Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team goes into the final week of the 2013-14 season hoping to close out the year on a winning note, starting with Texas State Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. in the Mitchell Center.

The Jaguars, who have been eliminated from contention for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, are currently 9-20 overall and 3-13 in league play. Texas State is just a game out of the eighth and final spot for the tournament at 8-21 and 4-12.

Fans can listen to the game on 105.5 FM and WNSP.com or watch a live videostream on USA's South Alabama All-Access subscription service. Updates will also be provided via twitter at @SouthAlaMBK and live stats on USAJaguars.com.

The two teams met just two weeks ago, with Texas State pulling out a 67-66 win in overtime. South Alabama rallied from a five-point deficit with 36.7 seconds left to force an extra frame.

 "When we played Texas State last time, it was a tough game there at the end and a tough pill to swallow," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "Our guys don't want to be swept by a team, so there's a sense of urgency and when you're playing at home, you want to play as well as you can in front of your fans and I think we're going to have a really great effort Thursday night.

"Any time that you can put your uniform on and play for 40 minutes, you have to respect that. I think we'll have our guys prepared and ready to play."

Junior Mychal Ammons (Vicksburg, Miss.) recorded his fourth double-double of the year in that game with 15 points and 13 rebounds while senior Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) posted 22 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

"Being a recent opponent, we know what they're going to try to do on both ends of the floor," Graves said. "We saw what we had success doing in our offensive scheme and we have a couple of areas we need to focus on better defensively as we prepare for Thursday."

Texas State's Reid Koenen is fifth on the team in scoring at 6.2 points per game but had a career night against the Jags on Feb. 20 with 26 points on seven 3-pointers. He is the team's leading 3-point shooter with 31 on a .352 percentage.

"We're going to stay out of zone; we're getting back to basics and really focus on our man-to-man defense," Graves said. "We've given up way too many points in the last several games. We have to get back to a toughness and ability to guard people. He got most of his open looks when we were in zone at Texas State so we've got to do a good job with our awareness and knowing where he's at and not let him get in a rhythm, and I think going man-to-man will certainly help that."

The Bobcats' leading scorer is Joel Wright, who ranks 12th in the conference at 14.8 ppg and is eighth with 6.2 rebounds per contest. He had 21 points and eight boards in the first meeting with the Jaguars, but has shot less than 40 percent from the floor in five of his last six games.

"We've got to be a lot more physical on him," Graves said. "The scouting report is pretty simple with him: he is going to drive right, put the ball in his right hand and try to get to the rim. He does a great job on the offensive glass. As you're guarding him, knowing that going in, you have to take away his right-hand drive, you have to be physical with him and box him out. We'll rotate a couple of guys on him to try to slow him down, but at the same time, it is going to take a team effort because he's a really good player."

USA freshman Ken Williams (Manvel, Texas) has scored 18 or more in two of his last three games, including a career-high 22 Sunday against Louisiana-Lafayette. He tied his personal best with five 3-pointers against the Ragin' Cajuns in seven attempts, giving him a .556 percentage from distance in his last three outings.

"I'm really excited with how he's playing here lately," Graves said. "As a freshman, you hope he gets better throughout the season and certainly he's had his moments where he's been really good and he's struggled at times. In the last week or two he's picked up his play and he's becoming more comfortable with what we're asking him to do. I'm excited for him and his future here at South Alabama."

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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