University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Basketball Battles, But Comes Up Short Against Memphis
11/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | General
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Basketball Battles, But Comes Up Short Against Memphis
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- After being down by as many as 15 in the second half, Southern Miss closed to within four points but came up short in the end, falling 85-73 to visiting Memphis in a Conference USA matchup Saturday at Reed Green Coliseum.
Bolstered by a perfect shooting afternoon by Tiger point guard Darius Washington, Jr., and 24 points from Rodney Carney, Memphis (16-10 and 9-3 in Conference USA) escaped Reed Green Coliseum with a win over host Southern Miss (10-15, 1-12 in C-USA) in front of 3,782.
Rashaad Carruth, a junior, finished with a career-best 25 points, despite early foul trouble. He scored 22 points in the second half, and at one point had 17-straight Golden Eagle points. Memphis led by as much as 15 early in the second half, but Southern Miss fought back to as close as 64-60 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game, when Carruth hit his third three-point shot of the half.
Memphis kept the Golden Eagles at bay by hitting 57 percent of its shots from the floor, including 63 percent in the second half. The Tigers also converted 25-of-31 free throws attempts (81 percent), and 8-of-21 from behind the three-point line (38 percent).
The Golden Eagles hit 21-of-47 from the floor (45 percent) and 21-of-31 from the line (68 percent). Southern Miss converted 10-of-17 three-point shots (59 percent), with David Haywood making 4-of-5 behind the line in the first half.
Memphis led 44-36 after a hard-fought first half, benefiting from a running three-point shot at the buzzer from Jeremy Hunt.
Memphis? Joey Dorsey had eight rebounds to lead all players, while Southern Miss guard Dante Stiggers had a game-high 10 assists. Hunt was the third of three Tigers in double figures with 11 points.
Michael Ford had 15 for Southern Miss, while Haywood added 14.
The Golden Eagles now head on the road for a two-game road swing in North Carolina, taking on East Carolina and Charlotte on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively. The team then returns to Hattiesburg for the season finale against TCU on March 5.
