Southern Miss
William Carey
Rally Falls Short as Basketball Edged by WCU
11/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss basketball team fell behind by as many as 26 before mounting a second half rally that fell just short as the Golden Eagles dropped an 84-78 decision to William Carey on Monday night at Reed Green Coliseum.
"You have to give William Carey credit," head coach Doc Sadler said after the game. "They came in here and beat us. All I know to do is keep grinding.
"Am I concerned? Not really, because they are trying to do everything we are asking them to do. In practice, they are giving us effort. If that stops, then I will get concerned. The one thing I do know this team has; I don't know if they have anything else; is they have character. As long as they will keep working then there will be a light (at the end of the tunnel)."
Southern Miss was led by Khari Price. The junior transfer scored a career high 20 points. Price finished the game with five field goals, including a pair of three pointers, and was a perfect 8-for-8 at the charity stripe. In addition, Price finished the game with eight rebounds and a team-best six assists.
Michael Ramey added 15 points on the night, including three triples, while Keljin Blevins chipped in 10 points. Cortez Edwards led the team with nine rebounds, while adding eight points and dishing out five assists.
William Carey had four players in double figures, including Emmanuel Davis who finished with a double-double, 12 points and 10 rebounds. Leo Garrett led all scorers with 22 points, while Donta Pittman and Donnell Nicholes added 14 and 13, respectively.
Carey took a 50-33 lead into halftime. The Crusaders used hot shooting from the floor, 47-percent (17-for-36), including 50-percent from behind the arc (8-for-16) to build the 17-point halftime advantage.
For the Golden Eagles, Ramey led all scorers in the first half with 11 points. The junior transfer drained four field goals, including three treys for his second double-figure effort of the season. Ramey topped his previous high of 10 points that he had against Memphis in the season opener by the end of the first half. Price joined Ramey in double figures in the first half, going 3-for-6 with a triple and three free throws for 10 points.
In the second half, the Crusaders increased their lead to as many as 26 with just under 16 minutes to play at 65-39. The Golden Eagles finished out the game with a 39-15 to close the final gap to just six points.
Trailing by 26, Southern Miss used a 12-2 run to cut the deficit down to 67-51 with 12:40 remaining. A three pointer pushed the Carey lead back to 19, but a four consecutive free throws and a jumper cut the margin to 70-57.
The two teams exchanged baskets with the Golden Eagles holding a 13-9 edge over the next six minutes of action, trimming the WCU lead to 79-70. Edwards hit a jumper to pull to within seven but a Garrett trey pushed the lead back to double digits. Ramey made a pair of jumpers around a Carey free throw to make it 83-76. A Michael O'Donnell jumper cut it to five, but the Golden Eagles could get no closer. William Carey made a free throw with 14 ticks on the clock to provide the final margin of victory.
Southern Miss returns to action this weekend as the Golden Eagles travel to Morehead, Ky. to play Morehead State in a nonconference game. Tipoff is slated for 3:00 p.m.
