Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – On the heels of a scoring explosion from its offense, the University of South Alabama men's basketball team will take on one of the toughest defenses in the Sun Belt Conference in Georgia Southern Saturday in the Mitchell Center.

Tipoff is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. Video—available to subscribers of South Alabama All-Access— and live stats will be available on USAJaguars.com, in-game updates will be provided via Twitter at @SouthAlaMBK, and fans can listen to the game on 710 AM or on iHeartRadio.com.

The Jags (4-10, 2-2 SBC) are coming off consecutive wins for the first time this season and a victory Saturday would be the program's first three-game win streak since February 2013.

"I think we're playing with a great deal of confidence, especially on the offensive end of the floor," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "When you put six guys in double figures, we've had high assist numbers so guys are really sharing the basketball. However, we know in the back of our minds we have to defend better. We can't rely on outscoring opponents. It's nice to do it every now and again, but we understand on Saturday we're going to have to give a great effort on the defensive end of the floor.

"It's a pick-your-poison kind of thing—we're playing well and we're scoring the basketball, but we're giving up some points. Part of it is our lack of depth. I do think guys wear down a little bit and don't defend as hard as we need to, but we have to manage that, and understand there will be nights where we don't shoot the ball as well as we hoped and we have to go back to relying on our defense to get some stops when we need to. Even though in the Little Rock game, I thought we got some key defensive stops late, so we have to get back to doing some of that."

The Jaguars are averaging 87.7 points in their last three outings, their best three-game average since 1994-95, including their first 100-point game in over three years Thursday in their 104-95 victory over Appalachian State. The team is shooting 54.0 percent from the floor over that span and 48.3 percent from 3-point territory, and is sharing the ball with 16.7 assists.

Six different players scored in double-figures Thursday, led by sophomore Ken Williams' (Houston, Texas) career-high 26 points on five 3-pointers. Senior Dionte Ferguson (Prattville, Ala.) racked up 19 and is averaging 22.0 points in his last two games.

"I think it's more that the guys are seeing the ball go through the net," Graves said. "You go all the way back to the second half of our game at Texas-Arlington, when you see the ball go through the net, it's contagious. It's more of a confidence factor, and I think the other big thing with our team is we're attacking inside-out; we're playing through our posts or we're driving the ball to the paint. We're not just settling for 3-point shots and our shot selection is much improved over the last couple of games. It's a combination of all of those factors, but at the end of the day, when you see your shot go in the basket, it's really a contagious feeling."

The offense will face its toughest test of the Sun Belt season Saturday, going up against a defense that hasn't allowed more than 67 points in the last eight games, and is giving up just 53.0 points in league games, tops in the SBC.

GS (9-3, 2-1 SBC) is second in the league in field goal percentage defense (38.2%) and fifth in 3-point defense (30.7%). The Eagles have held their last two opponents to 33.7 percent from the field.

"With their defense, they're an old team; they have five seniors that they play and three of those are fifth-year guys," Graves noted. "They're a very physical, experienced team that has 23- and 24-year old guys playing for them, so they've been around and they understand how to play and what they need to do, and the game moves at a slower pace for them. They do a great job of being physical and rebounding the basketball, so they don't give you many second-chance opportunities. They also mix in their pressing defense a little bit and they get teams on their heels so they don't attack as well as they need to. We're going to need to be really sharp and it's going to be a really difficult game for us."

Jelani Hewitt is one of the top players in the nation, ranking 13th in Division I in scoring (20.1 ppg), second in steals (3.0), seventh in free-throw percentage (92.6%) and 14th in 3-pointers per game (3.2). He had 16 points total in his first two Sun Belt outings, shooting 10.5 percent from the floor, but rebounded to post a game-high 18 Thursday in a 73-61 win at Arkansas State.

"He's going to get points," Graves said. "He's going to shoot enough shots where he's going to score, but we're going to have to make it difficult on him. He's capable of hitting four or five 3s in a row, but at the same time, he can easily miss seven or eight shots in a row. We have to constantly find him in transition, be aware of him off ball-screens, and not let him get in any kind of rhythm. His points have to equal his shot attempts; that's what we're looking for.

"His free-throw shooting is a really underrated part of his game. When scorers get fouled and get to the line, it gets your guys in foul trouble, which isn't good, but it also gives him confidence because again, any time a guy sees the ball go through the net, it's a good thing, and he's a 90-percent free-throw shooter making seven or eight free throws a game, he's going to feel good about his offensive 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).

—USA—