Game Notes
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team will look to send its senior class out with a win Saturday when the Jaguars host Arkansas State in their regular-season finale.
Tipoff is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. Free video is available at JagNationTV.com, and fans can listen to the game on 99.5 FM or iHeartRadio.com. Updates via live stats will be provided on USAJaguars.com and via Twitter at @SouthAlaMBK.
The program's four seniors –
Ken Williams (Houston, Texas),
Don MuepoKelly (Fontana, Calif.),
Nick Stover (Los Angeles, Calif.) and
Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) – and junior
Shaq Calhoun (Rome, Ga.) will be honored in a ceremony prior to the game.
"Our seniors have an opportunity to win their final game at the Mitchell Center and go out on a high note on a season that isn't where we want it to be," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "To be able to walk off the floor one last time with a win, would be a really good thing for this group of seniors."
The Jaguars (13-17, 6-11 Sun Belt) will be looking to stop a four-game losing streak Saturday that was extended by a 62-57 loss to Little Rock two days ago. USA forced 24 turnovers and had 12 steals, but let a late lead slip away.
"This team is capable of beating anyone we play in the Sun Belt," Graves said. "It's frustrating because we've shown signs of being able to guard at a very high level – like last night – and we've had halves where we've scored the ball well. But you have to play a complete 40 minutes of basketball, and we have spurts where we don't play very well, whether that's a segment in the first or second half, or you get behind and have to play catchup. Our Achilles' heel this year has been putting together a full 40 minutes of basketball."
Arkansas State fell behind by 20 Thursday in Troy and rallied to get within four in the late stages but was unable to overcome the Trojans. That dropped the Red Wolves to 20-10 overall and 11-6 in the Sun Belt Conference.
A-State has put together two seven-game win streaks this season, including one during league play, but is just 2-4 in its last six games with three straight road losses.
"They're a very dangerous team that has a lot of weapons," Graves stated. "They play extremely hard and they're still battling for seeding purposes heading into New Orleans, so I'm sure they'll be very competitive and play really hard on Saturday."
Devin Carter is the Red Wolves' leading scorer at 16.4 points per game, and is averaging 22.0 points in his career vs. the Jaguars. But it was
Deven Simms, A-State's second-leading point generator with 13.4 per contest, who hurt South Alabama in Jonesboro, scoring 22 on 9-for-13 shooting off the bench. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and had two assists.
"Devin Carter is certainly an all-league level guy – I voted for him that way – and he is capable of scoring in bunches so you have to be continuously aware of him," Graves said. "I'm just so impressed with Simms as he's bought into his role coming off the bench and acting as a spark for their team. He's one of the best newcomers in the Sun Belt."
The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy. New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12 and ticket books can now be purchased from your school's ticket office. For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship – Women's Championship – and be sure to follow the #FunBelt on social media - @SunBelt.
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/sports/2013/3/13/Gridiron%20Club.aspx?id=22
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