Game 17 • South Alabama Jaguars (9-7, 2-1) at Little Rock Trojans (6-10, 1-2)
January 12, 2019 • 3 p.m. • Jack Stephens Center (5,600) • Little Rock, Ark.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Richie Riley (Eastern Kentucky, 2005)
Record at USA: 9-7 (1st year)
Overall Record: 44-35 (3rd year)
Record vs. Little Rock: 0-0

Little Rock
Darrell Walker (Arkansas, 2012)
Record at LR: 6-10 (1st year)
Overall Record: 51-28 (3rd year)

LAST GAME
South Alabama fell 66-65 at Arkansas State on Thursday. Little Rock defeated Troy 73-59.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars return home to shot Georgia State on Thursday. The Trojans go to Texas State.

ON THE AIR
Radio: 99.5 FM The Jag; J.T. Crabtree (pxp)
Web: 995thejag.com/listen (audio); ESPN+ (video)

RANKINGS (through Jan. 10)
USA: #285 NET, #229 Sagarin
LR: #255 NET, #204 Sagarin

THE SERIES
USA leads 29-20.

Current winning streak: South Alabama, 1 win
LR's last win in series: 62-57 (1/19/15)
Last meeting: South Alabama 73, Little Rock 56 (2/8/18)
USA's last win in Little Rock: 72-69 (1/5/15)
LR's last win in Little Rock: 73-56 (1/21/17)
USA's record in Stephens Center: 4-4
USA's record in Little Rock: 10-12
USA's road streak: Lost 2
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 6 / 4

Notes: Little Rock's four-game win streak that ended last season was its longest in the series… South Alabama swept all three games in 2015-16, defeating the Trojans in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament… The Jaguars' victory in Little Rock in 2012-13 was the program's first since 2007-08… The Trojans' 75-50 win in 2011-12 was the second-biggest win by LR in the series until Little Rock won 74-43 in 2015-16… LR swept the season series in 2013-14 for the first time since 1995-96… LR's win in Mobile on 1/22/09 ended a four-game USA winning streak in the series… USA won 10 of 11 from 3/2/97 to 3/3/01… The Jags are 7-1 vs. the Trojans in the SBC Tournament, including 4-1 at neutral sites… The lone loss came in 2010-11 (82-68) in the first round; Little Rock eventually won the tournament.

OPENING TIP
Despite the loss Thursday, South Alabama is over .500 after three league games for the second straight season.

USA put together a double-digit unanswered scoring run in each of the last four games. The team went on 10-0 runs vs. Richmond, Coastal Carolina and Arkansas State, and a 15-0 run against Appalachian State.

The Jaguars are searching for their first road win of the season (0-5).

USA is averaging 17.0 turnovers forced in the last three games and accumulated a season-high 11 steals at Arkansas State, led by a career-high 5 from R.J. Kelly. The Jags' 9.0 steals per game in league games tops the Sun Belt.

South Alabama has shot better than 65 percent from the free throw line just once in the last eight games. The team is converting 56.8 percent at the line in the last four contests.

The Jaguars have lost the rebounding battle by a combined 28 boards in the last two games, and have been outrebounded four times in their last five outings.

USA had two streaks snapped at six games on Thursday: scoring at least 79 points and posting a positive assist/turnover ratio. Both runs were the longest by the program since 1990-91.

Rodrick Sikes scored 14 of his game-high 24 points Thursday in the first half. He converted four times from 3-point land and played all 40 minutes. He is averaging 19.0 points in his last three games with two 20-point performances. He leads the team with six 20-point outings.

Sikes was held to 6 points in the only meeting vs. Little Rock last year, one of just three single-digit games for Sikes as a junior.

Josh Ajayi extended his double-digit scoring streak to a team-high 11 with 15 points. His last game with less than 10 points was a 5-point outing vs. Jacksonville on Nov. 17. He is shooting 66.7 percent from the floor in his last eight games, and ranks second in the Sun Belt at 54.1 percent on the season.

Ajayi shared team-high honors with Trhae Mitchell in rebounds Thursday with seven, giving him 498 in his career. With six more rebounds, he'll move into the school's top 20.

Mitchell scored all 12 of his points in the second half and had his double-double run snapped at two games.

Mitchell blocked a pair of shots to give him 12 multi-block games this season. He is second in the Sun Belt and 18th in Division with 2.4 per contest.

Little Rock's Rayjon Tucker is second in the league in scoring (21.1 ppg), fifth in field-goal percentage (.513) and first in minutes played (36.7). The Jaguars faced the Sun Belt's third-leading scorer, Arkansas State's Ty Cockfield, on Thursday and gave up 22 points.

PREVIEWING SATURDAY
Head coach Richie Riley on Little Rock
On playing another road game: "To win on the road, you have to do above and beyond what you normally do. It takes a special effort to beat anybody on the road, especially when you get into league play. We didn't make enough plays. I've watched the film two or three times from last night and we missed a lot in there tight, especially late – we had some really good looks – and we have to finish those. We just have to find a way. Our staff, our players and obviously myself first and foremost, have to find a way to win on the road. Our road record, dating back to when these guys got here, is not good, and we have to find a way to do it."

On taking any positives from the loss: "I thought in the second half, being down 10 late, making a push to take the lead, was definitely a positive. It shows some growth. We took the lead on Rodrick's free throw then they got three offensive rebounds and scored. I think if we could've come away with that rebound, we had the momentum to go down and score again and stretch the lead. That would be a positive. We had an opportunity to lay down and didn't. We fought back and got the lead, we just couldn't finish."

On Little Rock: "They did a good job of recruiting some good, young guys. They start two or three freshmen sometimes that are good players. Rayjon Tucker is one of the best wings in our league. He's an explosive scorer and a big-time athlete. Coach (Darrell) Walker has them playing really hard. I think if you look at his teams when he was coaching at Clark Atlanta, they play extremely hard and are competitive. This is his first year just like it's ours here. We're all fighting that battle of trying to implement our culture and he's doing a good job of that. We'll see down the stretch that they're going to win their fair share of games."

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