South Alabama basketball coach Richie Riley is hoping a return home will cure his team’s recent ills.

The Jaguars haven’t played at home since Dec. 21, and have done so just twice since mid-November. Included in that time away from the Mitchell Center were Sun Belt Conference losses last week to Georgia Southern (64-50) and Georgia State (68-58).

South Alabama (6-8, 0-2) begins a four-game home stand on Thursday night, hosting Arkansas State (9-6, 1-1) at 7 p.m. The Jaguars will also play Texas State on Saturday, James Madison (Jan. 12) and Louisiana (Jan. 14) before leaving Mobile again.

“It’s been hard. We’ve played four home games (all season),” Riley said. “We went over a month without playing any at home. So to have four at home is great, from an aspect of not having to travel, because travel is not easy in this league, the way the schedule sets up. To be able to be at home for two weeks straight and play four games is going to be great. So we’re excited about it.

“We have a really good group of kids and our demeanor from an energy standpoint, from an excitement to play hasn’t been affected, which is a positive. You know, it’s hard when you play really good teams on the road. You’re not at home very much and your team can get down, but this group hasn’t. They’re working hard every day in practice and looking forward to getting to be home for a little bit.”

In the loss to Georgia Southern, South Alabama was out-rebounded 54-27. The Jaguars rarely got within single digits in the second half.

South Alabama actually led Georgia State by double-digits in the first half before collapsing just before the break. The Jaguars played that game without leading scorer Isaiah Moore, who suffered a bruised lower back after taking a hard fall late in the Georgia Southern loss.

“We’re hopeful that he plays (vs. Arkansas State),” Riley said. “He had sore ankle already, but also he took a pretty good fall vs. the Georgia Southern game. He’s a tough kid. He tried to gut it out in Atlanta against Georgia State but he just couldn’t go.

“We’re hopeful that he can get into practice within the next couple of days here and be ready to go Thursday. But just like all our guys, health comes first. If he’s not 100%, we’re not going to throw him out there.”

South Alabama has played the entire season without forward Diante Smith, the team’s leading returning scorer. Smith’s mother died in the offseason and he has been slow to recover emotionally, Riley said, so he will take a redshirt year with hopes of returning in 2023-24.

In other team news, senior guard Adam Sizemore was awarded a scholarship earlier this week. Sizemore came to South Alabama as a walk-on 3 ½ years ago and has become a fan favorite despite limited playing time.

Sizemore hails from London, Ky., which is also Riley’s hometown. The coach said he sees a lot of himself in the diminutive Sizemore.

“He made it very clear, just like I did at his age, when he was coming out of high school, that he wanted to be a coach,” Riley said. “He turned down opportunities to play at some lower levels, where he actually could have got out on the floor and played probably significant minutes, because he had already made a career choice. That was his dream.

“And I was the same way. I had opportunities out of high school to play at some lower levels, get some playing time. And I chose to walk on at the Division 1 level. I’m really thankful and glad that I’m in a position where I can help him make his dreams come true.”