Game Notes

Game 22 • South Alabama Jaguars (7-14, 5-5) at Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (13-8, 7-3)
January 31, 2015 • 4 p.m. • Fant-Ewing Coliseum (7,000) • Monroe, La.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Matthew Graves (Butler, 1998)
Record at USA: 18-34 (2nd year)
Overall Record: Same
Record vs. ULM: 0-2

La.-Monroe
Keith Richard (ULM, 1982)
Record at ULM: 37-98 (5th year)
Overall Record: 187-215 (13th year)

LAST GAME
South Alabama rallied for the second time this season in a victory over Louisiana-Lafayette, winning 89-85 Thursday. Louisiana-Monroe outlasted Troy 58-55 on the road in overtime.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars host Texas State Wednesday. The Warhawks go to Arkansas-Little Rock.

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 Jan. 29)
USA: #296 RPI, #291 Sagarin
ULM: #156 RPI, #196 Sagarin

THE SERIES
USA leads 10-5.

Current winning streak: Louisiana-Monroe, 2 wins
USA's last win in series: 71-56 (1/17/13)
Last meeting: ULM 71, South Alabama 54 (2/27/14)
USA's last win at Fant-Ewing Coliseum: 77-72 (1/3/13)
ULM's last win at Fant-Ewing Coliseum: 71-54 (2/27/14)
USA's record at Fant-Ewing Coliseum: 6-3
USA's road streak: Lost 1
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 7 / 2

Notes: ULM leads the series 4-3 in the last four meetings… The four consecutive meetings from 2009-10 to 2012-13 were decided by a combined 12 points… ULM broke a seven-game losing streak to South Alabama during the 2009-10 season in Monroe 61-58, and won again in Mobile the next season 67-65… Freddie Goldstein tied his own school record with nine 3-pointers in USA's 88-86 win in Monroe in the 2011-12 season, to end a two-game skid to the Warhawks… ULM's two-game win streak matched the program's longest against South Alabama… USA's average margin of victory in its seven-game win streak was 15.3 points… The two schools played four times in 1975 and 1976 but didn't resume the series until 2005.

OPENING TIP
South Alabama is 5-4 since a seven-game losing streak.

The Jaguars are 2-9 when trailing at halftime. Both wins have come against Louisiana-Lafayette.

USA's 89 points Thursday—tied for the second most this season—came after a two-game run where the team averaged 54.0 points, including a season-low-tying 53 points at Appalachian State on Jan. 22.

South Alabama converted 58.3 percent from the floor Thursday, second-highest by the team this year, including 62.5 percent in the second half, and shot 52.9 percent from 3-point range. The Jags' 56 points after halftime tied a season high.

Freshman Taishaun Johnson scored a career-high 23 points vs. UL Lafayette, with 15 coming after halftime. He went 6-for-10 from the field and 9-for-10 from the foul line. His 23 points are the most by a USA freshman since Mychal Ammons had 26 in an overtime win at Florida Atlantic on Feb. 23, 2012.

Sophomore Ken Williams nailed three 3-pointers Thursday to move into 12th place in South Alabama's career history with 107. He needs one more to tie for 11th. He ranks fourth in the league with 2.5 triples per contest.

Williams scored 19 points vs. ULL—one game after being held to 10 by NJIT—and tied his career high with five assists.

Senior Dionte Ferguson scored all 16 of his points Thursday after halftime, shooting 6-for-9 from the floor, and blocked four shots, helping the team reject a season-high seven as a team.

Junior Barrington Stevens III set a new season high with 17 points vs. UL Lafayette, and recorded six assists with no turnovers for the first time in his career. He hit three 3-pointers and had seven rebounds, tying season bests in both categories. Stevens ranks second in the Sun Belt and 70th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio at 2.3.

The Jaguar offense will be going up against one of the toughest defenses in the Sun Belt Saturday. Louisiana-Monroe is third in the league in scoring defense (60.0 ppg), and first in field goal percentage defense (37.5%) and 3-point percentage defense (28.5%). On Thursday, ULM held Troy to 35.7 percent and just eight field goals after halftime in its overtime win.

As tough as the Warhawks are defensively, they struggle scoring the ball, ranking ninth in scoring offense (64.7 ppg), and last in 3-point percentage (27.8%). UL Monroe is more successful a little closer to the basket, ranking fifth in field goal percentage overall (42.9%), thanks to Marvin Williams' 58.2 shooting percentage, third-best in the Sun Belt.

ULM swept the season series from USA in 2013-14 for the first time in school history.

Tylor Ongwae, the Warhawks' leading scorer this year at 13.4 per game, averaged a team-best 14.5 points against the Jags last season, despite shooting just 27.3 perecnt from the floor. He is the second-best free-throw shooter in the league (86.3%)