Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – Following a road win at UNLV, the University of South Alabama men's basketball team will begin the home portion of its schedule Monday against Blue Mountain (Miss.) College.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Fans can watch the game on JagNationTV.com, listen at http://995thejag.com/listen, or get updates on Twitter (@SouthAlaMBK) or live stats via USAJaguars.com.

"It's going to be really good for us to be at home, especially after coming off a big win on Friday night," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "Hopefully we'll have a few more fans out to watch the 2016-17 version of the South Alabama Jaguars."

The Jaguars won their season opener for the 11th time in the last 12 years, and have a chance to extend their home opener win streak to 25, dating all the way back to 1992.

"Anytime you can go on the road and win in a hostile environment, it's a good thing," Graves said. "We certainly have room to grow and by no means played perfectly, but it allows for more confidence, there's more buy-in and understanding that the process is working and all the hard work has gone into preparing in the offseason, it gives a shot of adrenaline heading into early-season play."

On Friday, South Alabama never trailed in the second half and had five players score in double digits. The Jags dished out 19 assists, tying the most by the team since 2011-12, and had just nine turnovers. The plus-10 assist/turnover margin in the best in four seasons under Graves.

On the other end of the court, the Jags held the Rebels to 13.3 percent shooting from 3-point land and 36.8 percent overall.

"The biggest takeaway for me was how hard we played defensively," Graves said. "We were extremely active and I thought our ball-screen coverage was outstanding. Secondly, our ability to take care of the basketball. We did not allow them to get out in transition because we took care of the basketball. Those two things really helped us overcome a lack of getting to the free-throw line."

Leading USA in scoring and rebounding Friday was senior Don MuepoKelly (Fontana, Calif.), who set a new personal best with 18 points and tied his career highs with 10 rebounds – eight on the offensive end – and four blocks. He shot 9 for 17 from the floor to record his second career double-double.

"The eight offensive rebounds really stood out to me," Graves stated. "That's just tremendous effort and shows the hard work he put in over the summer in getting his body in good shape. It showed in that effort and energy to get the offensive rebound."

Blue Mountain enters Monday with a 1-1 record after splitting its first two games, losing 86-83 to Brescia on Friday and winning 55-50 over Bryan on Saturday. The Toppers have two players averaging double-digit points, led by freshman Jay Howard's 14.5 scoring average. Senior Denio Chririndza is second on the team with 12.0 ppg, and junior Anfernee Floyd is almost averaging a double-double with 9.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per contest.

"Watching them on film, they're going to come in and play a mixture of man and zone, and we're going to have to be prepared to play against zone, which we haven't seen this season," Graves said. "We're going to need to continue to play to our standards and hopefully we'll continue to see growth."

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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