University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Basketball Entertains UTSA Saturday on Clarence Weatherspoon Day
1/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Clarence Weatherspoon Day Video
Clarence Weatherspoon Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Induction Vide
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss goes after its second-straight victory while also honoring one of its greatest athletes in its men's basketball history when they finish up a three-game homestand Saturday against Conference USA foe UTSA at 7 p.m., in Reed Green Coliseum.
The Golden Eagles (6-12 overall, 3-4 C-USA) are set to honor recent Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame inductee Clarence Weatherspoon, who will have his own day on Saturday, and will be recognized at halftime of the contest against the Roadrunners (4-17, 2-6).
Weatherspoon, affectionately known as Spoon, stands as the school's all-time rebounding and blocks leader as well as Southern Miss' second all-time leading scorer. He earned all-Metro Conference honors four times during his career at Southern Miss (1988-92) and was a three-time Player of the Year in the league. Weatherspoon was taken ninth overall in the 1992 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, and played 13 seasons in the league.
The Crawford, Miss., native earned induction into the Southern Miss M-Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006 and the University's Alumni Hall of Fame in 2007.
The first 2,000 fans will receive a commemorative Weatherspoon mini poster, while bleacher tickets will be rolled back to $6, the price for when Weatherspoon last played in 1992.
In addition, the first 500 Southern Miss students in attendance will be given pom pons while Mississippi Junior College or Community College faculty, staff and students can gain admission for $5 with a valid school ID. The game also marks Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts Day and for more information on that event, please call Evan Webster at the Southern Miss Ticket Office at 601-266-4563.
The premium food item for the game will be a BBQ Pork Frito Pie for $6 and the options for toppings include chili, cheese, peppers and jalapenos.
The Golden Eagles meet the Roadrunners for the fourth time in their history with Southern Miss holding a 2-1 advantage in the series. This game falls on the annual Coaches vs. Cancer weekend and Golden Eagle coaches will be wearing sneakers during the game to raise awareness about the fight against cancer and the American Cancer Society.
Southern Miss comes off a 71-58 victory Thursday against UTEP, in which Kourtlin Jackson scored a team-best 15 points, to up his team-best scoring average to 11.5 points per contest. Jackson has now scored in double figures in the last three games and seven of the last eight.
Khari Price ranks second on the Golden Eagle scoring ledger at 10.2 points per contest after scoring all 10 of his points against the Miners from the free throw line on Thursday.
UTSA heads into Hattiesburg having dropped three-straight contests and five of the last six, including an 85-75 setback Thursday at Louisiana Tech.
Ryan Bowie paces the Roadrunner attack by scoring 16.8 points per tilt, while Christian Wilson holds down second place in the scoring column for UTSA at 16.1 points a game. J.R. Harris adds 13.0 points a contest as well for UTSA.
Tickets for Golden Eagle basketball can be purchased by the going online at SouthernMissTickets.com, by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425) or by stopping at the Pat Ferlise Ticket Office on weekdays from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. The Reed Green Coliseum Box Office, located on the north side of the arena, opens two hours prior to each home game.
