Game Notes

Game 19 • Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (7-12, 1-5) at South Alabama Jaguars (9-9, 2-3)
January 18, 2018 • 7:05 p.m. • Mitchell Center (10,000) • Mobile, Ala.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Matthew Graves (Butler, 1998)
Record at USA: 60-87 (5th year)
Overall Record: Same
Record vs. CCU: 0-2

Coastal Carolina
Cliff Ellis (Florida State, 1968)
Record at CCU: 206-151 (11th year)
Overall Record: 740-478 (40th year)

LAST GAME
South Alabama fell 79-64 at home to Troy. Coastal Carolina lost its fifth straight, 72-58 vs. Georgia State..

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars conclude their four-game homestand Saturday against Appalachian State. The Chanticleers travel north to Troy.

ON THE AIR
Radio: 99.5 FM The Jag; J.D. Byars (pxp)
On the web: 995thejag.com/listen (audio); JagNationTV (video)

RANKINGS (Through Jan. 16)
USA: #242 RPI, #228 Sagarin
CCU: #262 RPI, #205 Sagarin

THE SERIES
CCU leads 3-1.

Current winning streak: Coastal Carolina, 3 wins
USA's last win in series: 88-65 (12/3/88) in Mobile
Last meeting: Coastal Carolina 80, South Alabama 67 (3/8/17)
USA's last win at the Mitchell Center: N/A
USA's last win in Mobile: 88-65 (12/3/88)
Coastal Carolina's last win at the Mitchell Center: 81-77 OT (2/20/17)
USA's record at the Mitchell Center: 0-1
USA's record at home: 1-1
USA's home streak: Lost 1
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 3 / 1

Notes: The two schools split the first two meetings, with South Alabama winning in 1988-89, and Coastal Carolina winning in 1989-90, but the Chanticleers won the first Sun Belt meeting last year in overtime, then won in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament… The 1988-89 meeting in Mobile took place in Jag Gym.

OPENING TIP
A win over Coastal Carolina would be USA's 799th in school history. The program currently holds a 798-627 record.

South Alabama went 0-2 against Coastal Carolina last season, CCU's first in the Sun Belt. The Chanticleers rallied from 14 down at halftime to win in overtime in Mobile, then defeated the Jaguars in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament.

In their last seven games against Division I opposition, the Jags have been outrebounded in six of those, including each of their last four by an average of 10 per game. The Chanticleers are second in the Sun Belt in rebounding margin (+6.7), defensive rebounding percentage (.739) and offensive rebounding percentage (.356). Their rebounding margin is 33rd in the nation.

USA had eight offensive rebounds Saturday, tied for its fewest in the last six games.

Despite holding Troy to 27.3 percent from 3-point land, the Jaguars fell to second in the Sun Belt in 3-point defense (.289), but moved up nationally to sixth.

South Alabama also ranks second in the conference in field-goal percentage defense (.400) and is third in scoring defense (66.1 ppg). That ranks 30th and 48th, respectively, in the nation.

The Jaguars' streak of games with at least eight 3-pointers was snapped at seven, after converting a season-low two against Troy. The team is currently seventh in the conference with 8.2 treys per game.

Rodrick Sikes, who had 18 points on Saturday, has led the team in scoring in six of the last seven games, and has recorded at least 16 points in seven straight contests.

Sikes is sixth in the league in scoring (18.1 ppg), second in 3-pointers per game (2.9) and fourth in 3-point percentage (.380).

After not hitting double-digit points in any of his first 42 games, Kevin Morris has done it in each of his last two, and is averaging 13.0 ppg while shooting 72.2 percent from the floor in that span. He had a then-career-high 12 points on 6 of 8 shooting against Trinity Baptist, then bested that with 14 points on 7 of 10 shooting vs. Troy. Against Trinity Baptist, he grabbed a personal-best nine rebounds.

Nick Davis was one off of his career high in rebounds with 10 on Saturday, and added eight points. In conference games, Davis is averaging 7.8 points — fourth on the team — and a team-high 7.2 rebounds.

Davis is sixth in the Sun Belt with 1.4 blocks per game, one spot behind Trhae Mitchell, who is also averaging 1.4 blocks per contest.

Herb McGee is averaging 12.7 points and 3.3 assists while shooting 51.9 percent from the floor in his last three games. He had 15 points against Troy.

Coastal Carolina defeated preseason Sun Belt favorite UT Arlington in its league opener 90-65, but has lost all five games since. The last three losses have been by an average of 14 points.

Jaylen Shaw averaged 12.0 points and 7.0 assists, and Demario Beck averaged 13.5 points and 9.0 rebounds against South Alabama last year. Beck had 18 points and 14 boards in the Chanticleers' OT win in Mobile.

PREVIEWING THURSDAY
Head coach Matthew Graves on Coastal Carolina
On continuing the homestand: "I'm glad to have another opportunity here in the Mitchell Center, coming off a tough loss. We certainly need to play a lot more physical and tougher, and I think you'll see a much better effort out of our team Thursday night."

On getting revenge for last year's losses to CCU: "The revenge factor, or measuring yourself up to last year's games, really doesn't factor in because both teams are new teams. It's a new chapter and this is our first meeting this year. We want to make sure we're locked in and ready to play. We have to do a better job of protecting our home floor because it's tough to get wins on the road. We need to get back to winning at home."

On Coastal Carolina's recent skid: "They're clearly not as bad as their 1-5 record. They're a very capable and dangerous team if you allow them to get comfortable, move the basketball, get out and run in transition, and play on the offensive glass. We have to do a great job of defending the 3-point line and keep them off the offensive glass if we expect to win."

On Jaylen Shaw and Demario Beck: "Shaw makes their team go from the point guard spot. He's able to get his own shot and create points for himself, but his activity on the offensive allows others to get baskets. When he's really engaged and involved, they're a tough team offensively because he has a knack for finding guys and getting them shots, as well as scoring himself. Beck does a great job on the offensive glass. His ability to step out and shoot the ball on the perimeter as a big, is something else that you have to gameplan for."

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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—USA—