Nov. 29, 2005

The game was originally shcedule to be in the FG Clark Activity Center, but due to hurrican Katrina, the "Mini-Dome" served as a shelter to the New Orleans evacuees. Teh building was just turned back over tot he University within the past week and a half, and it is not ready to be played in yet.

Southern played a and "NBA schedule", with a string of four games in six days, making back-to-back trips to Texas (Austin & College Park). The Jaguars served as the home and season-opening opponent for three teams from power conferences and the results showed: an 89-56 loss at No. 2 Texas, an 84-56 loss at LSU and an 88-44 loss at Texas A&M.

SU came close in its one, falling 67-64 in overtime to Sacramento State in the Guardian's Classic consolation. The Jaguars were starting to look leg weary to Spivery before they ran into the buzzsaw that is A&M's uptempo defense.

"Those games gave us some kind of indication of where we need to improve," Spivery said.

Jarvis Christian played at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Ala., on Monday night after losing 75-62 to last season's Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament champ, Alabama A&M, 75-62 on Saturday. Texas Southern, defeated the Bulldogs 102-66 on Nov. 18.

It has been a week since the SU Jags last game. SU used the week of practice to concentrate on both ends of the floor.

In particular, Spivery wanted better movement on offense and for players to feel more comfortable knowing "what they should do. ... "The players understand the offense a little better now."

Southern also expanded its package of defensive sets.

"We pretty much have everything in," Spivery said. "It's just a matter of us continuing to improve."

The Southern Jaguars will travel to north Louisiana, to Ruston, to take on the LA Tech Bulldogs, Saturday, at 7:00 pm, at the Thomas Assembly Center on the campus of Louisiana Tech University.