THE SETTING
The South Alabama Jaguars return home to host UALR after a key road win at Troy on Thursday. The Jags extended their winning streak to three games after a 75-64 win. USA stands at 10-7 overall and is in second place in the East Division of the Sun Belt with a 4-2 record. UALR enters with an 8-10 mark and a 3-4 record in conference play.
A VICTORY OVER UALR WOULD...
? Give the Jaguars an 11-7 record overall and a 5-2 mark in conference play.
? Give head coach John Pelphrey his 71st victory at the helm of the Jaguar program.
? Give USA its season-long fourth win in a row and third consecutive home win.
? Give the Jaguars their third straight win in the series and eighth in the past 11.
THE SOUTH ALABAMA JAGUARS
The Jaguars return home after a key road win a Troy on Thursday. The Jags were down 20-6 to start the game an battled back for a 75-64 win. USA had a season-best two double-doubles in the game by junior Demetric Bennett and junior Ernest Little. Junior Daon Merritt tied his career-high with a game-high 18 points, all in the second half leading four Jaguars in double figures.
Leading the way for the Jags this season is Bennett who is averaging a team-best 15.3 points and is second on the team with 5.5 rebounds per game. He is a team-best 94 of 203 from the field and 43 of 103 from beyond the arc. Second on the team in scoring is Little, who has had an immediate impact after transferring from UAB, has played in eight games and had a team-high 17 points in his debut against Ole Miss on Dec. 16. He then had a career-best 20 points to lead the Jaguars to victory at Arkansas State (Dec. 28). Little is averaging 12.0 points per game and leads the team averaging 8.0 rebounds per game. The Mobile native had his first double-double as a Jaguar against Troy on Thursday with 14 points and 11 a career-high 11 rebounds. Merritt is third on the team in scoring at 10.9 points per game. Merritt leads the team with 101 assists this season and has three games of 10 assists this year. He tied his career-high with 18 points all in the second half against Troy on Thursday.
The Jaguars are coming off of one of the most memorable seasons in school history in 2005-06. USA won both the Sun Belt Conference West Division crown and tournament crown earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament where they fell to eventual National Champion Florida. Despite the loss to the Gators, USA had its best season in over 20 years with 24 wins, the second most in school history and had the nation’s biggest turnaround from 2004-05 to 2005-06. The Jaguars finished the season with a 24-7 mark and a 12-3 record in the SBC West Division.
Head coach John Pelphrey is in his fifth season at the helm of the Jaguar program. He took the team to new heights in 2005-06, winning the division, tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Pelphrey was named 2006 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year. Pelphrey, the ninth head coach in school history, has a 69-62 record at South Alabama.
LAST TIME OUT - AT TROY
TROY, Ala. -With 18 points and six assists, game high scorer Daon Merritt led South Alabama to a 75-64 victory over Troy Thursday night.
The Trojans (7-10, 2-4 SBC) were ahead for much of the game, leading by as much as 14 points in the first half. But the Jaguars (10-7, 4-2 SBC) grabbed the lead on a layup by Demetric Bennett with 13:58 left in the second half and never gave it up.
South Alabama had three other double digit scorers. Bennett and Carlos Smith had 15 points each, and Ernest Little chipped in with 14.
Cedric Jackson and O'Darien Bassett led Troy with 15 points each, while Justin Jonus helped out with 14 points.
UALR TROJANS
UALR enters the game with an 8-10 record and a 3-4 mark in conference play. The Trojans have dropped two straight and three of four. The Trojans fell at Arkansas State Thursday, 77-51. UALR had three players in double figures led by Terrance Akins with 14.
Leading the way for the Trojans this season is Rashad Jones-Jennings who has had an unbelievable season averaging a team-best 13.2 points and leads the league averaging 12.5 rebounds per game. Jones-Jennings also leads the nation in rebounding according to the last NCAA statistics that came out on Jan. 7. Also in double figures is Akins as he is averaging 12.0 points per game. He is second on the team behind Jones-Jennings in field goals made with 76 and leads the team with 44 3-pointers.
Head coach Steve Shields is in his fourth year at the helm of the Trojan program . Shields has a 57-47 record during his time at UALR. The Trojans finished 14-15 in 2005-06 and placed fourth in the East. Shields welcomes back three starters from last year. Some publications had UALR picked to win the West Division this season.
INSIDE THE SERIES
USA holds a 16-11 advantage in the series that dates back to Jan. 16, 1992. USA has won the past two meetings, including a 78-53 thrashing in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament a year ago. The Jags hold a 9-4 record at home and have dropped the past two decisions in Mobile.
LAST TIME THEY MET - Mar. 5, 2006
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Richard Law scored 10 points during a 25-6 run that South Alabama used to break open a tight game and beat Arkansas-Little Rock 78-53 in a Sun Belt Conference quarterfinal matchup Sunday night.
