Box Score

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team recorded the biggest victory in school history with a 99-34 triumph over Trinity Baptist Tuesday night at the Mitchell Center.

The 65-point margin tops the previous record of 58 set against Missouri Baptist on Jan. 3, 1980, and the 34 points allowed are the fifth-fewest in USA history.

South Alabama scored the first 18 points of the contest, and led 30-2 with 10:33 left in the first half. The Eagles were held to single digits for almost 19 minutes and trailed 59-14 at halftime.

The Jaguars had four in double-digit points, led by junior Rodrick Sikes and sophomore Jordan Andrews, who had 16 apiece, and senior Nick Davis scored a personal-best 14. Sophomores Trhae Mitchell and Kevin Morris grabbed a career-high 10 and nine rebounds, respectively.

GAME FACTS
- Trinity Baptist scored its first bucket of the night at the 14:03 mark, thanks to six consecutive misses and four turnovers
- All six Jaguars who played during that span scored, and the team converted six of its nine shots from the floor
- In taking a 30-2 lead, the Jags converted 68.8 percent (11-16) of their shots while holding the Eagles to 9.1 percent (1-11) on the other end of the floor
- South Alabama reeled off a 29-4 burst over a nine-minute span in the first half before Trinity Baptist hit a halfcourt shot at the buzzer
- After an 8-2 start for TBC to open the second half, USA scored 21 of the next 26 points to go up 82-24 with 9:31 left in the contest

NOTES
- The 34 points for Trinity Baptist are the second fewest allowed in Mitchell Center history
- South Alabama held a 64-18 advantage in the paint, 30-3 off turnovers, 15-0 on second-chance points, and 37-3 in fast-break points
- USA's plus-18 rebounding margin is a new season best
- Mitchell blocked a game-high three shots; it was his fourth multiple-block game in his last five outings and he currently ranks fifth in the Sun Belt with 1.5 per contest
- Senior Devin Epps recorded a game-best three steals, the first thefts of his career
- In addition to his nine rebounds, Morris scored a career-high 12 points, the first double-digit point performance in his two seasons
- The team's 40 made field goals are the most by the program since hitting 48 against William Carey on Feb. 25, 2003
- USA set a new season high with a plus-12 assist/turnover ratio and 22 assists
- Freshman John Pettway dished out a career-high five assists and went 3 for 3 from the floor for six points
- The Jaguars improved to 9-0 when scoring 70 points or more
- Sikes has scored double-digit points in 16 consecutive games
- Davis is averaging 9.0 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 62.5 percent from the floor in his last five outings

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Matthew Graves
Opening statement: "I'm obviously very pleased with how we played tonight. One thing we talked about going into the game was playing up to our standards, and I felt like we did that for the most part. We were not selfish. We had 22 assists. We shared the basketball. We didn't take very many quick shots. We rebounded the ball well, and we continued to contest 3-point shots. That's been a big point of emphasis for us, to contest the 3-point line. They were only 2 for 17. I liked the fact that we were able to get a lot of guys who don't normally get extended minutes some playing time. John Pettway played well, Kevin Morris, Joe Thompson, they all got an opportunity to play extended minutes, which is really good for us as we head into the heart of conference play now."

On getting an expected win: "It's a huge relief. People joke about playing a non-Division I team, but it's still a basketball game. We've all seen upsets happen. We've seen games that should be blowouts that are not, and I've been a part of games on both sides of it. The thing that we take from it is, and I told the team this after the game, I thought our basketball character was really good. We played the game the right way. We weren't out there showboating. We were making unselfish plays, and everybody was getting to shoot. Everybody was playing hard defensively, and that shows a lot of maturity and growth in this team. And I'm really proud of them for that."

On the bench production: "I think it's tremendous for their confidence because at any given time in conference play, a guy gets in foul trouble, or a guy is under the weather, or we need a crucial stop, or we're a little bit sluggish (we'll need them). When those guys have confidence, you can put them in for a couple minutes and continue playing because they've not been sitting there cold for the last 10 or 12 games. They've had the chance to get some live game action and play extended minutes, and I think that's really good for their confidence."

On getting so many points in the paint: "We felt like that was our strength, and I think that goes back to the maturity of this team. We've all seen teams in the past, I've coached teams in the past, that, when you play a game like this, you end up jacking 40 3s for no reason. Tonight, I think we did a good job attacking the paint, sharing the basketball, dropping it off to our bigs, and scoring in the paint. It was a huge emphasis going into the game, and I was really pleased to see them carry that out."

UP NEXT
South Alabama goes back to Sun Belt play on Saturday against in-state rival Troy at 3:05 p.m.

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—