Game Notes

Game 28 • South Alabama Jaguars (16-11, 13-6) at Troy Trojans (11-19, 6-13)
March 2, 2013 • 7:30 p.m. • Trojan Arena (5,200) • Troy, Ala.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Jeff Price (Pikeville, 1981) - Interim
Record at USA: 11-6 (1st year)
Overall Record: 304-192 (18th year)
Record vs. Troy: 1-0

Troy
Don Maestri (Southern Miss, 1969)
Record at Troy: 499-402 (31st year)
Overall Record: Same

LAST GAME
South Alabama fell behind early and couldn’t catch up in a 79-73 loss at Western Kentucky. Troy lost at home to Middle Tennessee 66-56.

NEXT GAME
Both teams will move on to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

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

RANKINGS (Through Feb. 28)
USA: #160 RPI (RealTimeRPI), #194 Sagarin
Troy: #274 RPI (RealTimeRPI), #268 Sagarin

THE SERIES
USA leads 14-6.

Current winning streak: South Alabama, 4 wins
Troy’s last win in series: 72-59 (2/10/11) in Mobile
Last meeting: South Alabama 65, Troy 62 (2/7/13)
USA’s last win at Trojan Arena: N/A (first meeting)
USA’s record at Trojan Arena: 0-0
USA’s record in Troy: 5-2
USA’s road streak: Won 2
USA’s longest winning / losing streak in series: 5 / 2

Notes: Despite the in-state rivals being separated by about 170 miles, the two schools have met just 20 times; all but two of the meetings came after Troy joined the Sun Belt in 2005… Tonight’s game is the first meeting at new Trojan Arena… South Alabama won the two pre-Sun Belt clashes in 1993 and 1995… The Jaguars won the first five games in the series and seven of the first eight… A buzzer-beating shot gave USA a 69-67 victory in Mobile on Jan. 16, 2010… Freddie Goldstein set a new school record with nine 3-pointers last season at Troy… USA leads the series 2-1 in games played at the Sun Belt Tournament, including an 87-81 victory last season in the first round.

OPENING TIP
A win Saturday would give South Alabama a five-game win streak in the series with Troy, tying the school’s longest streak against the Trojans.

USA last closed the regular season at Troy in the 2008-09 season. The Jaguars lost that game 63-58 but gained revenge in the Sun Belt Tournament en route to an appearance in the championship game.

Troy has lost four straight since head coach Don Maestri won his 499th career game.

South Alabama is 15-0 (11-0 Sun Belt) this season when leading or tied at halftime, and 12-1 (10-1 Sun Belt) when recording a higher shooting percentage than its opponent. Thursday the Jaguars fell to 1-11  (1-5) when trailing at the break and 3-10 (2-5) when being outshot by its opponent. The lone halftime comeback win came Feb. 7 vs. Troy.

Augustine Rubit averages 15.5 points and 13.5 rebounds in six career games vs. Troy. He is a career 53.4 percent shooter from the floor against the Trojans and has never shot less than 50 percent in a game. Rubit has recorded double-digit points and rebounds in five of the six games and has posted 12 or more rebounds five times, including a career-high 19 last season in Mobile.

Rubit moved into 10th place on the Sun Belt’s career rebounding list and enters Saturday with 868 boards. He needs 15 to tie for ninth place. Rubit also leads the nation in offensive rebounding (4.4).

Rubit went 7-for-7 at the free throw line Thursday, marking the fifth time this year he made all seven or more attempts from the charity stripe. He ranks third in the nation in both free throws made (6.5) and attempted (8.2) per game, and keeps adding to his school record for single-season free throws (176).

The Jaguars are shooting 87.8 percent (36-41) from the foul line in the last two games, including 91.7 percent (22-24) in the second half alone. The team is third in Division I in free throws per game (18.0) and fourth in free throw attempts (25.3).

Rubit hit the 20-point mark for the 13th time this season with 23 against WKU and eclipsed his scoring total from the previous two games combined. Rubit moved into ninth place in USA history for career points (1,324). He also set new personal bests with four assists and three steals.

Javier Carter recorded his second consecutive double-double Thursday with a season-high 14 points and 10 rebounds. He is the third USA player to post back-to-back double-doubles this season and he has four in his career. He is averaging 12 points, 11 rebounds and 6 blocks in his last two outings.

Carter blocked six WKU shots—his second straight game with six rejections—and is now tied for 14th in Sun Belt history with 195. He needs three blocks to tie for 13th.