South Alabama (22-6) will square off against Denver (16-14) in the first semifinal game on Monday at 5:30 p.m.
The Jaguars created six turnovers and scored often in transition to pull ahead early on Sunday. Leandro Buboltz hit every shot he took and finished with 12 points to lead South Alabama.
Buboltz second 3-pointer gave South Alabama a 19-2 advantage with 10:37 left in the first half.
Arkansas-Little Rock (14-15) had just as many turnovers as shot attempts (six) eight minutes into the game. But after missing nine of their first 10 shots, the Trojans hit four in a row to pull back to within 19-12 at the 6:24 mark.
Byron Ray scored seven points as the Trojans went on another 9-1 spurt later in the first half.
South Alabama led 26-21 at the break.
The Jaguars deciding run came after Arkansas-Little Rock had trimmed their deficit to 34-30 in the first three minutes of the second half.
Behind the scoring of Law, South Alabama increased its lead to 59-36 with 10:27 remaining. The Jaguars led by as many as 29 points in the closing minutes. Four South Alabama players scored in double figures.
Zack Wright paced Arkansas-Little Rock with a game-high 20 points.
COME-FROM-BEHIND JAGS
The South Alabama Jaguars came from 14 points down in the first half to defeat Troy on Thursday night. USA was down 20-6 to start the game, but used a 14-2 run to make the score 22-20 midway through the half. The Jags did not take the lead until midway through the second half and won 75-64.
ERNEST DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Junior Ernest Little notched his first career double-double at South Alabama with 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds at Troy on Thursday. Of the eight games that Little has played this season, he has scored double figure points in four of them. Little is second in scoring averaging 12.0 points per game and leads the team averaging 8.0 rebounds per game.
STARTER DOUBLE FIGURES A PLENTY
In the past two games, USA has had nine of the 10 starters in double figures. Against FAU last Saturday, USA had all five starters in double figures for the first time since Feb. 25, 2003. Against Troy on Thursday, the Jags had four starters in double figures.
DOUBLE, DOUBLE-DOUBLE
USA had its first game of two players with double-doubles on Thursday against Troy. Juniors Demetric Bennett and Ernest Little each had double-doubles as Bennett had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Little had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Both players had career-highs in rebounds.
SECOND HALF DAON
Junior Daon Merritt tied his career-high with 18 points against Troy on Thursday...all coming in the second half. Merritt was 0 of 3 from the field and 0 of 2 from beyond the arc at intermission, but went 5 of 7 from the field, 1 for 2 from beyond the arc and a perfect 7 of 7 from the free throw line in the second half alone for 18 points.
HITTIN’ THE CENTURY MARK
For the first time since Feb. 25, 2003, USA hit the century mark against Florida Atlantic this past Saturday. The Jags scored 101 points against the Owls in a 101-76 victory. USA has scored 100 or more points in 83 games in school history. In addition, the 101 points ties the Sun Belt Conference season-best mark. Louisiana-Monroe had 101 points against Wesley College on Dec. 19.
SEASON HIGHS AGAINST FAU
The Jags set a number of season-highs against Florida Atlantic last weekend. USA shot a season-best 58 percent from the field, including 60 percent in the second half, scored 101 points and had a season-high 14 3-pointers. In addition, USA scored 51 points in the second half against the Owls which is the highest output for a half this season and had a season-high 21 assists.
DEMETRIC DEADLY FROM DOWNTOWN
Junior Demetric Bennett had a career night from long range against FAU. Bennett was 9 of 14 from the field including a career-best 7 of 9 from beyond the arc. Bennett leads the team with 88 made field goals and 41 made 3-pointers.
CARLOS DOING THE DISHES
Senor Carlos Smith had a career-high nine assists against Florida Atlantic last Saturday. His previous career-high was eight dishes against Spring Hill (1/24/04). Smith is second on the team in assists with 54 for a 3.4 average.
FIVE STARTERS IN DOUBLE FIGURES
For the first time since Feb. 25, 2003, the Jaguars had all five starters in double figures. Junior Demetric Bennett had a team-high 25 points against Florida Atlantic this past Saturday.
9 X 9 FOR ERNEST
Junior Ernest Little has now had back-to-back games of nine rebounds against Middle Tennessee and Florida International Jan. 2 and Jan. 4. Against Troy, Little had a career-high 11 rebounds and leads the Jags averaging 8.0 rebounds per game.
ALL JAGS SCORE
For the first time this season, all Jags who played in a game scored. All nine players who played against Middle Tennessee on Jan. 2 scored.
REJECTION CENTRAL
Through 17 games this season the Jaguars have 44 blocks. Sophomore Brandon Davis leads the team this season with 18 blocks, junior Kenny Hooks has 10 and so does junior Ernest Little. Last season two players tied for the team lead in blocks with 12 and as a team, had 43 blocks for the whole season. The Jags had six blocks against Florida International Jan. 4 and junior Ernest Little had a career-high three rejections.
