MOBILE, Ala. – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team continues the Goldie and Herman Ungar Memorial Tournament at South Alabama on Sunday with a 4 p.m. matchup with the hosting Jaguars. The Gamecocks close out the tournament Monday against Mobile on Monday at 2 p.m.
Jax State is 1-0, thus far, in the weekend tourney with a 60-50 win over Florida Atlantic on Friday. The Gamecocks (1-1) picked up their first win of the season behind a 18-point scoring performance from graduate transfer
Darian Adams. The victory handed
Ray Harper his 81st win as the head coach in Jacksonville, putting him just eight wins behind former head coach James Green for the second-winningest Division I in JSU's history.
Sunday's game against South Alabama will broadcast on
ESPN+ with J.D. Byars (play-by-play) and Pat Greenwood (analysis) on the call. Sunday's game against Mobile will not have a live video broadcast.
Fans can listen to "The Voice" of the Gamecocks,
Mike Parris, on their local Gamecock Radio Network affiliate. In Jacksonville, WLJS can be found at 91.9 FM, 98.1 FM and 102.1 FM, and WVOK in Oxford is located at 97.9 on the FM dial. Fans can also listen to
WLJS online and on the TuneIn app. Parris back behind the mic for his 38th season broadcasting Jacksonville State basketball.
Following the longest road trip of the season for Jacksonville State, the team is scheduled to travel to Miami, Fla., for a pair of games against Florida International. The first matchup with the Panthers is set for Friday, Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. Following a Saturday off day, Jax State and FIU conclude the unusual series Sunday, Dec. 6 at 1 p.m.
Men's Basketball - Game 3
Jacksonville State (1-1) at South Alabama (2-0)
November 29, 2020 | 4 p.m. CT
Mobile, Ala. | Mitchell Center (10,000)
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GAME NOTES
Jacksonville State Notes
South Alabama Game Notes
Tipoff Tidbits
• South Alabama is the Division I program in the state JSU has played the least at just two games.
• JSU and USA haven't played since a Jan. 29, 1975 meeting in Mobile. USA won the game 90-81.
• Graduate transfer Darion Adams led the Gamecocks in scoring vs. Florida Atlantic on Friday with 18 points.
• Jacksonville State is now 12-5 in neurtal-site games since
Ray Harper arrived for the 2016-17 season.
• Junior transfer
Demaree King scored 15 points off the bench in his Division I debut against Alabama.
• JSU has its largest incoming group of Gamecocks for a Harper-led squad and the most since 11 new faces joined the JSU program for the 2011-12 season.
• Head coach
Ray Harper owns 81 wins in four seasons at JSU, ranking third in program history in D1 wins behind former head coach James Green (89, eight seasons).
Series History
• The series between the Gamecocks and Jaguars is tied, 1-1
• JSU and USA have met just twice - the least amount of meetings between the Gamecocks and another in-state Division I program.
• The last time the two teams met was Jan. 29, 1975. USA won the game 90-81 in Mobile.
• Jax State won the first meeting 74-66 in Jacksonville on Dec. 27, 1968.
A win would…
• Give Jacksonville State a 2-1 advantage in the series vs. South Alabama.
• Improve
Ray Harper's record as Jacksonville State's head coach to 82-57, 513-184 overall.
• Give the Gamecocks their first 2-1 start to a season since the 2017-18 campaign.
• Be the first win over a Sun Belt opponent since defeating ULM on Dec. 9, 2017 at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
• Be Jacksonville State's first win over a Sun Belt opponent on the road.
Storylines
• Assistant coach
Tommy Wade is making his first coaching appearance against South Alabama, and is returning to the Mitchell Center for the first time since serving as an assistant coach for the Jaguars from 1995 to 1999. As a member of Bill Musselman's staff in 1996-97 and Bob Weltlich's staff in 1997-98, Wade helped lead the Jags to back-to-back Sun Belt Championships and appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• South Alabama is the Division I team in the state JSU has matched up with least, playing just twice in school history, and it has been 45 years since they last played. The series is tied 1-1 with USA taking the last meeting 90-81 in Mobile. Prior to that, JSU won the first game Dec. 27, 1968 in Jacksonville.
• Jaguars head coach Richie Riley is familiar with Jacksonville State, playing one year at Eastern Kentucky before becoming an assistant coach with the Colonels for the 2011-12 season. Riley never played against Jacksonville State, lettering in 2001-02, but helped lead EKU to a 16-16 record and a win over JSU during his lone season as a Colonels assistant.
• JSU and Mobile are set to meet for the first time on Monday, Nov. 30 at 2 p.m. Mobile is a member of the NAIA's Southern State Athletic Conference. Within the past five years, JSU has played just one member of the SSAC - Dalton State. The Gamecocks defeated the Roadrunners 81-50 on Nov. 22, 2016 at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
About South Alabama
• The Jaguars are 2-0 this season with wins over Florida Atlantic and Mobile.
• Head coach Richie Riley is entering his third year in Mobile, garnering a 37-28 record in his first two seasons with USA.
• Coach Riley is a 2005 graduate of Eastern Kentucky where he was an assistant coach one season and a one-year letter winner with the Colonels.
• South Alabama defeated Texas State to clinch the number two spot in the Sun Belt for the 2019-20 season and a bye to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament prior to the season ending due to the coronavirus pandemic.
• The Jaguars accomplished a 20-win season for the first time since 2008-09 when USA finished 20-13.
• USA lost 84.5 percent of its scoring production, noteably Josh Ajayi, Trhae Mitchell, Andre Fox and Chad Lott. The bulk of scoring represents the third-highest number in the NCAA this year with Rider and Radford as the only teams with a higher total.
• Sophomores Tyreke Locure and KK Curry with senior John Pettway return from last year each with multiple double-digit scoring games from last season with an expected increase in scoring roles.
For more information on the JSU men's basketball team, follow the Gamecocks on Twitter (@JSUGamecocksMBB) and Instagram (@JSUGamecocksMBB). For more on all Gamecocks sports teams, follow the official social media accounts of JSU Athletics on Twitter (@JSUGamecocks), Facebook (Facebook.com/JSUGamecocks) and Instagram (@JSUGamecocks).
