (11/23/07)

Notes: Both meetings in the series have come on neutral floors… The Jags defeated the Toreros by 22 in Anaheim, Calif. the same year both schools made the NCAA Tournament (2008)… San Diego reached the second round as a No. 13 seed after upsetting UConn before falling to Western Kentucky… The Jags lost in the first round to Butler… The schools first met on Dec. 3, 1989 at the Joe Lapchick Tournament in Jamaica, N.Y. … USA won 77-72.

OPENING TIP
South Alabama is 1-2 all-time in the state of Nevada. The Jags split a pair of games during the 1974-75 season at the Las Vegas Classic (L, UNLV; W, Idaho State) and lost at UNLV the following season (122-82). It is the school’s furthest trip west since participating in the Anaheim Classic in 2007.

The last time South Alabama and San Diego met, at that Anaheim Classic, both schools reached the NCAA Tournament. USD managed to reach the second round that year.

After posting just six points at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, his lowest total in four games, Antione Lundy bounced back with a double-double vs. Georgia Southern, compiling 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. He had set a new career high in scoring three straight games prior to the TAMUCC contest. Over his last five games—all off the bench—Lundy is averaging 13.8 points and 9.4 rebounds, and shooting 56.5% from the floor. He is third on the team in scoring this season (10.2 ppg).

Lundy and Augustine Rubit both had a double-double vs. GSU, marking the first time since Feb. 13, 2010 that USA teammates pulled double duty in the same game. Rubit totaled a game-high 17 points to go along with 10 rebounds. He leads the Sun Belt in scoring (16.0 ppg) and rebounding (8.7 rpg).

South Alabama’s two blocks against Georgia Southern were the team’s fewest since tallying zero at Florida State (Nov. 20), a span of eight games. The Jags had six or more in each game since, including 11 vs. UAB. Javier Carter had only one rejection, his fewest since FSU, but extended his streak with at least one block to seven games. He continues to lead the Sun Belt in blocks per game (3.2) and is eighth in Division I.

South Alabama improved to 7-1 on the year when outrebounding its opponent Monday, winning the battle of the boards 42-28. The Jaguars have outrebounded their opponent in each of the last seven games by an average of 12.0 per game.

After starting the season 4-1, the Toreros have lost five of their last six.

Johnny Dee and Chris Manresa provide USD with a potent scoring and rebounding combo. Dee is fifth in the West Coast Conference in scoring (14.6) and Manresa is second in rebounding (8.8 rpg).