University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Eagles Fall At Memphis, 80-62
2/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Eagles Fall At Memphis, 80-62
MEMPHIS, Tenn.-- Memphis hit 14-of-24 shots from three-point range, shot an even 50 percent from the floor and outrebounded Southern Miss, 35-30, to earn a regular-season split with the Golden Eagles, when the Tigers posted an 80-62 victory at the Pyramid here Saturday.
Southern Miss won the first game of the season against the Tigers, with an 84-67 victory, Jan. 11, in Hattiesburg. The victory improved Memphis to 12-5 overall, 3-3 in C-USA, while Southern Miss fell to 9-9, 2-5 in the league.
Memphis controlled the opening top, Chris Massie scored Memphis' first basket 24-seconds into the first half, and before the Golden Eagles could put their first points on the board the Tigers had scored 13 points. That quick run included a three-point basket by Anthony Rice, a pair of long-range shots by Rodney Carney and an Earl Barron basket that left Head Coach James Green and his Eagles looking at a 13-0 deficit, just 3:31 into the game.
The Eagles responded, though, and cut that deficit as low as four points before Memphis pushed back in front, 38-30, at the half.
Southern Miss put together one final run in the second half, a run that cut Memphis' lead to 46-42, with 14:11 remaining in the game. A quick 7-0 spurt pushed the Tigers safely back in front, and continued to shoot the three-point shot well to again build the lead to as much as 19 points late in the game.
Memphis missed its final three three-point attempts of the game, and still made 14-of-24, and 33-of-66 field goal shots. Southern Miss was a respectable 8-of-18 from three-point range and shot .415 (22-53), along with 10-of-13 (.769) from the line. Memphis attempted only one free throw, and missed it.
John Grice led four Tigers in double figures with 17 points, hitting five-of-eight from three-point range. Massie followed with 16. The Golden Eagles put only two players in double figures, with Charles Gaines leading the way with 17 points. He also was a rebound short of his 10th double-double of the season. David Haywood added 11 points.
Southern Miss will host UAB Tuesday night, and play at East Carolina, Feb. 8, and at TCU, Feb. 12.
