Game Notes

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Matthew Graves (Butler, 1998)
Record at USA: 12-20 (2nd year)
Overall Record: Same

Southern Miss
Doc Sadler (Arkansas, 1982)
Record at USM: 1-0 (1st year)
Overall Record: 150-107 (9th year)

LAST GAME
South Alabama used a late run to get past Carroll 85-64. Southern Miss dominated the second half in an 86-63 win over William Carey.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars head north to play at Detroit Saturday. The Golden Eagles travel to Alabama Thursday.

ON THE AIR
Radio: 710 AM WNTM; J.D. Byars (pxp)
On the web: www.iheart.com/live/newsradio-710-wntm-1 (audio)

RANKINGS (through Nov. 15)
USA: N/A RPI, #280 Sagarin
USM: N/A RPI, #138 Sagarin

THE SERIES
USM leads 23-15.

Current streak: USM, 4 wins
Last meeting: Southern Miss 66, South Alabama 59 (11/22/13)
USA's last win at Reed Green Coliseum: 76-73 OT (12/2/08)
USM's last win at Reed Green Coliseum: 98-53 (11/17/10)
USA's record at Reed Green Coliseum: 1-5
USA's record in Hattiesburg: 7-12
USA's road streak: Lost 1
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 6 / 8

Notes: The series has resumed after taking 2012-13 off… The Jags' six-game winning streak came from 1971-74… USA won three straight from 2005-08 after losing eight in a row from 1996-2004…USM broke the three-game skid in 2009 in Mobile… Southern Miss'  93-58 win in 2010-11 was the 12th-worst loss in South Alabama history… USA is averaging 56.3 ppg in USM's last four wins.

OPENING TIP
South Alabama is 1-0 for the ninth time in the last 10 years and won its home opener for the 23rd straight season.

USA is 10-36 all-time in road openers and has lost 18 of its last 20. The team broke an 11-game road opener losing streak in 2012-13 with a 76-71 win at No. 25/24 Florida State.

The Jaguars' 83 points Friday vs. Carroll is the most by the program in a season opener since scoring 87 to start the 2008-09 campaign.

USA won Friday despite being outshot 51.1 percent to 45.3 percent. The team's record last season when being outshot was 2-16. Carroll made 61.9 percent (13-21) of its shots in the second half.

The Jags made an effort to get out in transition quickly in the preseason and it has paid off with 15 fast-break points each in the exhibition and season opener.

South Alabama won the rebounding battle vs. Carroll 38-27 and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds. The 19 offensive boards are the fourth-most by the team in the last two seasons, and it led to 18 second-chance points.

Freshman Abdul Lewis led the Jags in rebounding with 10 in his first career contest. All 10 came in the first half in just 11 minutes of action. The last Jaguar to have double-digit rebounds in his first career game was Augustine Rubit in 2010.

Senior Dionte Ferguson tied his personal best with seven rebounds in his second career start.

Junior John Brown made an immediate impact in his first game as a Jaguar, leading all players with 22 points Friday. Fourteen of those points came after halftime where he made all four of his 3-point attempts. He also went 6-for-6 at the foul line in the first half. His scoring output was the most by a USA player in a season opener since Demetric Bennett had 27 in 2006.

Sophomore Ken Williams, who averaged 13.6 points in the final five games of his freshman campaign, continued his hot play with 18 points vs. Carroll. He hit four triples, went 6-for-11 from the floor, and dished out three assists.
Brown and Williams helped South Alabama convert 11 times from behind the 3-point line, marking the third time in the last four games—dating back to last season—that the Jags had 10 or more 3s.

Junior Barrington Stevens III had a game-high four assists Friday with just one turnover. The team accumulated 14 assists with 10 turnovers; it took until game six last season for the team to have a positive assist-turnover ratio. Stevens posted a 2.0 ratio last year, the best by a Jaguar since 1988-89.