University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Men's Hoops Hosts In-State Rival Ole Miss
12/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2011
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss men's basketball team will host Ole Miss for the first time since 1994 when it faces the Rebels this Saturday, December 17. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. CT from Reed Green Coliseum and will be shown on Fox Sports Net.
Fans are asked to wear gold to the game. They are also asked to bring toys and clothes to the game to be donated to the Salvation Army who will be collecting the items at the gates.
Southern Miss and Ole Miss will meet for the fifth straight year, and the 24th time overall. The Rebels hold an 18-5 advantage. This will be just the eighth meeting in Hattiesburg, and the first since the 1994-95 season. Ole Miss has won the last two meetings by a combined seven points.
Southern Miss enters Saturday afternoon's contest with a 7-2 record. The Golden Eagles are coming off a 78-62 victory over Louisiana Tech.
Maurice Bolden led the Golden Eagles with game-highs of 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Jonathan Mills scored a season-high 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Angelo Johnson scored 13 points and tied a season-high with six rebounds and also had two blocks, and Torye Pelham added 10 points.
LaShay Page leads the Black and Gold with 15.3 points, good for eighth-place in Conference USA. He is second in the league in three-pointers made (3.1) and is tied for sixth in three-point field goal percentage (.389).
Maurice Bolden is second on the team in scoring (12.8) while grabbing a team-leading 7.2 rebounds. He is also tied for fifth in the league with 1.7 blocks per game. Angelo Johnson is scoring 12.4 points. He is also sixth in the league in assists (3.7) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7). Neil Watson is adding 10.7 points while connecting on 93.0% of his free throws, good for second in C-USA and 11th in the country (through 12/12).
As a team, Southern Miss is scoring 73.9 points and allowing just 63.2. The Golden Eagles are hitting 42.9-percent of their shots and 39.3% of their three-pointers, which leads Conference USA. Their opposition is connecting on 42.8% from the field and 38.5-percent from behind the arc. The Golden Eagles hold a big advantage on the boards, as they are outrebounding their opponents 36.8-to-30.4, a difference of 6.3 per game. The Golden Eagles are also leading the league and are fourth in the NCAA (through 12/12) in free throw percentage (.790).
Head coach Larry Eustachy is in his eighth season at the helm of the Southern Miss men's basketball program. He has compiled a 124-106 (.539) record during his time as head coach. In 21 years, Eustachy has an overall record of 384-251 (.605).
Ole Miss comes into Saturday's game riding a six-game winning streak. The Rebels are 9-1 after defeating Louisiana-Lafayette, 66-54, Wednesday night.
Ole Miss was led by sophomore guard Dundrecous Nelson with a season-high 21 points, going 5-for-9 from three-point range to lead all scorers. Junior guard Nick Williams scored 12 points and junior forward Murphy Holloways added a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Rebels are led by Nelson with a team-leading 13.0 points. He is also fifth in the Southeastern Conference with 1.9 steals per game. Holloway is second on the team with 10.7 points and leads the SEC with 9.8 rebounds. Senior forward Terrance Henry is averaging 10.5 points, while Williams adds 10.1 points. Freshman guard Jarvis Summers is scoring 10.0 points and leads the team with 3.4 assists.
As a team, Ole Miss is scoring 69.0 points per game while allowing 61.0. The Bulldogs are shooting 43.2-percent from the floor, and their opponents are connecting on just 38.1-percent. The Rebels are third in the league in rebounding, pulling down 40.1 boards per game and while allowing 35.9. Ole Miss is connecting on just 28.6-percent of its three-point attempts while its opposition is hitting 31.7%. The Rebels are also third in the SEC in blocks (6.3).
Head coach Andy Kennedy is in his sixth season at the helm of the Ole Miss men's basketball program. He has compiled a 114-65 (.637) record during his tenure as head coach. In seven seasons overall, Kennedy is 135-78 (.634).
