University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Loses, 46-42, At Houston
2/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Southern Miss Loses, 46-42, At Houston
Houston, Texas - A tough week ended on a tough note for Southern Miss when the Golden Eagles dropped a 46-42 decision to the Houston Cougars here tonight. The game was the third in just seven days for Head Coach James Green's team, and the second trip to the state of Texas in that same week.
The loss was the fourth straight for the Golden Eagles, who fell to 10-13, overall, and 3-9 in Conference USA play. Houston won for the first time in five games, and improved to 7-15, overall, and 5-6 in C-USA. The win also completed a two game sweep of the Eagles for the Cougars, who won earlier in Hattiesburg, 76-75.
Behind an eight-point half from guard Dante Stiggers and seven more from Charles Gaines, the Eagles led by as many as six in the first half, and by four, 22-18, at the half.
After falling behind by as many as six points in the second half, the Golden Eagles fought back and tied the score, at 39, as late as 42-seconds left in the game, However, the game's leading scorer, Houston's Louis Truscott, made two of his 15 points with :33 left, and a couple of Southern Miss misfires left the Eagles no option but to foul to stop the clock and the Cougars made the free throws that counted, and sent Southern Miss home empty-handed.
Truscott was the only Houston player in double figures, though he did get scoring help from six teammates, including eight points from Andre Owens. Houston shot just .429 (18-42) from the field, but Southern Miss managed just .304 (17-56) shooting, and that included 7-of-29 (.304) in the second half. The Eagles also managed just 2-of-13 from three-point range and shot just .500 (6-12) from the free throw line.
Gaines turned in his usual reliable game with 13 points and 10 rebounds and pushed his double-double total to 12 this season. David Haywood added nine points for the Eagles and Stiggers and Jasper Johnson eight each. Gaines led all rebounders with almost one-third of his team's 33 rebounds. Houston won that battle by a small margin, with 35 rebounds
Following the Houston game, Southern Miss will have only four games remaining the regular season, Feb. 22 at home against Tulane and March 3, at Tulane, and Feb. 26 at Charlotte, and March 1 at home against South Florida.
