University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
7-2
Millsaps
8-1
Early Outburst Propels Men's Basketball to 81-47 Win
12/11/2018 7:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss jumped out to a 32-7 lead over the first 11 minutes to cruise past Millsaps, 81-47, on Tuesday afternoon in Reed Green Coliseum.
Dominic Magee's 18 points (8-for-11 shooting) were a game-high, followed by Cortez Edwards' 15 and Tyree Griffin's 10. The Golden Eagles early in the second half held a 67-18 advantage in field goal percentage over the Majors.
Southern Miss (7-2) continues its best start of the five-year Doc Sadler era, and it holds up as the best nine-game start since the 2011-12 NCAA Tournament squad. This was also just the third all-time matchup between the in-state schools and first since 2001.
"I thought one of the keys for us in the first five minutes was setting the tempo of the game with our defense," head coach Doc Sadler said. "We should be able to do that with Tyree and Cortez guarding the ball. The 20Â assists on 32 made baskets is always good to see as a coach. I'm disappointed in [Millsaps]Â getting 14 offensive rebounds, so we have to get better at that."
Ladarius Marshall made the most of his 16 minutes off the bench, totaling 10 points and five rebounds (tied for career-high) on 5-for-7 shooting.Â
"For us to finish this first part of the season and get ready for a six-game road trip, it's about where I'd thought we'd be," Sadler said. "We had three games in the middle where we didn't play well at all, but maybe we've bounced back in the last three with that passion and energy you have to play at."
Southern Miss begins its six-game road swing 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at Wichita State, which will air on CBS Sports Network.
NOTABLE
-Leonard Harper-Baker recorded a career-high five blocks in just 19 minutes. His 12 rebounds were also one away from a personal-best.
-Those five swats match the most by a Golden Eagle in the Doc Sadler era (Tim Rowe versus South Alabama in Nov. 2016). Those two feats are also the most by a Southern Miss individual since Gary Flowers in Dec. 2009 versus New Orleans.
-Cortez Edwards' 15 points moved him into sole possession of No. 32 on the all-time scoring list (1,091), passing Flowers in the game's opening minutes.
-Tyree Griffin's nine assists put him one away from his fifth-career double-double and double-digit assist game.
-The Golden Eagles' 15 attempted three-pointers (six makes) were their second-fewest on the season (14 versus Western Carolina on Nov. 21).
-In the two games since William Carey and South Alabama combined to shoot 48.2 percent (27-for-56) from beyond the arc, the Golden Eagles have held opponents to an 18.6 percent clip (8-for-43).
