University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Saturday, December 14
Reed Green Coliseum
2 p.m. CT
Southern Miss
vs
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North Florida
Golden Eagles Continue Homestand Saturday Versus North Florida
12/13/2019 1:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss men's basketball team will look to avenge a Nov. 14 defeat to North Florida when it hosts the Ospreys at 2 p.m. CT on Saturday afternoon.Â
Fans unable to make it to Reed Green Coliseum can watch via CUSA.tv or listen through the Southern Miss Learfield IMG Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and Gameday app with John Cox on the call.Â
The contest also serves as Season Ticket Holder Appreciation Day, where eligible participants have the opportunity to receive prizes during the game.
Game Notes
– Southern Miss (3-7) earned a nail-biting 72-69 win over Southern Illinois on Saturday. Two steals led to four consecutive free-throws in the final 26 seconds from Tyler Stevenson and LaDavius Draine. The Golden Eagles trailed 24-7, then reeled off a 21-3 run, but trailed 42-34 at the half. It was the team's largest halftime-comeback win since a 15-point deficit against UTEP on Feb. 28, 2015. The Golden Eagles blistered SIU with a 57.9 percent shooting clip, the first time the Salukis allowed 50-plus percent shooting all year and marked the Black and Gold's highest percentage against a D1 team since FIU on Jan. 31.
– Leonard Harper-Baker produced his seventh double-double (third this year) with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Stevenson added 15 points on 5-for-5 shooting, while Gabe Watson had 14 points, five assists and four steals off the bench. Draine, one of the top three-point shooters in the country last year at 46.4 percent, went 3-for-5 from deep with 12 points.
– Jay Malone produced seven-plus assists and no turnovers for the second time this season. Golden Eagle greats Tyree Griffin and Cortez Edwards accomplished such a feat once apiece last season. Watson has benefited the most from the move. Since going into a more-shooting guard role for the William Carey game, the sophomore has shot 50 percent (up from 31.8) for 13.3 ppg (previously 8.8).
– Southern Miss has missed Boban Jacdonmi the last two games due to injury. He leads the team in scoring (12.4 ppg), field goal percentage (61.4) and is second in rebounds (6.4). It has paved the way for Stevenson to come into his own with four-straight double-figure scoring games after earning his first-career start against No. 7 Gonzaga. Over that stretch, he is averaging 11.5 points on 18-for-35 shooting (51.4 percent) with a team-high 17 free-throw attempts (next-closest has eight).
– Harper-Baker, who has played the four-spot his two years in Hattiesburg, is now 12th in the nation with 26 steals, two more than his total last year. He is one of only four forwards in the top-50 for that category. He is shooting 50-plus percent for the second-straight season and is averaging three more minutes per game.
– Entering Wednesday, Southern Miss' Division I opponents have boasted a combined record of 48-28. It includes road games at South Alabama (preseason Sun Belt favorite) as well as North Florida, picked to finish third in the A-Sun. Gonzaga and Seton Hall are also expected to make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, and Tulane and Iowa State have earned votes recently.
– Opponents are averaging 11.1 more free-throw attempts per game, but Saturday was a step in the right direction. Not only did the Golden Eagles make their final four free-throws in those deciding 26 seconds, but they also had 20 attempts for the third time this year. By comparison, Jay Ladner's 2018-19 Southeastern Louisiana squad averaged 19.4 foul shots per contest, and that will continue to be an emphasis on his young Southern Miss squad (which is averaging 11.0).
– UNF (6-5) is 3-0 in the all-time series, and the Nov. 14 meeting was a thrilling one. Trailing by seven with 37 seconds left, Watson converted a four-point play. The Golden Eagles then pressed and got a steal, setting up Harper-Baker for a put-back that made it a 62-61 deficit with 16 seconds left. Six-straight free-throws by the two teams followed, but Southern Miss was unable to get off a game-tying three at the buzzer.
