Southern Miss
South Alabama
Jackson's Career Night Lifts Basketball Over Jaguars
12/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MOBILE, Ala. - Senior transfer Kourtlin Jackson scored a career-high 25 points as the Southern Miss basketball team recorded a 57-54 victory on Monday night at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala. The Golden Eagles (2-6) trailed the Jaguars (3-6) by as many as nine in the second half, but outscored USA 11-to-4 in the final four and a half minutes to post their second consecutive win.
Trailing 50-46 with 4:36 on the clock, Eddie Davis III cut the deficit to just one with a three pointer. With 2:36 to play, Jackson drained a triple to give the Golden Eagles a 52-50 lead - their first lead since the 5:12 mark of the first half. A pair of free throws tied the game, but Jackson responded with a pair of baskets from the charity stripe of his own.
With 1:07 to play, South Alabama used two free throws to knot the score at 54-54. Davis answered with a jumper with 37.4 seconds on the clock. The defense held, forcing a missed jumper by the Jaguars. Davis grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled. Davis made one of two free throws to put the Golden Eagles by three. The defense contested the two attempts the Jaguars were able to put up in the final six seconds to preserve the victory.
"What a game," head coach Doc Sadler remarked after his team's second consecutive victory. "You start off thinking that both teams are making every shot. You think both teams are playing unbelievable offense, but you look at the end of the game and it was a defensive game.
"For the fourth time in five games, we held our opponents around 30-percent field goal percentage," Sadler added. "That says a lot for our players. We had some guys step up and make some plays on the offensive end. At the same time, we made some plays on the defensive side. Overall, we only gave up 19 points in the paint. That is unbelievable. That is a credit to our players and how hard they have been working. We are going to keep getting better."
As a team, the Golden Eagles connected on 10 three-pointers, marking the second time this season, and the second time in as many games, with double-digit treys. Southern Miss recorded a season-high 11 triples against Alabama. In the last three games, Southern Miss has drained 29 three-pointers. The Golden Eagles shot 85-percent from the charity stripe, connecting on 11-of-13 free throws.
Offensively, Jackson led the team with 25 points. The senior transfer was 7-of-14 from the floor, including 6-for-9 from behind the arc. In addition, Jackson was 5-of-6 at the charity stripe, including connecting on all free throw attempts in the second half. Davis added 11 points off the bench. The redshirt freshman made four field goals, including a pair of triples on the night. Keljin Blevins recorded eight rebounds to lead the team, finishing just ahead of Jackson who finished the night with seven boards.
South Alabama had a pair of players in double figures, led by Barrington Stevens and Ken Williams who finished with 20 and 14, respectively. Williams led the Jaguars team with six rebounds. Eleven of the 18 baskets made by South Alabama came from behind the arc.
South Alabama held a 33-27 lead at halftime. The two teams came out firing, connecting on a combined 15 three-pointers in the first stanza. Six of Southern Miss' first half baskets came from behind the arc, while nine of South Alabama's buckets were threes.
The largest lead of the second half belonged to the Golden Eagles, who led by as many as seven points on two occasions. Southern Miss led 15-8 with 15:05 to play in the first half and again at the 10:24 mark - 21-14. South Alabama was able to tie the game at 23-23 with a 9-2 run thanks to a trio of three-pointers. The home team took a lead with a layup, but the Golden Eagles responded with a Michael O'Donnell basket. O'Donnell drained a pair of free throws to put Southern Miss up, but a three pointer by South Alabama gave the Jaguars a lead. USA used another three and a jumper to extend the advantage to 33-27, a lead the Jaguars would take into halftime.
In the second half, the Jaguars pushed their halftime lead to nine, 36-27, with 18:11 to play. The Golden Eagles cut the advantage down to one, 36-35. The 8-0 run was all Jackson who drained a pair of threes and a layup.
South Alabama pushed the lead back to eight, 43-35 with 11 minutes to play and again with 9:21 remaining (45-37). Quinton Campbell connected on three consecutive free throws to cut the margin to five points. The two teams traded jumpers and Jackson made a pair of freebies to cut the deficit to 47-44 with six minutes to play and set up the final five minutes of action.
"Thank you to the people in the community who came out and watched us play tonight," Sadler said of the strong Golden Eagle contingent in the Mitchell Center. "We want to thank everybody for coming down and supporting this team."
Southern Miss returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 19 against Georgia State at Reed Green Coliseum. The Golden Eagles and Panthers tipoff at 4:00 p.m. in a game that will be televised on ASN.
