Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – After two key Sun Belt Conference road wins, the University of South Alabama men’s basketball team will try and even its league mark at 3-3 with a home win Thursday against Florida International.

The game will tip off at 7:05 p.m. and can be heard on WNSP 105.5 FM and www.wnsp.com. Subscribers to Jaguars All-Access can watch live on USAJaguars.com. There will also be updates via live stats, twitter (@USAJaguarSports) and live chat.

The Jags (10-6, 2-3 SBC) have won two straight after dropping three in a row to open Sun Belt play, including two at home. The road proved to be no great stumbling block as USA won its two games last week by an average of 10 points and has won five of six away from home.

“Winning helps everything,” said Jaguars head coach Ronnie Arrow. “It makes everything you run look better and practice feel better. We probably had our best practice yesterday. I think our guys are understanding that it’s a consistent work ethic that has to take place for good things to happen for us.”

FIU enters with a 4-13 mark overall and 1-4 in the Sun Belt. The Panthers have lost three straight and fell 87-81 in overtime at Louisiana at Lafayette. Despite a team scoring average of 61.6 per game, which ranks 11th in the league, FIU has two of the Sun Belt’s top five scorers, and DeJuan Wright, who has missed the last seven games with an injury, would lead the conference if he appeared in the minimum games to qualify.

“Their record is in no way indicative of the talent level on that team,” Arrow commented. “They have two or three kids on that team that could play in just about any conference in the country. We’re going to have to show up, play hard and do the things defensively that we’ve been doing. We’ve been keeping teams in the 30 percent range. I think our guys are finally buying in to the defensive part of it and that you can score off of your defense.”

In 10 games, Wright has averaged 15.9 points and 6.7 rebounds, and is shooting 55.6 percent from the floor. He has been almost as good from 3-point land, converting 52.2 percent from distance, which would also lead the SBC.

“He’s a very talented guard,” Arrow said. “He can extend your defense; you have to get out on him. He adds quickness to their defense and is just a very good player that they depend on a lot. He’s capable of putting up some big numbers.”

The Panthers also boast top outside shooters in Phil Taylor and Jeremy Allen. The pair rank seventh and ninth in the league, respectively, in 3-pointers per game. Taylor, the third-leading scorer in the Sun Belt (14.5), has hit 35 triples, and Allen averages 14.2 per contest, fifth-most in the conference with 31 trifectas. Allen is also the SBC’s leader in steals per outing (2.8).

“With Wright coming back, Taylor might not be looking to score as much and he’ll deliver the ball to other people. Wright might take some pressure off of him. Allen is almost the same size as Wright so they’re bookends out there. But we can’t worry about the other team’s players. We have to go out and execute, play harder, rebound better and shoot the ball better than the other team. We’ve got to make them do what we want them to do and not what they feel comfortable doing.”

South Alabama will counter FIU’s guards with junior Freddie Goldstein (Milwaukee, Wis.) who set a new school record Saturday with nine 3-pointers and posted a new career-high with 30 points. He rebounded from a seven-point outing vs. Louisiana at Lafayette to tally the second-highest scoring total by a USA player this season.

“Anytime someone shoots the ball really well, they stand out,” said Arrow. “Freddie is a good 3-point shooter and needs to continue to do that for us. By far, he’s our best 3-point shooter right now and needs to keep that up. We need to have our other guards step up to the plate and make their 3s also.”

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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