Game 2 • Huntingdon Hawks (0-1) at South Alabama Jaguars (0-1)
November 11, 2018 • 4 p.m. • Mitchell Center (10,000) • Mobile, Ala.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Richie Riley (Eastern Kentucky, 2005)
Record at USA: 0-1 (1st year)
Overall Record: 35-29 (3rd year)
Record vs. Huntingdon: 0-0

Huntingdon
Caleb Kimbrough (Guilford, 2008)
Record at HC: 13-27 (3rd year)
Overall Record: Same

LAST GAME
South Alabama lost its season opener 101-58 at No. 11/12 Auburn on Tuesday. Huntingdon fell on a last-second 3-pointer to Sewanee 65-63 on Friday.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars start the Goldie and Herman Ungar Classic Friday against Chattanooga. The Hawks travel to Berry on Tuesday.

ON THE AIR
Radio: 99.5 FM The Jag; J.T. Crabtree (pxp)
On the web: 995thejag.com/listen (audio); ESPN+ (video), J.D. Byars (pxp), Pat Greenwood (color)

RANKINGS (through 11/9)
USA: #22 RPI, #260 Sagarin
HC: N/A

THE SERIES
First meeting.

OPENING TIP
South Alabama is 42-8 in its history in home openers with a 26-game win streak dating back to 1992. The last eight home-opening wins have all been by double-digits.

The last time USA started a season with two in-state opponents was 1974-75 when the Jaguars defeated Alabama-Huntsville 123-102 and Livingston (now West Alabama) 69-56.

Last season the Jaguars went 11-4 at home, winning 11 of their first 13 before dropping the final two. The 11 victories were tied for the most home wins since 2007-08, and the .733 win percentage was second over that span.

Rodrick Sikes averaged 19.7 points in 15 home games in 2017-18, scoring 30 or more three times with three more 20-point performances. He scored 32 in an overtime loss to Stetson, then matched that with 32 in a blowout victory over Arkansas State.

Sikes recorded his 13th 20-point performance in 33 career games Tuesday at Auburn. He led all players with 25 points, with 20 coming in the first half alone. He scored 14 in a row and 17 of 18 for the Jags late in the first half to help spark a 19-7 run and pull the team within 15.

Sikes went 5 for 12 from 3-point land in the opener, marking the seventh time in his career he's made five 3s in a game.

Josh Ajayi and Kevin Morris each went 3 for 4 from the floor and 3 for 4 from the free-throw line Tuesday to score 10 and 9 points, respectively. Ajayi made his only 3-point attempt of the night and grabbed four rebounds, while Morris shared team-high honors with five boards, including three on the offensive end.

Trhae Mitchell, last year's team leader with 45 blocks, paced the team at Auburn, rejecting three shots to go along with his seven points.

In Caleb Kimbrough's first season as head coach at Huntingdon, he increased the team's win total to 11 from 2 the year before.

The Hawks rallied from seven down in the second half to lead by three in the final minute in their season opener at Sewanee, but fell 65-63 on a last-season 3-pointer.

PREVIEWING SUNDAY
Head coach Richie Riley on Huntingdon
On the home opener: "It'll be good to get out there against somebody else after the way that we played Tuesday. Anytime you play as poorly as we did, especially the last 10 minutes of the game, then you want to get out there and play somebody else. We've had some tough days of practice since because that's not the standard of who we're going to be. I understand Auburn played a great game and they're No. 11 in the country, but it's not who we're going to be. It's unacceptable the way that we caved the last 10 minutes and allowed that to happen. So we're excited to get back out there and being at home is good. This is the first home game that counts so we're excited to play."

On any positives from the Auburn game: "It's hard to come up with a positive. We didn't handle the environment well at all. The main concern with this team is our resiliency. We don't handle adversity well. When things go poorly, we tend to put our head down and stop. That was obvious in that game. They threw some haymakers early and we never responded the right way. One positive is that we were able to fight back and cut it to 15 at one point. We weren't completely blown out of the water at halftime and things didn't go our way in the second half for the first five minute and then they got to our breaking point, and we broke. That's not who we are or what our program is going to be about; it's unacceptable. There are no excuses. Kory was obviously out because of his hamstring and he's one of our primary ball-handlers and better players, but it happens; they have guys out because of injury too. It's unacceptable and I told our guys it's not OK. A lot of times, the culture, whether it's here or somewhere else, it's acceptable to lose to teams that you should lose to. I don't think there are a lot of people that expected us to go to Auburn and win in that environment with the team that they have, but that's never going to be the standard here. We have to find a way to where we're in those games and put ourselves in the position where we can win those games."

On Huntingdon: "They're a hard-playing team and well-coached. The thing that sticks out to me about them is they have a group of guys on film that love to play. That's something I want our guys to be more like; I want them to love to play. They're going to come in here and take some quick 3s and play pretty fast. When you play like that, sometimes it alleviates some nerves, so they'll come in here loose and ready to go. In our climate of basketball, you can get beat by anybody. I told our guys that if they let them get open shots and you don't make them miss, then they could get hot just like Auburn did. We're anticipating a team that really shoots the '3' well, plays well together, can spread us out because they aren't as big as we are. There will be some unique matchups in the game. "

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to South Circle 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—