Box Score

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team went on an 18-7 run to open the second half and cruised the rest of the way to defeat Eastern Illinois 63-52 Saturday afternoon at the Mitchell Center.

Sophomore Herb McGee led a contingent of four in double-digits with a team-high 15 points on three 3-pointers. Junior Rodrick Sikes also hit three treys for 13 points, sophomore Josh Ajayi had 11 points and sophomore Jordan Andrews added 10 points – all in the second half – off the bench.

After allowing an early bucket to start the second half, the Jaguars would score 18 of the next 23 points – thanks to seven EIU turnovers – to take a 47-30 lead. McGee had seven of those points as USA converted 7 of 10 from the floor.

Eastern Illinois' Ray Crossland led all scorers with 17 points, and Muusa Dama grabbed 17 rebounds.

GAME FACTS
- South Alabama led for all but the first 1:41 of the opening half and grabbed an eight-point advantage in the final 90 seconds, and went into the break up six
- Eleven of the Jaguars' 18 points in its big run came off turnovers; the Panthers had three in the first two minutes alone, then another three in a 1:47 stretch
- After two free throws from Sikes put the Jags up 47-30, the Panthers scored on back-to-back possessions, but Andrews and McGee combined for all eight points in an 8-2 burst to give South Alabama its largest lead of the contest, 55-36, with 8:32 to play
- EIU responded with a 14-4 run, taking advantage of a USA shooting slump that resulted in just one made field goal in the last 8:31
- Eastern Illinois got within nine twice in the final 23 seconds, but Andrews and Sikes answered with a pair of free throws each time
- Sophomore Trhae Mitchell just missed a double-double with nine points and a career-high nine rebounds, and added a personal-best seven assists and four blocks

NOTES
- Mitchell's seven assists are the most by a Jaguar this season
- The Panthers won the rebounding battle 45-34; their 45 total rebounds and 16 offensive boards are the most by a USA opponent this season
- The Jags' four offensive rebounds are a new season low
- Sikes has reached double-digit points in his last 10 games
- After the 7-for-10 shooting start to the second half, the Jags went 3 for 17 to end it
- USA improved to 5-2 when scoring fewer than 70 points, and 6-0 when holding the opposition to fewer than 60
- The Jaguars' 15 assists on 21 field goals is their second-best ratio of the season
- Sikes recorded three steals – tying his career high – for the second straight game
- The team's 11 steals are a new season best, and the 17 over the last two games is also a season high
- After allowing its previous two opponents to shoot 44.8 percent from the floor and 40.8 percent from 3-point territory, USA held EIU to 32.3 percent overall and 26.7 percent from distance
- Andrews is averaging 12.5 points in his last two games after scoring just one point total in his previous three outings

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Matthew Graves
Opening statement: "I am really pleased to get that last win here at home right before Christmas and before we head out on the road. I thought we brought some good energy for the most part. I thought a big difference was our ability to force them into 19 turnovers with our press. I really thought today we communicated very well in switching up defenses. Offensively, 15 assists on 21 field goals is really good. We've kind of gotten away from setting a ton of ball screens and more of a motion passing game. Our guys are adapting to that, and I think it fits our personnel better. Hopefully we will continue to get better at that."

On the team responding after the last two losses: "I thought we had a great week of practice. We were really hard on them the last couple of days, and we were out there a long time. It goes back to the stretch we had in November up until the FIU game then we went to finals – we hadn't had a lot of time to practice. It seemed like we were on kind of like a NBA schedule with a game every two days or so. Then you have to take a day off, you have to travel and things like that. Our ability to get back in and practice for two, three and four days in a row to really re-tool and reset ourselves a little bit was really beneficial."

On the defensive performance: "I thought we were really good in every area except one. I thought we were active, we forced turnovers. We communicated, we talked on the ball screens. Then the last piece of that, we've got to continue to do a better job of rebounding the basketball. As the game wore on, I felt like we got a little complacent with our block-outs and physicality. Then I thought we stepped right back up in the last minute and half or two there and got a couple of big rebounds late."

On individual performances: "I thought Herb did a great job getting us going. He's really trying to step up and be a leader on the court, get guys where they're supposed to be and run the team. He's going to make mistakes; he's still a sophomore. He's getting better each and every game. I really appreciate how hard he works at it, coming in, watching film and getting prepared. What Trhae Mitchell did tonight, he's capable of doing that night in and night out. He is an ultimate glue guy. What I mean by that is he can guard multiple positions defensively, and on the offensive end he can affect the game in so many ways. We need him to continue to score but also rebound and dish out assists. I'm waiting and challenging him for that first triple-double of the season."

UP NEXT
The Jaguars close out their pre-Christmas schedule Thursday at Tulane at noon.

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—