University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
Tougaloo
Richardson Carries Southern Miss in Both Overtimes to Win
11/11/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- D'Angelo Richardson scored nine of his 14 points in the overtime periods, and Southern Miss fought out a 101-96 season-opening win over Tougaloo.
The junior transfer from Holmes Community College played just 14 minutes in regulation.
"I knew I was having a rough game and I felt like I was putting my team in a bad spot," Richardson said. "I was just doing my best to make up for it and give my teammates the best opportunity to win."
With 33 seconds left in the first overtime, Richardson knocked down a long two-pointer from the baseline. Tougaloo's Denarius Odell answered with a jumper of his own with four seconds left. Richardson then took the inbounds pass and went coast-to-coast before he was knocked down just before the buzzer. The officials put six-tenths of a second back on the clock, and he nailed the first free-throw and then swished the second as well after a Bulldog timeout.
Richardson's ice-in-the-veins persona took over again in the second overtime. Down a point, he drained a three-pointer with 34 seconds left. He then sunk both of his foul shots the next trip down the floor to seal it for the Golden Eagles.
"They have toughness," Sadler said of his squad. "My first two teams wouldn't have found a way to do this. We found a way to win both of these (double OT exhibition on Nov. 3)."
Tim Rowe was extremely active early on after missing the second exhibition game due to injury. Twice in a short span early, he swiped a ball down low and had a stiff block that led to layups by Cortez Edwards and D'Angelo Richardson, respectively.
Jarmell Anderson's layup with 14 minutes left gave Tougaloo its first lead since the first half.
Raheem Watts drew contact on a made bucket in the paint, and Quinton Campbell tacked on two more points when he flew in for a put-back on the missed free-throw. A few minutes later, Cortez Edwards drove in for a finger roll and after a turnover on the other side, Campbell broke free on a fastbreak and was fouled on the shot. Southern Miss went up 67-65 at the eight-minute media timeout.
Edwards continued to make plays by leaping high for a block in the post and making two free-throws on the other side, giving Southern Miss a 72-65 lead with just over six minutes left.
Tougaloo got within 79-75 after drawing an offensive foul, and the fifth one, on Campbell and called a timeout with 1:05 remaining. The Bulldogs then got layups from Odell and Andravious Smith with 18 and 10 seconds remaining, respectively, that tied it up.
Southern Miss will continue its journey on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. when it plays at LSU. The game will air on SEC Network Plus.
NOTES
-Southern Miss had seven players score in double-figures. It was the first time such a feat occurred since six did it on Nov. 24, 2013.
-It was the first all-time meeting between the schools.
-The Golden Eagles won in overtime for the first time in the Doc Sadler era.
-Southern Miss has shot 50 percent or better its last two games (finale at Marshall). The bench also held a 52-13 advantage over its opponent.
-Eddie Davis III tied a career-high with six made field goals.
-D'Angelo Richardson made seven of his eight free-throws.
-Cortez Edwards had a career-best six assists.
