University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
Canisius
Golden Eagles Drop Tough Contest to Canisius, 59-56
12/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2009
GULFPORT, Miss. - Maurice Bolden and Gary Flowers each recorded double-doubles, but it was not enough, as Frank Turner scored a career-high 30 points to lead Canisius to a 59-56 victory over Southern Miss in the South Mississippi Christmas Classic.
The loss was the first for Southern Miss in the three-year tournament. It also snapped a three-game win streak.
Bolden led Southern Miss with 15 points and 17 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Flowers recorded his fourth consecutive double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 boards. He also had three assists.
"Our team has just not been right," said Southern Miss head coach Larry Eustachy. "We had a lot of breakdowns. There's a lot of immaturity. (Frank Turner) just put it all on the floor for them tonight. A lot of respect goes out to him because he's a great player."
The teams traded baskets for the first 2:33. With the Golden Eagles ahead 6-5, Canisius (5-6) scored the next seven points to take a 13-6 lead. However, Southern Miss came back strong, going on a 21-4 run, propelled by Bolden's seven points to take its biggest lead of the game, 27-17 with 7:17 to play in the half.
However, the Eagles (8-2) quickly got cold, scoring just one basket the rest of the way, as the Golden Griffins outscored them 14-2 to close the half and take a 31-29 lead at the break. It was just the second time this year that Southern Miss trailed at the half.
The second half was a back-and-forth affair, as it saw four ties and six lead changes. With Canisius holding a 41-37 lead, the Black and Gold went on an 8-0 run to take its biggest lead of the second half, 51-47, with 5:40 to play. But the Golden Griffins, scored the next six points to take a 53-51 advantage. Southern Miss would not lead the rest of the way.
Once again, Southern Miss lost the turnover battle, committing 15 to Canisius' nine. Despite holding the Griffs to just 36.8% (21-of-57), including 6-of-35 from three, the Eagles had their worst shooting day of the year, connecting on just 37.7-percent (20-of-53) of their shots.
Along with Turner's career day, Elton Frazier scored 10 points for the Griffs.
The South Mississippi Christmas Classic concludes tomorrow when New Orleans takes on Canisius at 4:30 p.m., followed by Southern Miss against North Florida at 7 p.m.
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