University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
UTSA
Men's Basketball Hosting UTSA on Saturday, Senior Day
3/8/2019 7:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Twenty-nine regular-season games down, one to go for the Southern Miss men's basketball team (18-11, 10-7 C-USA). It all comes down to Saturday's 2 p.m. CT game against UTSA, where a win would guarantee a bye in next week's Conference USA Championships (Frisco, Texas).
Fans are encouraged to arrive early to see seniors Cortez Edwards, Tyree Griffin, Anfernee Hampton, Kevin Holland and Dominic Magee honored prior to tip-off. There is also a $5 ticket special to honor the five seniors.
John Cox will have the call on CUSA.tv and the Southern Miss IMG Learfield Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel).Â
– Southern Miss is coming off a 59-52 win at regular-season champion ODU, holding the Monarchs to their fewest points in a home game all year. It ended a two-game losing streak for the Golden Eagles, which had previously snapped a six-game win streak, and marked their fewest points in a win since Dec. 14, 2015 (at South Alabama). LaDavius Draine hit four three-pointers as part of a team-high, 18-point performance, and Southern Miss put together a 9-0 run over 3:04 that gave it a 50-45 lead with 3:25 left.
– Rebounding became the story for the Golden Eagles in Norfolk. After falling 45-32 in that category the previous meeting (including 23 offensive boards), the team showed relentless pursuit in winning the battle, 40-37. Two of the team's last three wins have come with just five made three-pointers, a sign of its ability to find new ways to score.
– Cortez Edwards on Wednesday collected four steals to give him the school's all-time record (194) that has stood since Curtis Green in 1984. He is the only player in school history to be in the school's top-20 for scoring, top-15 for rebounds and top-10 for assists.
– The previous meeting with UTSA saw Southern Miss overcome a sluggish 21-8 deficit to go on a 53-23 run over the middle 20 minutes to ultimately come away victorious. Edwards recorded 24 points and nine rebounds (his third consecutive 20-point game), and Tyree Griffin added 18 points while Leonard Harper-Baker picked up his fourth double-double (14 points, 12 rebounds).
– The Golden Eagles were also able to hold the lethal Roadrunners to just 7-for-27 three-point shooting (they rank second behind Southern Miss in league play for that category). The double-duo of Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace combined to score 52 of the team's 71 points.
– Harper-Baker was shooting 41.9 percent (18-for-43) at the foul line before going 8-for-12 in a clutch win over UAB on Jan. 12. That game begun what has now amounted to a 72.7 percent stretch (32-for-44). Harper-Baker matched his career-high of 15 rebounds in Wednesday's win at ODU on the heels of having 14 the previous matchup in Norfolk. In C-USA play, he is third for both shooting (59.5 percent) and rebounding (9.1 per game).
– All 18 of Southern Miss' wins have come it out-shot the opponent. The squad is 21-6 at home over the last two seasons, leading at the half in 25 of those games. It has also held an intermission advantage in each of the last nine games. The win at ODU marked its seventh this season, which is second in Conference USA. Southern Miss is 3-1 in home finales under Doc Sadler, defeating LA Tech in 2018 and falling to FAU in 2017, which succeeded wins over North Texas (2016) and UTEP (2015). The Golden Eagles are also 4-2 in March the last two seasons.
– Kevin Holland was named to the C-USA's All-Academic team on Friday. His 104 starts (all consecutive) rank eighth in program history. He is No. 1 in C-USA play for three-point percentage (53.2 percent), and his 128 career makes are also eighth all-time at the school. Draine now has 66 made three-pointers, which is one away from No. 10 in single-season school history. He is second in C-USA play with a 49 percent clip.
– Southern Miss is the only C-USA school to have not allowed 80 points in a game this season. It happened to the Golden Eagles eight times in each of the last two seasons, and this current 29-game streak is a single-season best since Dec. 28, 2006 - Jan. 16, 2008. The Black and Gold ranks No. 4 nationally for assist-turnover ratio (1.65) and No. 14 for fewest turnovers (10.3 pg). In league play, the Golden Eagles rank first in field goal percentage (47.8), three-point shooting (40.6) and assists (16.5) while holding fifth in FG defense (41.2) and third steals (7.6).
– Griffin against C-USA opponents is first in assists (7.4), third in assist-turnover ratio (2.5) and fourth in steals (2.1), while Edwards ranks ninth in assists (4.1) and second for assist/turnover ratio (2.6) and third in steals (2.1). They are the only teammates to be in the top-14 for assist/turnover ratio in league play. Griffin now ranks No. 4 all-time in school history with 404 assists (despite only two years with the program), and his 7.1 dimes per game are No. 7 nationally.
