Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – The 2010-11 regular season comes to a close Sunday when the University of South Alabama men’s basketball team takes on Sun Belt Conference East Division leader Florida Atlantic at 4:05 p.m.

The Jaguars will be honoring their three seniors—Matt Cline (Binghamton, N.Y.), Gary Redus (Decatur, Ala.), Tim Williams (Pontiac, Mich.)—in a ceremony before the game.

The game can be heard in Mobile on 105.5 WNSP or online at WNSP.com. A videostream will be available for Jaguar Athletics All-Access subscribers at USAJaguars.com.

South Alabama (12-14, 6-9), winners of back-to-back games, will go for three victories in a row for the second time this season and hope to avenge a loss at Florida Atlantic (20-9, 12-3) on Jan. 6.

The Jags put up 92 points in a 92-79 win over Arkansas at Little Rock Thursday, the highest point total against an SBC school in regulation since Jan. 12, 2008 against New Orleans. Seven players reached double-digit scoring and the team converted a season-high 63.3 percent from the floor after halftime.

“I thought Thursday was the best effort we’ve given all year,” said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow, whose next conference win will tie him for second place all-time in Sun Belt history. “I’ve thought the effort’s been there the past three games; we won two of the three and could easily have won all of them. When we play with that effort and intensity, it allows us to win at the end or be able to put it away. It was by far the best overall game we’ve had and everybody contributed.”

Sophomore Martino Brock (Memphis, Tenn.) rebounded from a four-point outing at Denver with a team-high 19 points and added eight rebounds, his most in a game since November. Williams came off the bench for the first time in his two years at South Alabama and tallied 15 points in just 19 minutes of work.

The Owls have already locked up the conference’s regular-season championship and have won 20 games for the first time since joining NCAA Division I in 1993.

“Needless to say they know how to win now,” said Arrow. “Last year, being all freshmen, they didn’t know how to win. Now they’ve won close games and they know how to put it together and play for 40 minutes. There are no drills you can do for experience. That’s why so-called mid-majors are getting to the Final Four. Those teams are not losing kids to the NBA. You have them for four years and they can be molded the way that you want them to be molded. FAU’s experience now is showing.”

Providing the Owls a dominating presence inside is Brett Royster, the defending Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year and the league’s all-time leading shot blocker. He has a conference-high 91 blocks this season—eighth in the nation—and has at least one rejection in 29 straight games.

Countering Royster will be redshirt freshman Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas), who ranks fifth in the nation in rebounding (11.1 rpg), and sophomore Javier Carter (Dallas, Texas), who has blocked eight shots in his last two games. Carter tied his career high with five at Denver on Feb. 20 and added three more Thursday against Arkansas at Little Rock.

The Jaguars as a team rank 27th in the nation and second in the league in blocks per contest (5.2). The Owls are 26th in Division I.

“With Javier playing up to the expectations we had at the beginning of the year, I think it makes us comparable inside. Javier can be every bit the shot blocker that Royster is, but he’s a senior and Javier is a sophomore.”

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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