Southern Miss
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UTEP
Men's Basketball Falls At UTEP
1/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 30, 2008
EL PASO, Texas (AP) -- Stefon Jackson scored 33 points as Southern Miss fell to UTEP, 90-79, Wednesday night at the Don Haskins Center.
Jeremy Wise led the Golden Eagles (10-10, 2-4 C-USA) with 19 points, six assists and five rebounds. Courtney Beasley had 18 points and seven rebounds. Craig Craft and Demar Dotson added ten points apiece
"I was pleased with our effort," said Southern Miss head coach Larry Eustachy. "We tried awfully hard. We've had good practices. We got the game to where we normally get it, but just weren't tough enough to make the plays and get the win."
Southern Miss scored the first six points, including a two-free throws by Jeremy Wise before the first tip due to a technical foul on the Miners for dunking the ball during pre-game warm-ups.
However, UTEP (13-6, 4-2 C-USA) answered with a 29-10 run, and Marvin Kilgore gave them their largest lead of the game, a 13-point margin with six minutes left in the half. But, the Golden Eagles closed the half on a 16-4 run to head into the locker down just 35-34.
Southern Miss scored the first four points of the second half to take its first lead since the 3:16 mark of the game. UTEP came right back, going on a 9-2 run for a 47-42 lead. But, the Golden Eagles retook the lead, 55-51 with 11:11 remaining in the game. It would be the last lead Southern Miss had, as they went without a field goal for the next seven and a half minutes, hitting just nine free throws in that span.
The Miners retook the lead on a Jackson three-pointer, one of six Jackson had. They slowly extended their lead, eventually leading by as many as late in the game.
Along with Jackson, UTEP got 13 points and seven assists from Kilgore. Victor Ramalho had 11 points and Randy Culpepper added 12.
The Miners shot 55.6% (30-54) from the field, as well as 46.2% (12-26) from behind the arc. Southern Miss was 26-50 (52.0%) from the floor.
Southern Miss returns home for a two-game homestand. The Golden Eagles will begin the homestand this Saturday, February 2, when they host East Carolina at 4:00 p.m. It will be the opening game of a men's/women's doubleheader.
