Game 23 • Arkansas State Red Wolves (10-12, 4-5) at South Alabama Jaguars (11-11, 4-5)
February 7, 2019 • 7 p.m. • Mitchell Center (5,520) • Mobile, Ala.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Richie Riley (Eastern Kentucky, 2005)
Record at USA: 11-11 (1st year)
Overall Record: 46-39 (3rd year)
Record vs. A-State: 0-1

Arkansas State
Mike Balado (St. Thomas, 1998)
Record at A-State: 21-33 (2nd year)
Overall Record: Same

LAST GAME
South Alabama rallied from 12 down at halftime to defeat Troy 81-75. Arkansas State came back from a 14-point deficit to win 84-83 at Little Rock.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars close out their homestand Saturday against Little Rock. The Red Wolves are at Troy.

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

RANKINGS (through Feb. 5)
USA: #257 NET, #213 Sagarin
A-State: #235 NET, #242 Sagarin

THE SERIES
Arkansas State leads 26-20.

Current streak: Arkansas State, 1 win
A-State's last win in the series: 74-62 (1/23/17)
Last meeting: Arkansas State 66, South Alabama 65 (1/10/19)
USA's last win at the Mitchell Center: 87-67 (2/10/18)
A-State's last win the Mitchell Center: 89-67 (1/2/16)
USA's record at the Mitchell Center: 8-7
USA's record in Mobile: 15-8
USA's home streak: Won 2
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 5 / 5

Notes: South Alabama had a five-game win streak over A-State snapped in 2009-10 in Mobile, then ended a five-game Arkansas State streak in 2014-15 in Jonesboro… The Red Wolves had won the previous four meetings prior to USA's five-game streak and have won 10 of the last 14 against the Jaguars… Ken Williams hit a shot with 0.8 seconds left to win 73-70 in 2017-18… Arkansas State is 5-0 in games decided in overtime… The series dates back to the 1970-71 season… The Jags have scored more than 90 points just once in 44 games (91-78, 12/28/06).

OPENING TIP
Thursday's game marks the first rematch of the 2018-19 season. Arkansas State won 66-65 on Jan. 10 in Jonesboro.

Last Saturday's win, 81-75 over Troy, was USA's 200th in the Mitchell Center and currently holds a 200-93 record in the building. South Alabama is 15-8 against Arkansas State at home but just 8-7 in the Mitchell Center.

The Jaguars had their 13-game streak with a player scoring at least 20 points snapped Saturday, as Trhae Mitchell led the team with 17 points, with 14 coming in the second half alone. Mitchell had his personal streak of scoring 20 points or more ended at three, but he is still averaging 23.3 points in his last four outings.

South Alabama's 34.4 shooting percentage in the first half vs. Troy was its worst since Nov. 17 vs. Jacksonville and the second lowest all season, but rebounded to convert 69.6 percent in the second half, which is the team's best after halftime since converting 72.2 percent against Presbyterian on Feb. 25, 2008.

The Jags' hot shooting extended beyond the 3-point line as the team went 8 for 9 from distance in the second half and 12 for 17 for the game. The 70.6 conversion rate from long distance is the second-best in school history (71.4% vs. La Tech, Jan. 24, 1998).

Kory Holden went 4 for 5 from behind the arc for 14 points, and Trhae Mitchell and Rodrick Sikes each made a pair of 3s in as many attempts.

Sikes finished with 12 points off the bench for his first double-digit outing in three games; he had scored 10 points total in his previous three outings.

Sikes is averaging 28.0 points in two career games against Arkansas State. He poured in a game-high 24 points vs. the Red Wolves on Jan. 10 in Jonesboro.

Josh Ajayi recorded his ninth double-double of the season on Saturday with 16 points and 10 rebounds. He ranks second in the league in that category, one behind Louisiana's JaKeenan Gant. Ajayi ranks tied for ninth at South Alabama in career double-doubles with 18.

Ajayi has hit double-digit points 20 times in 21 games this year, including 17 straight. He is averaging 21.6 points and 10.4 rebounds with four double-doubles and a 59.7 shooting percentage in his last five games.

Ajayi leads the Sun Belt in field-goal percentage (.565) and is third in rebounding (8.4 rpg). Since the start of the conference season, he is averaging 18.3 ppg (7th) and 8.9 rpg (2nd) and is shooting 59.6 percent from the floor (1st).

Mitchell has led the team in scoring in each of the last three games, and in league games is averaging 19.2 ppg (6th), 8.7 rpg (T-4th) and 1.9 bpg (2nd), and is shooting 50.7 percent (5th).

Mitchell blocked two shots vs. Troy to move past Brandon Davis into fourth all-time at South Alabama with 115. Mitchell is second in the Sun Belt and 24th in Division I with 2.2 blocks per game.

John Pettway scored 14 points Saturday, extending his run with at least 14 points to four consecutive games, averaging 14.5 ppg with a 72.7 field-goal percentage over that span. He also has 10 steals in that time, recording multiple thefts each game.

Arkansas State's Ty Cockfield II is second in the league in scoring (21.0 ppg). He scored 22 points against South Alabama in Jonesboro earlier this season, recording 12 of those points at the free-throw line in 15 attempts. However, he shot 5 for 16 from the floor and missed all five 3-point attempts.

QUOTES
Head coach Richie Riley on Arkansas State
On keeping up the team's high-level of play: "Anytime you can string together two good wins like we have, it builds confidence. But we have a group that hasn't handled success very well and that's something we've talked about recently. When you win two in a row, you have to stretch that and keep winning. Our focus needs to be great leading into the game. If you practice well, you play well. That's why we've played better in games; we've had better practices."

On learning from close losses: "We're certainly adept at playing in close games and I think that helps. In conference play, there are so many games that come down to two or three possessions. We lost some of those and I think our group has learned why we lost those. It's loose balls here and there and a timely no-box out to give them an offensive rebound that cost us those games. The last couple of games, we've made those adjustments and got those key winning plays when we needed them. It's enabled us to win two close games instead of losing them. I hope that's something we continue to do. I think our guys have learned from those close losses. There was some value in – we don't ever value losing – seeing why we lost those games."

On the first Arkansas State game: "That was one of those games I'm talking about. We got the lead and gave up a timely offensive rebound and they put it back in. We left 35 points in the paint with missed layups. We've done a better job of finishing those plays and playing with a lot more confidence offensively right now than we were when we went to Jonesboro. They're a good team; we're tied right now in the standings in the middle of the pack so this is a huge game for us. This is a pivotal point as we start the nine-game stretch on the back end of the conference season."

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).

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