Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – Winners of five straight home games, the University of South Alabama men's basketball team will look extend that run Saturday when it takes Middle Tennessee Saturday at the Mitchell Center.

Tipoff is at 1:05 p.m. The game will be broadcast on 710 AM in Mobile and on iHeartRadio.com on the Internet. In-game updates can be found via live stats on USAJaguars.com or on Twitter at @SouthAlaMBK.

The five-game win streak is the longest by the program since putting together nine straight victories in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.

"Anytime you get a chance to play in your home arena, it's a great feeling," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "There's a comfort and confidence there that this team needs to get, and playing at home will help that. We need to have the mindset of protecting our home court. Whether it's a non-conference game or not, we've got to have that mindset. That's how you separate yourself in the conference season; protecting your home court and trying to steal a few on the road."

South Alabama ended a three-game skid—all on the road—Tuesday with a 71-54 victory over Spring Hill, behind a double-double from sophomore Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) and a strong performance from senior Dionte Ferguson (Prattville, Ala.). The posts combined for 19 of the team's 37 rebounds and shot 6-for-9 from the floor and 9-for-11 from the free-throw line.

Boyanov's 14 points and 10 boards was the first double-double of his career and he became the third different Jaguar to record a double-double in the last three games.

"They need to continue to establish a tone of going to rebound," Graves stated. "Those two with Abdul (Lewis) have done a great job of rebounding for us. We need that consistent effort night in and night out. Going into the season, that was one of my biggest concerns. To this point in the season, we've done a pretty good job of holding our own. We need to continue to get that same effort."

The Blue Raiders—former Sun Belt Conference rivals of the Jags—have proven to be a tough opponent of late, winning six straight in the series, with four wins coming by 16 points or more.

Last season in Murfreesboro, South Alabama led by as many as 11 in the first half but was outscored by 18 in the second in a 65-55 defeat.

"One of the biggest reasons they're difficult to beat is they've got an established culture," Graves noted. "(Head coach) Kermit (Davis) does a tremendous job of finding guys that play extremely hard and extremely physical. They have eight to 10 guys that he's willing to play at different times. There's a culture that's been established and that's why they've been so tough to beat lately."

Middle Tennessee enters Saturday with a 3-4 record and has lost three in a row, most recently a 63-59 defeat at Belmont earlier in the week. MT is sporting its usual tough defense (59.7 ppg), but has had issues scoring, ranking last in Conference USA with 59.1 points per game.

"I think it goes back to their culture: it's established on being physical, hard-nosed and tough, and a lot of that translates on the defensive end of the floor," Graves said. "When you do that consistently, you're going to keep yourself in a lot of games. If you go on an 8-2 run, there's your ballgame. I don't think it'll be any different on Saturday; it'll be a very physical game and it wouldn't shock me if the first team to 55 points wins this game. Both teams have struggled offensively and part of that is having young players, and as we continue to battle on Saturday, it's about who is able to go on that 8-2 spurt and separate yourself."

The Blue Raiders have no players that average double digits, with Reggie Upshaw leading the pack at 9.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest. Marcus Tarrance is second at 8.9 ppg, and Jacquez Rozier averages 8.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

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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