Game Notes

Game 4 • South Alabama Jaguars (1-2) vs. Maine Bears (0-2)
November 18, 2017 • 4 p.m. CST • Mohegan Sun Arena (9,323) • Uncasville, Conn.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Matthew Graves (Butler, 1998)
Record at USA: 52-80 (5th year)
Overall Record: Same
Record vs. Maine: 0-0

Maine
Bob Walsh (Hamilton, 1994)
Record at Maine: 18-76 (4th year)
Overall Record: 222-139 (13th year)

LAST GAME
South Alabama rallied back from a big deficit but fell short in an 81-73 loss at La Salle Thursday. Maine lost 83-44 at Texas Tech.

NEXT GAME
The two teams continue play in the Naismith Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament on Sunday against either Saint Peter's or Sacred Heart.

ON THE AIR
Radio: 99.5 FM The Jag; Brit Bowen (pxp)
On the web: 995thejag.com/listen (audio); ESPN3 (video)

RANKINGS (Through Nov. 16)
USA: #119 RPI, #244 Sagarin
Maine: #156 RPI, #344 Sagarin

THE SERIES
USA leads 1-0.

Current winning streak: USA, 1 win
Maine's last win in series: N/A
Last meeting: South Alabama 71, Maine 59 (11/28/08)
USA's record on a neutral court: 0-0
USA's neutral streak: N/A
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 1 / 0

Notes: The only meeting between the two schools came in 2008-09 at the USA Basketball Classic in Mobile, a 71-59 Jaguar victory.

OPENING TIP
Saturday is just the third meeting between South Alabama and a member of the America East Conference. USA defeated Maine in 2008, and lost to New Hampshire in 1989.

This weekend is also USA's first-ever games in the state of Connecticut.

The Jaguars snapped their streak of games with 20-plus turnovers at two Thursday, committing 16 at La Salle. The Explorers turned those miscues into 18 points.

South Alabama rallied from a 23-point deficit in the second half to get within five thanks to a 9-for-17 performance from 3-point land after halftime. The Jags hit 12 for the game, tied for the most by the program since hitting 17 at Rice in 2013-14.

Jordan Andrews had four of those 3-pointers, giving him a team-best nine this season. Herb McGee and Rodrick Sikes had three treys apiece.

McGee is 6 for 7 from behind the arc this season, and is tied for second in the league in 3-point percentage (.857). He made all three long-distance attempts in the season opener at Texas Tech.

McGee had a career-high five assists Thursday after not recording any in his first two games. The team had a season-high 16 assists at La Salle.

Sikes has increased his scoring output in each of his first three games, culminating in a personal-best 17-point outing Thursday. He went 6 for 13 from the floor and 3 for 8 from 3-point land, and had 13 points after intermission.

Andrews also had a career night at La Salle, recording 18 of his 20 points in the second half. He has led the team in scoring in each of the first three games in 2017-18.

Andrews is 16 for 16 from the free-throw line this season.

Trhae Mitchell led the team in rebounding Thursday for the second time this season with six. His average of 6.3 boards per game leads the Jaguars.

PREVIEWING SATURDAY
Head coach Matthew Graves on Maine
On his thoughts on playing this weekend's tournament: "I think this is going to be a great experience for our team. It's not every day that you get to compete for a regular-season championship. It's got the feel of a postseason event, where if you win, you advance, and you have the chance to play for some hardware at the end of the day. I know our guys are excited about that opportunity."

On how the team can build on the second half vs. La Salle: "We've got to continue to rebound the ball. In the second half, we had a group in there that were physical and hit bodies. They pursued the basketball and we were able to spread La Salle out defensively and drive it. We got hot from the 3-point line, but we were still getting stops defensively. We did a good job of keeping them off the glass and that's something we have to build on moving forward."

On Maine: "Maine is going to be running a similar offense to La Salle, just with a little more patience. They don't have the athletes that La Salle does, but they have some guys that can really play on the perimeter at the '4' and '5' spot, which causes matchup problems for our bigger post players."

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).

Join the Jaguar Athletic Fund (JAF) Priority Fund, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to the Priority Fund directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

—USA—