Southern Miss
USF
Southern Miss Escapes with 53-51 Victory Over USF
12/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2011
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Dodson scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds to record his first career double-double. Bolden had 11 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double this year.
"After Ole Miss, I think we got a little full of ourselves," said head coach Larry Eustachy. "We stopped doing the things that it takes to win. We were fortunate against Arizona State, and we were fortunate tonight. But when you can win and still learn a good lesson, I think that is really positive."
Bolden started off hot as he scored the game's first seven points. USF (7-6) pulled to within two points at 12-10 midway through the first half. But Southern Miss (10-2) went on a 9-0 run to grab its biggest lead of the game, 21-10, with 6:35 to play. But the Golden Eagles went cold, as USF ended the half on a 9-4 run to trail 25-19 heading into halftime.
The Bulls didn't let up in the second half, opening the half on a 10-2 run to take their first lead of the game at 29-27, 4:05 into the half. Southern Miss scored eight of the next 10 points, but baskets by Hugh Robertson and Victor Rudd, Jr. tied the game at 35.
A three-point play by LaShay Page, followed by a three-pointer by Dodson gave the Black and Gold a 41-35 lead. The teams traded baskets before Page nailed a three-pointer of his own to put Southern Miss up 46-38 with 4:40 to play.
The teams went back-and-forth before Bolden hit two free throws with 1:49 to play. Two free throws by Augustus Gilchrist cut the deficit to six. A turnover by Page was followed by USF's only three-pointer of the game by Jawanza Poland, pulling to within 52-49.
Following another Southern Miss turnover, Gilchrist was fouled and hit both free throws to make it a 52-51 game with six seconds left. Rashard McGill was immediately fouled on the in-bounds pass. McGill hit just one of the two free throws, giving USF the ball with five seconds left. But Gilchrist's game tying jumper was off the mark, and Southern Miss held on for its sixth victory in a row.
Ron Anderson, Jr. led USF with 12 points. Gilchrist scored 11 points and had a team-high seven rebounds, and Robertson added 10 points and five boards.
For the second straight game, Southern Miss was held below 35-percent shooting, hitting just 34.6% (18-of-52) from the field and 33.3-percent (5-of-15) from three-point distance. USF connected on just 20-of-52 (38.4%) from the floor and were just 1-of-15 (6.7%) from behind the arc. Both teams pulled down 35 rebounds.
Southern Miss continues its three-game homestand next Tuesday, December 27, when it hosts Belhaven. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT.
