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South Alabama vs. Vanderbilt Game Notes
South Alabama wraps up a four-game road swing -- its longest of the season -- Thursday when it heads to Memorial Gymnasium to face Vanderbilt.
The Jaguars (4-2) put together back-to-back wins for the first time this season in finishing fourth at the Anaheim Classic. They defeated Chattanooga 84-67 on Sunday behind a pair of 20-point efforts. Domonic Tilford tallied a season-high 26 points, while Demetric Bennett added 21.
Vanderbilt (5-0) is also coming off a successful tournament run, finishing first at the South Padre Island Invitational after wins over Utah State and Bradley. Shan Foster was named the tournament MVP.
Other storylines for today’s game:
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Tonight’s game marks the second of three against the SEC this season. The Jags lost 81-78 at Ole Miss on Nov. 13 and host Mississippi State on Dec. 15.
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South Alabama is projected to start the same lineup for the third straight game after using three different openings in the first three games.
The Series
Tonight marks the first time South Alabama and Vanderbilt have faced each other in history. The Jaguars opened a series with Miami already this year and face a first meeting with Houston Baptist on Sunday.
Arrow Against the Commodores
Head Coach Ronnie Arrow has also never faced Vanderbilt in his 13 years as a head coach.
Against the SEC
This marks the second of three meetings with Southeastern Conference members this season. The Jaguars lost 81-78 at Ole Miss on Nov. 13 and host Mississippi State on Dec. 15.
Against current members of the SEC, the Jaguars hold an 8-31 all-time record. The school breakdowns are as follows: Alabama 1-1, Arkansas 0-4, Auburn 4-5, LSU 0-1, Georgia 1-4, Mississippi 1-3, Mississippi State 0-10, Tennessee 0-1 and Florida 1-2.
On the Road
Tonight will be just the second true road game of the season for the Jaguars, following an 81-78 loss at Ole Miss on Nov. 13.
South Alabama posted a 7-8 record on the road last year, but lost three straight games at the end of the season in the category.
The term "away from home" has meant a different story for the Jaguars, though. They are 2-2 including a 2-1 finish in the Anaheim Classic.
Book-end Shooting
It was a tale of two halves for the Jaguars’ shooting efforts in the win over Chattanooga on Sunday.
South Alabama connected on its best 20 minutes of the season in the opening period, hitting 65.4 percent (17 of 26). The second 20 minutes was entirely opposite as the Jaguars made only 34.6 percent (nine of 26), their worst period of the campaign.
The previous season best for a half was a 59.4 percent-effort after intermission against Mississippi on Nov. 13, while the low was 35.3 percent against Grambling (1st).
As a whole, South Alabama is shooting 46.5 percent for the season.
It All Adds Up
The two halves Sunday combined for a 50.0 shooting night, 26 made field goals in 52 attempts. That equals the highest point of the season, a mark also attained in the previous game against San Diego.
Through the first four games, South Alabama connected on only 104 of 231 attempts, a percentage of .450.
The Defense is There
South Alabama is limiting its opponents to just 39.9 percent shooting this season, well under the goal of 41 percent set by Coach Arrow.
The last two opponents, and four in six games this season, have been below 40 percent. Only Mississippi made had a percentage of 50.0 percent, while the next best mark is Miami at 42.6 percent.
Slow Starts
South Alabama has made a habit of slow starts this season, trailing before the clock starts after the first media timeout five times in seven games (including the exhibition).
However, Sunday’s game against Chattanooga featured the best start of the year by the Jaguars. After falling behind 3-0, they tallied 10 straight points and built a 12-6 lead by the first break.
The other scores this season at the first media timeout:
Game Clock Score
Spring Hill (ex). 15:33 0-4
W. Florida 15:47 5-4
Ole Miss 15:17 0-11
Grambling 15:36 8-11
Miami 15:47 4-6*
San Diego 15:58 4-6
Chattanooga 15:57 12-6
*teams went into the break before free throws that broke a 4-4 tie
Rebounding Rebound
In the two games since being outrebounded 40-29 by Miami, South Alabama has hit the boards with a vengeance, holding 38-21 and 36-31 edges against San Diego and Chattanooga, respectively.
The Jaguars rank third in the Sun Belt Conference with a +8.5 rebounding margin, holding opponents to just 29.7 per contest.
Back From the Charity Stripe
South Alabama has connected on 44 of 57 (77.2 percent) of its free throws the last two games combined, topping 75 percent in both contests.
The recent surge followed the worst mark of the young season -- 38.1 percent (eight of 21) from the line against Miami.
The Jaguars enter today’s contest hitting 68.3 percent for the season, with three efforts over the 75-percent standard. They are 4-0 when holding an edge on the boards this season.
Turnover Troubles
After having fewer turnovers in each of the first four games, South Alabama has now failed to win the category in back-to-back outings.
The Jaguars had more turnovers vs. San Diego on Friday, 16 to 15 miscues, then forced 18 and committed 18 against Chattanooga.
South Alabama enters tonight’s fifth in the Sun Belt Conference in turnover margin, holding a +1.5 difference.
Variations of Five
South Alabama has used four different lineups in six games, but stayed with the opening five for the first time on Sunday. Junior transfer B.J. Ford made his first start at South Alabama against San Diego and repeated the feat vs. Chattanooga.
He became the eighth different player to start in the first six games, while seven different players have earned at least one spot in the opening five.
Daon Merritt, DeAndre Coleman and Brandon Davis have opened all six games.
Seeing 20-20
South Alabama had a pair of players reach 20 points on Sunday when Domonic Tilford tallied 26 points and Demetric Bennett added 21.
It marked the fourth and fifth times that a Jaguar had eclipsed the 20-point mark this season. Bennett has two others, while Daon Merritt reached the level once.
The last time a pair Jaguars reached 20 points in the same game was less than a year ago, as Bennett (29) and Merritt (24) combined for 53 points in a 90-89 overtime win over North Texas on Jan. 28.
It also happened against Florida Atlantic (Jan. 6) and West Florida (Nov. 22) during the 2006-07 campaign.
Three Times 10
South Alabama has strung together double-digit scoring runs three times in each of the last two games.
Against San Diego on Friday, each of them were exactly 10-0, with two separated by a single three-pointer (20-3).
The Chattanooga game saw a 21-3 surge fueled by 10-0 and 11-0 runs, plus 13 straight points at the end of the first half and beginning of the second.
The Jaguars now have 12 runs of 10 points or more in their six games.
Double-Double News
A pair of South Alabama players have posted double-doubles this season. Demetric Bennett tallied 19 points and a career-high 12 rebounds vs. Grambling for his fourth career effort over 10 and 10.
DeAndre Coleman is the other Jaguar with a double-double. He registered 12 points and 10 rebounds at Ole Miss.
Hayles Sidelined until December
Junior Daniel Hayles has been forced to the sidelines until the end of the fall semester after personal issues forced him to drop two classes. His resulting "part-time" status makes him ineligible to participate in any athletic activity.
Hayles will return to full-time status on Dec. 12, the day after the close of South Alabama’s fall semester.
