Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men’s basketball team faces its toughest home opponent to date Wednesday when Southern Miss comes to Mobile for a 7:05 p.m. tipoff.

The Golden Eagles enter into the game with a 5-2 record, with the two losses coming to 9-0 Murray State (in double overtime) and 6-1 Denver, both away from Hattiesburg. USM leads the all-time series 21-15 and has won 10 of the last 13 meetings against USA.

“They’re a typical Larry Eustachy team,” USA head coach Ronnie Arrow said. “They win on toughness, guard play and offensive rebounding. They beat New Mexico State the other night and had 20 offensive rebounds. You have to keep them off the boards. You have to be ready to play a physical game and take care of the ball because their whole team will battle you.”

South Alabama (4-2) comes in on a hot streak of its own, winning three in a row, including Saturday’s 67-44 home win over Alabama A&M.

The win streak comes primarily on the heels of a resurgence in the Jags’ defensive effort. Over the last two games, USA is giving up an average of 45.5 points per game and allows the opposition to shoot 31.3 percent from the floor.

A major reason for the defensive excellence is the work of the post players, who have blocked 26 shots over the last three games, including 11 last week vs. UAB. The Jaguars added nine swats to their total Saturday, getting four from Javier Carter, three from Mychal Ammons and two from Augustine Rubit. Carter leads the Sun Belt in blocks per game (3.2, 12th in NCAA DI) and has 16 in his last three outings.

“Our guys have bought into our defensive scheme and what is expected of them,” Arrow said. “They finally understand how physical this game is and it all starts with practice. Early in the year I thought we were playing soft in practice and we got into a couple of games where we played soft and now our guys know how it is. Our practices have become more physical and that’s carried over into our games.”

Also key to South Alabama’s turnaround is winning the rebounding battle. The team is 4-0 when outrebounding its opponent and its plus-17 margin Saturday is the second-highest this season.

South Alabama will need that edge when it faces Southern Miss, who ranks 10th in the nation in rebounding margin (+9.6) and holds the opposition to just 29.3 rebounds per contest.

“I think we have a good rebounding team, but they have a good rebounding team also,” Arrow noted. “The biggest thing is the offensive boards—we have to keep them from getting their own rebounds. The game is going to be won in two phases: offensive rebounds and physicality. If you out-physical the other team, then you can create more turnovers and come up with rebounds that you wouldn’t normally do.”

LaShay Page is one of three Golden Eagles averaging double-digit scoring, topping the scoring charts at 16.9 points per game. Page, the third-leading scorer in Conference USA, ranks 21st in the nation with 3.1 three-pointers per contest. Page and USM will be going up against a team that has held its last two opponents to 19.4 percent shooting from behind the 3-point line.

“We have to be close to him in all phases of the game,” Arrow said. “It would be nice to say that we want to hold him scoreless, but we need to keep him below his average. We have to put pressure on him to take bad shots but also know that Angelo Johnson and Maurice Bolden can really shoot the ball. We have to know where they are on the court at all times, especially in transition.”

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).

—USA—