University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Basketball Stays Perfect At Home
11/27/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Final Statistics
Basketball Stays Perfect At Home
HATTIESBURG, Miss. ? Southern Miss was red hot from the field Saturday at Reed Green Coliseum.
The Golden Eagles hit the century mark for the first time since 1995, as it shot better than 60 percent from the field in both halves, cruising to a 100-77 lopsided win over McNeese State.
But the big win did not please Head Coach Larry Eustachy.
"In all the years I?ve coached, I?ve never had a team give up 20 offensive rebounds," Eustachy said. "I?ve never had a team lack as much physical toughness at this point in the season and that is a concern. I?m not tricked by us scoring 100 points. Everything I?ve tried to teach didn?t get in the game."
The Golden Eagles had a 14-point lead at halftime and continued to expand that lead in the second half, leading by as many as 29 on two occasions.
McNeese State hit its first shot of the contest, as it led 2-0 30 seconds into the game. The Cowboys led for the final time, 4-3 with 18:40 to play in the first half, but from there, it was all Southern Miss, as it expanded its lead to 16, 41-25 on a layup by Rashaad Carruth, the biggest lead of the first half.
The Golden Eagles (3-1) shot .644 (38-of-59) for the game, compared to 42 percent (29-of-69) for the Cowboys (1-2).
The only thing that Southern Miss didn?t win was the rebounding battle, as McNeese State out-rebounded them 42 to 29, as they were out-rebounded on the offensive glass 20 to 5.
Southern Miss and McNeese State each placed four players in double figure scoring, led by Golden Eagle Carruth?s 19 points. Jasper Johnson added 16, while Michael Ford and Jarekus Singleton each had 13. Edward Garriet had 14 to pace the Cowboys, while John Ford and Ryan Price both had 13. J.T. Williams also had 10.
Ford had a game-high eight rebounds for McNeese, while Johnson had four rebounds to lead Southern Miss.
The Golden Eagles took advantage of 20 Cowboy turnovers, as it scored 29 points off the miscues, while McNeese State had only 12 points off 15 Golden Eagle turnovers. The victors also had 52 points in the paint, compared to 38 for McNeese State.
Southern Miss shot 62 percent (16-of-26) from the field in the first half, led by Carruth?s 12 points, as it led 47-33 at halftime. McNeese State shot 41 percent (13-of-32) in the first half.
The Golden Eagles now take a break before returning to the road in the Gazette Hawkeye Challenge, Dec. 3-4, in Iowa City, Iowa. Southern Miss takes on UNC-Greensboro on opening-night, while host Iowa and Centenary compete in the other game.