Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – After dropping an 11-point decision to Texas State Thursday, the University of South Alabama men's basketball team will turn its attention to a red-hot Texas-Arlington squad Saturday afternoon.

Tip-off at the Mitchell Center will be at 4:05 p.m. Fans can follow the action via live stats on USAJaguars.com, Twitter at @SouthAlaMBK, audio on 710 AM or www.iheart.com/live/newsradio-710-wntm-1, or video on JagNationTV.com.

"We've got to be able to rebound the basketball at a higher rate," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "If we're able to give them one tough shot, it's going to make our opportunities a lot better and we can get out in transition. The key to that is we have to keep them out of transition as well. They're outstanding in transition, share the basketball and play at a very fast pace. Two big keys for us will be to get back in transition and give them one tough shot."

The Jaguars fell to 6-10 overall and 1-4 in the Sun Belt Conference Thursday despite 13 points and four assists from junior Ken Williams (Houston, Texas), who scored his 1,000th career point.

Saturday will mark the fifth time the Jaguars have faced a top-five team in the conference as the Mavericks are 4-0 in the league and 13-2 overall. The combined SBC record of the teams that have beaten South Alabama is 15-3.

"It's certainly had an effect on our team because it's difficult when you're not winning games," Graves said. "There's frustration and selfishness that sets in. We've got to continue to go to work every day and be ready to compete. In this league, you're going to play everybody twice – that's the great thing of having a round-robin schedule. I believe that on any given night, anybody No. 1 through No. 11 can win."

The Mavericks have a Sun Belt-best eight-game winning streak entering Saturday following its 90-63 win at Troy, that saw them fall behind by as many as 15 points in the first half. UT Arlington leads the conference in scoring offense (81.5 ppg), scoring margin (+16.2), assists (17.7 apg), steals (8.8 spg) and 3-pointers (9.0 pg).

During its non-conference schedule, UTA knocked off Ohio State (73-68) and Memphis (68-64).

"First of all, you have to give Coach (Scott) Cross a lot of credit for what he's done," Graves said. "He's established a great program and they're playing at a high level. They're very unselfish and they play with a great deal of energy. They're really fun to watch on film. The difficult part is obviously figuring out a way to contain and stop them. They're a team that's playing with a lot of confidence and they have a lot of weapons. It's going to be a great challenge for us on Saturday."

Kevin Hervey is fourth in the conference in scoring (17.7 ppg), and second in rebounding (9.7 rpg) and double-doubles (7). He has scored 20 points or greater six times, including twice in his last three games, going for 22 points Thursday at Troy.

"In my opinion, he's the most improved player in the league by far," Graves stated. "As a freshman he had a solid year, and if you look at his numbers, his body, and how he is playing, my guess is he spent hours and hours in the gym and weight room. He's really bought in to what they're doing at Texas-Arlington. That's a credit, not only to him, but Coach Cross and his staff. It is fun to see when a player embraces that work ethic and gets better. The hard part is when you have to play against that type of player."

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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