MOBILE, Ala. ? The University of South Alabama men’s basketball team will make its unofficial 2008-09 debut when it hosts West Florida in an exhibition game Monday night at the Mitchell Center.
The contest, the Jaguars’ only one of the preseason, will tip off at 7:05 p.m. A student pep rally hosted by The Outlaws ? USA’s student support group for athletics ? will be held by the Jaguar statue on the north side of the Mitchell Center beginning at 6 p.m.
Coming off a 26-7 campaign in which they earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament, the Jags bring back nine letterwinners from last season’s 16-2 Sun Belt Conference East Division champions. Domonic Tilford is the team’s leading returning scorer after averaging 12.5 points per outing last winter, while DeAndré Coleman paced the squad a year ago with 7.8 rebounds per game.
Also back is preseason first-team all-Sun Belt Conference selection Brandon Davis, who posted 10.8 points and 6.2 boards per contest as a junior. Tilford was named preseason second-team all-SBC at the league’s annual Media Day in Hot Springs, Ark., last month as well.
USA has already gained game experience this semester, taking advantage of an NCAA rule allowing an exempt trip once every four years out of the country when it participated in a two-day, three-game trip to Ottawa, Canada, Labor Day weekend. Junior-college transfer LaShun Watson led the Jags with a 15.7 point-per-game average and freshman Damarius Jones added 11 points per outing as the team finished 1-2 on the exhibition tour. Coleman paced the team with 7.3 rebounds per contest as well as five assists over the weekend.
Jaguar head coach Ronnie Arrow, coming off a season in which he earned Sun Belt Coach-of-the-Year accolades for the third time, has won his only contest against UWF. The Argos are guided by Don Hogan, a 1983 USA graduate who has lost the only time facing his alma mater.
The Jags have won 12 of 15 all-time meetings between the two schools in regular-season action, including a 73-41 victory in Mobile to open last season.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
?USA?
