Game Notes

Game 23 • South Alabama Jaguars (11-11, 4-5) at Troy Trojans (9-13, 3-6)
February 3, 2018 • 4:15 p.m. • Trojan Arena (5,200) • Troy, Ala.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Matthew Graves (Butler, 1998)
Record at USA: 62-89 (5th year)
Overall Record: Same
Record vs. Troy: 6-3

Troy
Phil Cunningham (Campbellsville, 1990)
Record at Troy: 72-110 (5th year)
Overall Record: Same

LAST GAME
South Alabama's rally from 24 down fell short in an 83-74 loss at ULM. Troy let an early lead slip away in an 81-69 defeat at Louisiana.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars return home Thursday against Little Rock. The Trojans take on Arkansas State.

ON THE AIR
Radio: 99.5 FM The Jag; J.D. Byars (pxp)
On the web: 995thejag.com/listen (audio); ESPN3.com (video)

RANKINGS (Through Feb. 1)
USA: #250 RPI, #223 Sagarin
Troy: #226 RPI, #210 Sagarin

THE SERIES
USA leads 21-9.

Current winning streak: Troy, 1 win
U-SA's last win in series: 76-71 (2/4/17)
Last meeting: Troy 79, South Alabama 64 (1/13/18)
USA's last win at Trojan Arena: 76-71 (2/14/17)
USA's record at Trojan Arena: 4-1
USA's record in Troy: 9-3
USA's road streak: Won 3
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 5 / 2

Notes: South Alabama has won 11 of the last 14 meetings... Despite the in-state rivals being separated by about 170 miles, the two schools have met just 30 times; all but two of the meetings came after Troy joined the Sun Belt in 2005... South Alabama won the two pre-Sun Belt clashes in 1993 and 1995... The Jaguars won the first five games in the series and seven of the first eight... A buzzer-beating shot gave USA a 69-67 victory in Mobile on Jan. 16, 2010... Freddie Goldstein set a new school record with nine 3-pointers in the 2011- 12 season at Troy... USA leads the series 2-1 in games played at the Sun Belt Tournament, including an 87-81 victory in 2011-12 in the first round... Troy snapped a five-game skid in 2013-14 in Troy and a four-game slide in 2015-16 in Mobile.

OPENING TIP
South Alabama is 6-1 in the last seven games in Troy, and has won three in a row. The one loss was a 79-74 decision on Feb. 6, 2014.

The Jaguars posted a positive assist-to-turnover ratio last week at ULM for the first time against a Division I school in 2018, and the fifth time this season. The team is 3-2 when recording more assists than turnovers.

The Jags will be looking for their first true road win of the season Saturday (0-9).

South Alabama's last three opponents are averaging 78.7 points, and converting 49.1 percent from the floor and 47.0 percent from 3-point land. Prior to that, opponents averaged 65.6 points, 39.6 percent from the field and 28.1 percent from distance, and the Jags ranked in the top three in the Sun Belt in all three categories.

Against ULM, South Alabama tied its season high in 3-pointers with 12, all from Rodrick Sikes (7) and Dederick Lee (5). In 2017-18 USA has hit 12 treys in a game three times (Georgia State, La Salle).

The team's 3-point percentage of .387 was its highest in nine games. In their previous four outings, the Jags were converting just 20.3 percent.

Sikes hit seven 3s for a career-high 38 points at ULM. Both the 3-point and scoring output are tied for eighth in school history, and the points are the most by a USA player since Demetric Bennett scored 39 on Dec. 15, 2007, and tied for the highest total by a player in the Sun Belt this season. Sikes scored 26 points in the second half alone.

Sikes hit the 30-point plateau for the fourth time this season, tying the school record for most 30-point games, set most recently by Augustine Rubit in 2012-13. The Jaguars are 1-3 when Sikes scores 30 or more.

Sikes is sixth in the Sun Belt in scoring for the season (18.6 ppg) and first in conference games only (21.7).

Lee's five triples in eight attempts led to a career-high 15 points. It was Lee's first double-digit game of the season, and he went scoreless in three of his previous four outings.

Josh Ajayi set a new career high with 14 rebounds last Saturday. He has grabbed double-digit boards in three of his last four games and is averaging 9.8 over that span.

Trhae Mitchell followed up his career-high 16 points at Louisiana with nine and four assists at ULM. In his last seven games, he is averaging 8.1 points and 5.3 rebounds, and shooting 61.0 percent from the floor.

Troy's Wesley Person is averaging 17.0 points in his career against South Alabama, but just 12.3 points on 29.4 percent shooting in his last three games. In his first four games against the Jags, he averaged 20.5 points and shot 49.1 percent.

While Person was held to 13 points in the first meeting, Alex Hicks went off, scoring 30 points with 16 rebounds. Hicks scored 23 of those points in the second half and converted 11 of his 15 shot attempts.

PREVIEWING SATURDAY
Head coach Matthew Graves on Troy
On getting back to action Saturday: "It was good to take a couple of days off earlier in the week after a tough road trip. We were able to regroup and refocus for the second half of the conference season. We understand we have to perform better, especially on the road."

On what he learned from playing Troy the first time: "I was really impressed on Troy's ability to score the ball in the post. Obviously, Hicks had a career night and played really well, and Varnado is an all-league caliber forward that can score at many different levels. You always have to worry about Person's ability to stretch the floor and make timely 3-point shots."

On Troy's recent play: "I think it's a combination of who you're playing and where you're playing them. The Sun Belt is a really balanced league and it's tough to go on the road and win games. You've got to be prepared and have the ball bounce your way a few times. Both teams are coming off tough weekends and we're looking to regroup and get things headed in the right direction heading into the second half of the conference season."

On defending their posts: "We were fortunate to get Varnado in foul trouble – that's what limited his opportunities, because when he was in the game, we didn't do a great job of defending him or Hicks. Our post defense has to be a lot better. We can't allow their bigs to catch the ball as deeply as they did last time."

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—