Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team hosts Texas-Arlington Saturday, hoping to avoid the slow start that plagued them in the first meeting on Jan. 3.

In that game, the Mavericks scored 55 points in the first half—the most by a USA opponent before halftime since 1994—and went on to a 99-87 win.

Thursday against Troy, the Jaguars (8-17, 6-8 SBC) snapped a three-game losing streak by scoring 36 first-half points—their most since Jan. 8—and went on to a 71-67 victory.

"I think it's very important to get off a good start, from the standpoint that you don't want to play from behind with this team," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "They're explosive and capable of scoring a lot of points—they scored 99 against us last time. I think they defend really well at the rim; they have long athletic guys that make it difficult to score around the rim at times.

"You don't want to get behind early, so we've got to come out and really take care of the basketball and take great shots. If we do those two things, that will eliminate them getting out in transition. They scored 35 points in transition, which was a season high for us the last time we played, so we have to cut that number in half, and then some."

USA and UTA will tip off at 4:05 p.m. Fans can listen on 710 AM in Mobile or on iHeartRadio.com, watch on USAJaguars.com, and can follow the action via live stats on the USA home page or Twitter at @SouthAlaMBK.

The Jaguars started strong Thursday and got a big finish from sophomore Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria), who scored 12 of his 15 points after halftime, and grabbed 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the year.

South Alabama is 3-0 when Boyanov records a double-double, and he averages 11.6 points in USA wins and 3.4 in losses.

"It's just another scoring option in the frontcourt," Graves said. "With playing Dionte (Ferguson), Georgi and Abdul (Lewis) up front, usually one of those three will score the ball some for you. Dionte has done a great job all year and Abdul has had some games where he's scored, but when we get two out of those three being productive, along with our guard play, we're able to score in the 70s usually, and when we do that, we have a much better chance of winning the ballgame."

The Mavericks (14-9, 8-5 SBC) swept a two-game road trip to Louisiana-Lafayette and Texas State by an average of 12 points per game, and is currently fourth in the league standings. They use a balanced offense with six players averaging seven points or better, led by Lonnie McClanahan, who tops the list with 10.8 per game.

"I think they've got the truest definition of a team," Graves stated. "They've got 11 guys that are capable of scoring points and getting you production, whether that's six points or eight points, or coming in and giving you three or four rebounds, or being physical using up a couple of fouls. With their ability to platoon 10 or 11 guys, it's a huge advantage, especially in a short turnaround. We're using a short bench on a day of rest, so that gives them an advantage in that area."

In the first meeting, UT Arlington jumped out to a 13-2 lead and was up as many as 24 early in the second half. UTA shot 68.6 percent in the first half and 59.7 for the game, and scored 70 points in the paint.

Despite the defensive shortcomings, the Jaguars racked up 87 points on a season-high-tying 11 triples, and five players scored in double-figures, led by Ken Williams' (Houston, Texas) 18 points.

"The two biggest things that we've got to do defensively is get back in transition and rebound the ball better," Graves said. "Our transition defense was the worst of the year in that game, and they ended up with 15 offensive rebounds and a ton of points in the paint. That was one of our worst rebounding games of the year. Those two factors come to the forefront.

"Offensively, we've got to do a better job of attacking their ball-screen defense. We have to do a much better job of attacking that."

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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