University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
William Carey
Southern Miss Hosts Crosstown Foe WIlliam Carey on Sunday
11/24/2018 8:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Golden Eagle men's basketball team is ready for its first home game since Nov. 6, and it comes against its city neighbor William Carey on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Fans unable to catch the action in Reed Green Coliseum can still follow the action on the Southern Miss IMG Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and USM Gameday app. Live video streaming will also be available on CUSA.tv.
– Southern Miss is off to its best start (4-1) of the Doc Sadler era. The Golden Eagles have also played their last four games away from home, earning double-digit wins at SMU and Troy, before splitting Tuesday and Wednesday in Cancun.
–  Cortez Edwards became the 37th member of Southern Miss' 1,000-point club at Troy, going 11-for-16 from the field with 26 points at Troy. He is the first since Gary Flowers in 2011 to reach that mark, and is now 34th in school history with 1,036. Edwards now needs 30 more to catch Roy Danforth (1958-62).
– Edwards needs 35 rebounds to become the fourth player in Southern Miss history to register 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists over their career. Edwards also finished his junior season with single-season school records for steals (71) and minutes (1,219). He has also increased his scoring totals from 1.9 to 11.0 to 16.6 ppg his first three years.
– Southern Miss is No. 11 nationally for assist-turnover ratio (1.76) and No. 13 in assists per game (19.0). The Golden Eagles also lead C-USA in fewest fouls per game (14.6) and turnovers (54). The Golden Eagles also got 28 free-throw attempts in their last game, a five-point win over Western Carolina, after getting to the line just 24 times the previous three contests.
– Leonard Harper-Baker has quietly become one of the biggest contributors of Southern Miss' early success. He has averaged 7.7 points (10-for-13 from field) and 7.0 rebounds so far, but missed the team's two Cancun games due to a family matter. He sat out last season to nurse a knee injury. Another juco transfer, Boban Jacdonmi, has also gone 5-for-7 from the field with 3.8 rebounds per game, despite playing just 10 minutes per game.
– Tyree Griffin has registered five or more assists in each game this season, as well as in seven of the last eight dating back to last year.
–  Southern Miss has also made 13 three-pointers in each of the SMU and Troy games, something it only did six times in the previous three seasons. The 22 assists versus Troy were its most against a Division I team since Jan. 18 versus Rice.
– The William Carey series began in 2003, and the two squads have faced 10 times since then (not including a Southern Miss exhibition victory last year). Head coach Steve Knight is a 2002 Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame inductee, having enjoyed a successful baseball career at the school that included a few years in the minors. He is also a 2015 Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame honoree. He currently has 682 wins in his 37 years at the helm of the program.
– The Black and Gold continued its trend of improving its C-USA win total in each season Doc Sadler has been in charge (3-5-6-7) after inheriting a two-year NCAA postseason ban and loss of scholarships amongst other sanctions, and are one of 11 teams in the nation to hold such distinction. The team's 16 wins last season marked its most since the 2011-12 NCAA Tourney squad.
– Southern Miss returns 87 percent of its points from a year ago, including four starters (Griffin, Edwards, Dominic Magee, Kevin Holland). Edwards ended last season with four consecutive 20-point games, the first Golden Eagle to accomplish the feat since Chip Armelin in 2015. Edwards also averaged 27.3 ppg in the final three games to earn All-Tournament honors, which included a 30-spot against Marshall.
