University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Eagles Lose Tough One At East Carolina
2/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Eagles Lose Tough One At East Carolina
Greenville, N.C. - An almost six-minute dry spell midway through the second period cost Southern Miss as the Golden Eagles dropped a 60-57 Conference USA decision to East Carolina here Saturday night.
After a slow first half that saw the teams swap the lead several times before the Eagles grabbed a 24-22 lead at the half, Southern Miss built a 48-41 lead with 8:53 left in the game. Then, the Golden Eagles went cold, and the Pirates proceeded to run off 15-straight points for a 56-50 lead with 3:19 left.
Head Coach James Green's team fought back once again, cut the Pirate lead to 58-57 with 20-seconds left, but East Carolina added a couple of free throws, and late three-point shots by Jasper Johnson and Dante Stiggers failed to find the mark.
The loss dropped Southern Miss to 10-10 overall, 3-5 in C-USA, while East Carolina improved to 12-9 overall and 3-7 in the league. The Pirates now have won all four games the two teams have played.
Derrick Wiley, who had just two baskets in the first half, added eight more two-pointers and a free throw in the second half to lead all scorers with 21 for the winners. Senior Mario Myles threw in 15 first half points for Southern Miss, but failed to score in the second half. Charles Gaines had 13 for the Eagles, including 12 in the second half, and Dante Stiggers (11) and Jasper Johnson (10) also were in double figures for Southern Miss.
In addition to Wiley's 21, Travis Holcomb-Faye had 16 for the winners, who shot just .364 (24-66) from the field, as compared to 23-of-55 (.418) for the Eagles. However, East Carolina posted a solid 45-31 edge in rebounding, including 18 off the offensive glass. That total included a game-high 14 rebounds for forward Erroyl Bing, who grabbed eight on the offensive end. Stiggers led the Golden Eagles with seven boards.
Following the East Carolina trip, Southern Miss goes to TCU Wednesday night, hosts DePaul Feb. 15 and ends the week with a second trip to Texas, for a Feb. 18 game at Houston.