– Stevenson and Artur Konontsuk led the way with 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting. The Ospreys are one of three teams to attempt 30 triples on the Golden Eagles, going 11-for-30 that night. The 66 points were their second-fewest on the year. Carter Hendricksen recently earned A-Sun Player of the Week honors for the second time this season, and is leading the team with 17.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.
Fans unable to make it to Reed Green Coliseum can watch via CUSA.tv or listen through the Southern Miss Learfield IMG Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and Gameday app with John Cox on the call.Â
The contest also serves as Season Ticket Holder Appreciation Day, where eligible participants have the opportunity to receive prizes during the game.
Game Notes
– Southern Miss (3-7) earned a nail-biting 72-69 win over Southern Illinois on Saturday. Two steals led to four consecutive free-throws in the final 26 seconds from Tyler Stevenson and LaDavius Draine. The Golden Eagles trailed 24-7, then reeled off a 21-3 run, but trailed 42-34 at the half. It was the team's largest halftime-comeback win since a 15-point deficit against UTEP on Feb. 28, 2015. The Golden Eagles blistered SIU with a 57.9 percent shooting clip, the first time the Salukis allowed 50-plus percent shooting all year and marked the Black and Gold's highest percentage against a D1 team since FIU on Jan. 31.
– Leonard Harper-Baker produced his seventh double-double (third this year) with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Stevenson added 15 points on 5-for-5 shooting, while Gabe Watson had 14 points, five assists and four steals off the bench. Draine, one of the top three-point shooters in the country last year at 46.4 percent, went 3-for-5 from deep with 12 points.
– Jay Malone produced seven-plus assists and no turnovers for the second time this season. Golden Eagle greats Tyree Griffin and Cortez Edwards accomplished such a feat once apiece last season. Watson has benefited the most from the move. Since going into a more-shooting guard role for the William Carey game, the sophomore has shot 50 percent (up from 31.8) for 13.3 ppg (previously 8.8).
– Southern Miss has missed Boban Jacdonmi the last two games due to injury. He leads the team in scoring (12.4 ppg), field goal percentage (61.4) and is second in rebounds (6.4). It has paved the way for Stevenson to come into his own with four-straight double-figure scoring games after earning his first-career start against No. 7 Gonzaga. Over that stretch, he is averaging 11.5 points on 18-for-35 shooting (51.4 percent) with a team-high 17 free-throw attempts (next-closest has eight).
– Harper-Baker, who has played the four-spot his two years in Hattiesburg, is now 12th in the nation with 26 steals, two more than his total last year. He is one of only four forwards in the top-50 for that category. He is shooting 50-plus percent for the second-straight season and is averaging three more minutes per game.
– Entering Wednesday, Southern Miss' Division I opponents have boasted a combined record of 48-28. It includes road games at South Alabama (preseason Sun Belt favorite) as well as North Florida, picked to finish third in the A-Sun. Gonzaga and Seton Hall are also expected to make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, and Tulane and Iowa State have earned votes recently.
– Opponents are averaging 11.1 more free-throw attempts per game, but Saturday was a step in the right direction. Not only did the Golden Eagles make their final four free-throws in those deciding 26 seconds, but they also had 20 attempts for the third time this year. By comparison, Jay Ladner's 2018-19 Southeastern Louisiana squad averaged 19.4 foul shots per contest, and that will continue to be an emphasis on his young Southern Miss squad (which is averaging 11.0).
– UNF (6-5) is 3-0 in the all-time series, and the Nov. 14 meeting was a thrilling one. Trailing by seven with 37 seconds left, Watson converted a four-point play. The Golden Eagles then pressed and got a steal, setting up Harper-Baker for a put-back that made it a 62-61 deficit with 16 seconds left. Six-straight free-throws by the two teams followed, but Southern Miss was unable to get off a game-tying three at the buzzer.
– Stevenson and Artur Konontsuk led the way with 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting. The Ospreys are one of three teams to attempt 30 triples on the Golden Eagles, going 11-for-30 that night. The 66 points were their second-fewest on the year. Carter Hendricksen recently earned A-Sun Player of the Week honors for the second time this season, and is leading the team with 17.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.
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