Game 3 • Chattanooga Mocs (2-1) at South Alabama Jaguars (1-1)
November 16, 2018 • 7 p.m. • Mitchell Center (10,000) • Mobile, Ala.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Richie Riley (Eastern Kentucky, 2005)
Record at USA: 1-1 (1st year)
Overall Record: 36-29 (3rd year)
Record vs. Chattanooga: 0-0

Chattanooga
Lamont Paris (Wooster, 1996)
Record at UTC: 12-24 (2nd year)
Overall Record: Same

LAST GAME
South Alabama defeated Huntingdon Sunday 106-76. Chattanooga downed Cumberland 92-61 on Tuesday.

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; Steve Goldberg (pxp)
On the web: 995thejag.com/listen (audio); JagNationTV.com (video)

RANKINGS (through Nov. 14)
USA: #67 RPI, #276 Sagarin
UTC: #105 RPI, #221 Sagarin

THE SERIES
Tied 1-1.

Current winning streak: USA, 1 win
UTC's last win in series: 85-69 (12/30/93) in Chattanooga
Last meeting: South Alabama 84, Chattanooga 67 (11/25/07)
USA's last win at the Mitchell Center: N/A
UTC's last win at the Mitchell Center: N/A
USA's record at the Mitchell Center: 0-0
USA's home streak: N/A
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 1 / 1

Notes: Neither of the first two meetings took place in Mobile — the Mocs won the first game in Chattanooga in 1993, and the Jaguars won the second in Anaheim at the Anaheim Classic.

OPENING TIP
This weekend's tournament is named after long-time basketball supporters Goldie and Herman Ungar. The Heart of Gold Award, named after Goldie, is given each year to the player who best represents tireless effort, deep desire and total dedication during practice and competition. Jacksonville will face Southeast Missouri State Friday afternoon at 4 p.m.

The last time South Alabama had back-to-back games with at least one team scoring 100 points was 1994-95.

The Jaguars' point differential (48) between the first two games is the largest since 2002-03 when they scored 123 against William Carey and 61 their next time out vs. New Orleans.

USA's 106 points marked the program's first 100-point game since defeating Appalachian State 104-95 on Jan. 8, 2015, and are its most since putting up 123 on William Carey on Feb. 25, 2003. The App State contest was also the last time South Alabama had six players in double-digit points.

The team also dished out 24 assists, which is the most since recording 26 vs. Florida Atlantic on Feb. 14, 2009. Eight of the nine Jaguars in uniform had at least two, and Trhae Mitchell set a career high with 10.

Mitchell's assist total was the most by a Jaguar since Daon Merritt had 13 vs. Troy on Feb. 10, 2008.

Mitchell also had 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, blocked a career-high-tying four shots and had two steals. He has seven blocks total in his first two games and leads the league with 3.5 per contest.

Mitchell's double-double was the first of his career, and the points-assists double-double was the first by a Jaguar since Merritt on Nov. 17, 2006 against Morehead State (12 points, 10 assists).

In his first career start, Abdul Dial responded with new career highs in points (23) and rebounds (6). He shot 8 for 11 from the floor and 2 for 3 from 3-point land, and had two blocks.

Jordan Andrews recorded his first double-digit scoring game since January with 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting. He went 4 for 5 from 3-point territory and handed out a pair of assists.

R.J. Kelly shared game-high honors with nine rebounds and added 14 points and four blocks. The four blocks are a new career high.

Josh Ajayi also grabbed nine rebounds and tallied 12 points, thanks to a 6-for-6 performance at the free-throw line.

Chattanooga's leading scorer, Kevin Easley, is averaging 20.0 points in his last two games and 17.7 per game on the season.

Thomas Smallwood is averaging a double-double on the season with 14.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per contest. He had 18 points and 18 rebounds in the Mocs' last game vs. Cumberland.

PREVIEWING THE WEEKEND
Head coach Richie Riley on the Goldie and Herman Ungar Classic
On the weekend: "It's going to be a challenging weekend. There are three good teams coming in here. We're excited to get to play again. It feels like the games have been really spread out because we've practiced so many times. We're treating this just like a tournament; I think that's a good way to handle things like this. Even though it's a round robin, we're treating it like a tournament. Friday night against Chattanooga will be a heck of a challenge for our team. They do a lot of things that make them tough to play against. We're going to try and win and advance; we're trying to win a championship on Monday and in order to do that, you have to win one game at a time."

On fixing issues in the Huntingdon game: "I don't think we're all the way fixed; I wish that we were, but we're moving in the right direction. Any time you inherit a team that have gone through some of the struggles like they have in terms of wins and losses, you're trying to figure out how to win. You're trying to help them learn the things that go into winning. We're definitely a work in progress right now but we're making some strides. All you can ask for in the second week of November is that you continue to trend upward and that's what we're doing. This weekend is going to be a really good measuring stick for us to see where we're at. Auburn is a top 10 team in the country and we've played a non-Division I (opponent). The difference in the two teams we've played so far is pretty drastic. The three teams we have coming in to our place are more comparable. We get to see where our team is at."

On Chattanooga: "They have a good team. They went to Charlotte and won, which isn't easy to do. Charlotte turned around and beat Oklahoma State the next game they played, so that's a heck of a win for them. They have a team with a lot of young guys that are good players now and will turn into really good players. (Kevin) Easley, their leading scorer, is a freshman. He's a versatile player, can step out and shoot the '3', can score in face-up situations and can score in a variety of different ways. A guy that has really emerged for them is a graduate transfer, Thomas Smallwood. He came from UAB, where he didn't play as much as he would have liked, and he's taking advantage of a great opportunity. He's playing at a high level; he had 18 (points) and 18 (rebounds) in their last game, and at 7-feet, he made four 3s against Charlotte, which is really impressive. "

On what Chattanooga does offensively: "They really spread you out; they play similarly to Wisconsin. (Head coach) Lamont (Paris) was an assistant at Wisconsin under Bo Ryan. They play out of the Swing Offense and a lot of the concepts you see out of that. It makes them difficult to guard because there's a lot of motion. Some of their actions aren't predetermined; they're not set plays, they're more read and react, flex cuts, flares, pin-downs and handoffs. You have to guard a variety of different actions. That's going to be a challenge for us. We have to do a good job of trying to disrupt them and not allow them to get into a flow because when they get into a flow offensively with their guard play, how they shoot the '3' and the guys they have inside, they're dangerous."

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—