Southern Miss
North Dakota State
Basketball Cruises to Victory Over NDSU
12/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score | Box Score 
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HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss basketball team shot a season-best 51-percent from the floor to post a 74-62 victory over North Dakota State at Reed Green Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. The win was the first of the season for the Golden Eagles.
"It feels great to win," head coach Doc Sadler said after the game. "We have struggled. The other night (against Alabama), I thought we played good basketball. The good thing is the one thing that is consistent with our team right now and it was again tonight is our field goal percentage defense. I think any time you hold teams to about 30 percent, you are going to have a chance to win. I don't know how much better we played. We just made shots.
"It just feels great to win," Sadler added. "I feel so happy for our players. They deserve it because not one day have they not come to work. It has been hard for them to do that."
The Golden Eagles (1-6) shot 24-for-47 (.511) from the floor, including an 8-for-15 performance from behind the arc. Southern Miss had four players notch double-digit shooting performances.
Quinton Campbell led the team with 17 points, setting a new season-high. The transfer was 6-for-8 from the floor, including a team-best 5-for-7 from three-point range. In addition, Campbell pulled down four rebounds while adding a pair of assists and a steal.
Eddie Davis III set a personal best with 16 total points. The redshirt freshman was 6-for-8 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. He pulled down five rebounds. Kourtlin Jackson finished the game with 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds and team-best six assists. Khari Price posted his second consecutive game with double-digit points (11) and his team-leading fourth game in double figures.
North Dakota State (5-3) was led by Paul Miller and A.J. Jacobson who finished the game with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Dexter Werner and Dylan Miller each grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
The Bison took an early 5-0 lead with just under two minutes off of the clock, but the Golden Eagles responded with 15 straight points. Davis started the run with a jumper in the paint and Jackson followed with a basket. Campbell made the first of his five treys to give Southern Miss its first lead of the ball game at 7-5. Price drained a three and Davis added a layup. Campbell closed the run with a three-pointer to put the Golden Eagles up 15-5.
NDSU closed the gap to as little as two points on three separate occasions, but each time the Bison got close, the Golden Eagles responded to hold the lead. North Dakota State hit a three-pointer to cut the Southern Miss lead to 26-24 with just under four minutes to play in the half.
The Golden Eagles responded with a 13-3 run to finish the half. Davis once again began the run with back-to-back jumpers. He was fouled on the second basket and finished the old-fashioned three-point play at the free throw line. Price pushed the advantage back to double-digits with a three with 92 ticks on the clock. P. Miller answered with a three-pointer, but Campbell ended the first half with a triple to give Southern Miss a 37-27 advantage at intermission.
In the second half, the two teams exchanged baskets for the first 10 minutes. Leading 51-40, the Golden Eagles extended their lead to 17 points - their largest lead of the season - with an 8-2 run, which was highlighted by a three-pointer by Raheem Watts.
Southern Miss led by 17 at 64-47 with 4:12 to play. Over the final three minutes of play, the Golden Eagles converted 10 free throw attempts to maintain a double-digit advantage, holding on for a 74-62 victory.
Southern Miss will take a week off for finals before returning to action on Monday, Dec. 14 as the Golden Eagles travel to Mobile, Ala. to take on South Alabama. Tipoff is slated for 7:00 p.m.