LITTLE HAS CAREER NIGHT AGAINST ASU
Junior Ernest Little had his best outing against Arkansas State Dec. 28. Little, playing in just his fourth game as a Jaguar, led the team with a career-high 20 points and eight rebounds in the Jags 91-78 win. He was a career-best 7 of 9 from the field and 6 of 9 from the charity stripe.
JAGS SET SEASON-HIGHS
With an 80-56 win over Texas College on Dec. 19, the Jags set a number of season-highs against the Steers. USA posted 51 rebounds, including 29 on the offensive end, along with a season-best 20 steals.
DAON DISHES
Junior Daon Merritt tallied a career-high 10 assists and his first double-double as a Jaguar against Morehead State (Nov. 17) with 12 points and 10 assists, becoming the first Jaguar since Demetrice Williams (1/9/03) to record 10 assists in a game. He followed that performance with another 10 assist outing against West Florida Nov. 22. In the last outing, Merritt just missed his fourth 10-assist game by one as he had nine against Texas College (12/19). He leads the team with 92 assists and a 6.1 average.
STEALIN’ JAGS
The Jags have been coming up with the steals this season as they have a 142-90 advantage in that area, including a 17-4 performance against UC-Irvine in the season opener and a season-best 20-11 performance against Texas College on Dec. 19. South Alabama has forced 293 turnovers by its opponents in 17 games compared to 218 by USA.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DEMETRIC
Junior Demetric Bennett had his first career double-double as a Jaguar against Samford on Dec. 2. Bennett led the team with 21 points and a then-career-high 10 rebounds in a come-from-behind victory over Samford, 59-54.
CAREER-HIGHS AGAINST WEST FLORIDA
Seniors Carlos Smith and Leandro Buboltz set career-highs in points against West Florida on Nov. 22. Smith led the team with 26 points, while Buboltz added 21.
BOMBS AWAY
The Jaguars had 11 3-pointers in the season opener against UC-Irvine and had 10 against Winston-Salem State and tallied a season-high 15 3-pointers against West Florida (Nov. 22). USA had 10 games in 2005-06 with 10 or more 3-pointers including a season-high 14 last year at Troy.
JAGS SIGN THREE DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD
The Jaguars signed three players during the early signing period. USA signed a pair of high school teammates in LaDarius Hall and Jamar Moore from Thomasville High School in Thomasville, Ga. In addition to them, the Jags also signed DeAndrae Ross from Lynnhaven, Fla. and Rutherford High School. All three are guards and could have an immediate impact in 2007-08.
KNOCKING DOWN THE TREY
USA has hit a three-pointer in 226 consecutive games. The last time the Jaguars were held without a trey was Feb. 6, 1999 in a 44-43 win over Arkansas-Little Rock. USA averaged 8.8 three-pointers a game in 2005-06 and averaged 7.4 in 2004-05. USA hit 11 treys in an 67-63 victory over UC-Irvine in the season opener and followed that up with a season-best 15 treys against West Florida on Nov. 22 and 14 3-pointers against Florida Atlantic last weekend. The Jags have 142 made 3-pointers through 16 games, compared to 97 by their opponents.
ON THE RADIO AND INTERNET
All South Alabama basketball games are broadcast on WNSP 105.5 FM out of Mobile. This season, fans will have the opportunity to get live web streaming of all home basketball games and selected away contests.
Log onto www.usajaguars.com for more information.
JAGUAR NATION LIVE AND ON DEMAND
This season Jaguar fans anywhere in the world can watch home and selected road men’s and women’s basketball games on their computers. Log onto www.usajaguars.com for more information on how to sign up for Jaguar Nation Live and On Demand.
THE COACHES SHOW ON MONDAY
Jaguar play-by-play announcer Lee Shirvanian and coach John Pelphrey host “The Courtroom” each week during the basketball season at Banana Docks Cafe in Mobile. The show airs on WNSP 105.5 FM. The show also can be accessed at www.wnsp.com. The one-hour show now returns to its normal Monday timeslot from noon to 1 p.m., beginning Dec. 4.
JAGS ON TV
This season, USA is slated for television eight times as of Dec. 20. USA played two games on CSS one on SportSouth, one ESPN Plus as part of the Sun Belt Conference TV package and a total of four on UTV 44 locally in Mobile. The Jags played at Auburn on CSS (Dec. 6) and played at Mississippi State on SportSouth (Dec. 9), hosted Ole Miss in the Coors Classic on Dec. 16 on CSS and played one of four games televised on UPN 44 against Texas College on Dec. 19, as well as Jan. 6, Jan. 13 and Feb. 24. In addition, South Alabama will host Louisiana-Monroe on Jan. 25 on ESPN-Plus.
