University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Men's Basketball Opens C-USA Season at SMU Wednesday
1/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 9, 2007
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss opens its 12th season of Conference USA men's basketball play with a road tilt at SMU, Wednesday, at Moody Coliseum. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
The Golden Eagles, which hold a 7-4 record in C-USA openers, will be opening league play on the road for the third time in the last four seasons. The SMU tilt is the second of a two-game road swing for Southern Miss as the Golden Eagles are in the midst of playing four of the next five away from home.
The Golden Eagles (10-3) still look for their first road victory of the season, after dropping all three of their previous road affairs to Alabama, Bradley and Savannah State. Southern Miss lost at Savannah State last Saturday, 54-52, as the Tigers hit the game-winning bucket with nine seconds remaining.
This will be the fourth meeting between the two schools - SMU holds a 2-1 advantage in the series - in a series that dates back to the 1950-51 season. The game is the first time the two schools have played in consecutive seasons as last year was the first meeting as C-USA members.
Jeremy Wise, the only player to start in every game this season, leads the Golden Eagles offensively at 16.5 points per game. Wise, a freshman from Jackson, Miss., has scored in double figures in all but two contests and has tallied 20 or more points in two of the last three games.
Sophomore Courtney Beasley (Huntsville, Ala.) is next in scoring at Southern Miss with 9.8 points per game average, while freshman Jarvis Hill (Starkville, Miss.) is third at 9.0 points per contest.
Junior Gjio Bain (Nassau, Bahamas) holds the team lead in rebounding and blocks with 5.6 and 1.7, respectively, while freshman Andre Stephens (Heidelberg, Miss.) has tallied 5.2 boards per contest.
The Mustangs (11-3) have won two straight, including a 60-56 overtime victory at home last Thursday over Brown. SMU is 7-1 at home with victories over TCU, Texas-Pan American, Dayton and Louisiana-Monroe.
Senior forward Ike Ofoegbu leads the Mustangs with a 12.9 scoring average, as well as a 7.3 rebound average. He is followed by senior forward Devon Pearson, who is tallying 10.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest, while senior Donatas Rackauskus is at 9.8 points and a team-best 7.7 rebounds a tilt.
Following this contest, the Golden Eagles return home to face Memphis in a 7 p.m., game Saturday (Jan. 13).
