University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
Hawai'i
Golden Eagles Fall to Host Hawaii in Tournament Finale
12/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HONOLULU -- The Southern Miss men's basketball team's Christmas morning did not go its way, as the Golden Eagles fell to the host Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 60-46 in the final game of both the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic and non-conference season.
"It is frustrating, but the fact of the matter is we have a lot of work to do to score points," head coach Doc Sadler said. "Defensively, 36 percent you can't do much better. We have to find something we can do offensively before we find success. That's our challenge as coaches. We will have four days to practice and will go with our best players."
Michael Ramey tied it up for Southern Miss at 17 with nine minutes to go in the first half on back-to-back contested three-pointers from the same baseline spot.
Hawaii, which made it to the Round of 32 a season ago, took its largest lead of the game at 27-18 with 3:16 left on back-to-back jumpers, its first two non-deep balls of the day. The Warriors were 6-of-12 beyond the arc and 3-6 at the free-throw line before those moments. A 32-20 lead with 1:18 remaining topped that.
Southern Miss forced Hawaii to make just one of 10 three-point attempts through the middle of the second half, but the Warriors stiffened up themselves and held the Golden Eagles at bay.
The Golden Eagles will look to regroup on the mainland over the next week, hosting Louisiana Tech on New Year's Day at 2 p.m. for its annual Dollar Day game.
NOTES
-Cortez Edwards overtook the team lead in assists when he tied a career-high 6 (season opener).
-The 10 Golden Eagle steals were their most since Feb. 13 versus Middle Tennessee.
-Michael Ramey's 11 points were a team-best, the first time in his career.
-All but three of Southern Miss' field goals were assisted. That's the highest mark since getting 18 on 21 makes against Alabama A&M (Nov. 21).
-The contest marked Southern Miss' first-ever on Christmas Day.
