University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Eagles Host South Florida; Myles To Play 100th Game
2/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Eagles Host South Florida; Myles To Play 100th Game
Hattiesburg, Miss. - Southern Miss plays its final home game of the '02-'03 season Saturday, against a South Florida team that defeated the Golden Eagles, 74-65, in mid-January, in Tampa, Fla. Senior Mario Myles also will be honored in pregame ceremonies and will play in his 100th career game as a Golden Eagle.
That game starts at 4 p.m., and will be preceded by traditional "Senior Day" activities that will honor this year's only senior player, Myles, who has made major contributions to the Golden Eagle program, including being an integral part of the 2000-01 team that posted a 22-9 record and won a share of the Conference USA regular-season title.
In the earlier game between the two teams, the Bulls jumped ahead, 28-21, at the half, and led throughout the second half, by as many as 10 points and by as few as two as the Eagles made several strong runs at USF during the final 20 minutes.
In that game, Greg Johnson led all players with his best-scoring game of the season, 27 points. He also had 11 rebounds. Charles Gaines added a double-double of his own, with 15 points and 12 rebounds. South Florida shot a strong .481 (25-52) from the field, while the Eagles managed just 24-of-66 (.364) from the field. South Florida put four players in double figures, led by Jimmy Baxter's 20.
The Bulls come into the game not having played since a Feb. 22, 73-66, loss at home, to Memphis. Southern Miss dropped a hard-fought, 77-68, decision at Charlotte Wednesday night. South Florida stands at 13-11, overall, and 6-7, in C-USA play. Southern Miss is 11-14, overall, and 4-10, in the league.
The Bulls average 69.7 points a game, and give up 67.9. Southern Miss averages 67.6 points a game, and gives up 70.7 a game. South Florida shows just two players averaging in double figures, Will McDonald at 16.2 and Baxter at 14.8.
For the Eagles, three players are in double-digits. Gaines averages 14.8, Greg Johnson is at 12.9 and Jasper Johnson averages 10.8.
Following today's game, Southern Miss ends the regular season with a March 8 game at Tulane.
