University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Eagles Lose First C-USA game
1/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Eagles Lose First C-USA game
TAMPA, Fla.-- Greg Johnson's season-high 27-point, 11-rebound effort was not enough to keep Southern Miss out of the loss column here Tuesday night as the South Florida Bulls posted a 74-65 Conference USA decision over the Golden Eagles.
The loss snapped a three-game Southern Miss wins streak and ended a three-game South Florida losing streak. The Bulls improved to 8-6, 1-2 in C-USA, while the Golden Eagles fell to 2-1 in the league, and 9-5 overall.
Head Coach James Green's team grabbed an early lead, led by as many as five points, and led as late as the 5:53 mark (19-17), before the Bulls outscored the visitors 11-2 in the final 5:53 of the first half to take a 28-21 halftime lead.
South Florida led by as many as eight points, with just over 6:00 left in the game, only to see Southern Miss fight back to within three points, 57-54, when a missed Golden Eagle layup and a couple of quick Bulls' baskets pushed South Florida back in front and, with the Eagles having to foul to try to stop the clock, South Florida proceeded to hit their final 12 free throws to build the lead to as many as 10 points late in the game.
South Florida put four players in double figures, led by Jimmy Baxter's 20 points. Reggie Kohn added 15, including 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Greg Johnson, who had just six points at the half, put up 21 more in the second half to finish with 27 points, his best scoring game as a Golden Eagle. He also had 11 rebounds, his second double-double of the season. The only other Southern Miss player in double figures was Charles Gaines, who finished with 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds as he recorded his seventh double-double of the season.
The Eagles contributed to their own downfall by shooting just .364 (24-66), while South Florida finished at .481 (25-62). Southern Miss easily won the rebounding battle, 46-33, committed just 14 turnovers, got more production off the bench and led 24-0 in second chance points, but Southern Miss could not overcome the poor shooting night.
Following the South Florida game, Southern Miss plays a Saturday night game at UAB, and then doesn't play again until Houston visits for a Jan. 25, game in the Coast Coliseum, in Biloxi, Miss., and Louisville is in town four days later for the final January game of the year.
