Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team will finish up the 2016 home schedule Monday night against city rival Spring Hill in the Mitchell Center.

The game will tip off at 7:35 p.m. Video will be available on JagNationTV.com and the game can be heard on 99.5 FM The Jag or on iHeartRadio.com. Updates will be provided on Twitter (@SouthAlaMBK) and via live stats on USAJaguars.com.

The Jaguars enter Monday's contest with a four-game losing streak after Friday's 82-79 loss to Samford.

"I'm certainly disappointed with our last two games, especially being at home," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "We're trying to get on a roll and get some momentum, and we have another opportunity tomorrow in Spring Hill to get back in the win column and hopefully regain some of that confidence that we had earlier in the season."

Spring Hill and South Alabama have met in the regular season six times in the last eight years, with the Jaguars holding a 17-2 edge in the series, including 14 in a row, USA's longest active win streak.

"Regardless of whether they're in our division or not, it does bring some excitement because they're a mile down the road on Old Shell, and I've had several people tell me they'll be at the game, so there's some excitement there too," Graves said. "At the end of the day, it's another opportunity to put on a uniform in front of our home fans. We need to perform well and hopefully get back on the right track heading into the last game of our non-conference season."

South Alabama will hope to improve its second-half defense Monday after allowing its last four opponents to convert 58.5 percent from the floor overall and 53.1 percent from 3-point  land. Samford hit 60 percent of its shots after halftime in scoring 46 points.

"We've talked about our approach – that's the biggest thing," Graves noted. "How we come out with three or four minutes left to warm up in the second half is important. We've had guys walking around and stretching on the side. We need to get guys running around, making sure they're loose and their mind is ready to go. That's one area that we are capable of correcting.

"The second area is having a determination to continue doing what worked in the first half. In the last two games in the first half defensively, we have been good enough to win ball games, but we have to carry it over for a full 40 minutes."

Senior Nick Stover (Los Angeles, Calif.) set new career highs in points (24) and 3-pointers (4) on Friday in his first start of the season, and was joined in the 20-point club by junior Shaq Calhoun (Rome, Ga.), who had 20.

Senior Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) has scored in double-digits in a team-high five straight games, and is averaging 15.2 points while shooting 65.1 percent from the floor over that span. He leads the Sun Belt Conference in 3-point shooting (.667) and is second in field-goal percentage (.631).

Spring Hill is 1-10 on the year and is coming off an 88-53 home loss to Williams Baptist on Saturday. The Badgers picked up their first win Dec. 10 at Mobile.

Walter Massey leads SHC in scoring (11.5 ppg), rebounding (7.7 rpg) and field-goal percentage (.481).

"They're going to come in with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove," Graves stated. "This is their opportunity to play a Division I opponent, so I look for them to play extremely hard. They understand that we're not playing well right now, so I'm sure they see an opportunity, that if they come out and play hard and well, they may have a chance to win. Our guys need to understand that and be ready to finish up the last home game of the non-conference season in great fashion."

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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