University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Tuesday, December 15
Beaumont, TX
7 p.m.
Southern Miss
-23,00 CUSA
66
at
63
Lamar
1-5,0-0Southland
1
2
F
Southern Miss.
33
33
66
Lamar University
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63
Southern Miss Outlasts Lamar for 66-63 Road Win
12/15/2020 9:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BEAUMONT, Texas-- Artur Konontsuk's offensive rebound and subsequent free-throws with nine seconds left sealed a 66-63 win for Southern Miss at Lamar on Tuesday night.
"Any time you can go on the road and get a Division I win is a good thing," head coach Jay Ladner said. "The team's improving. As we continue to grow, we will learn how to handle the last 10 minutes of games better. When it came down to it, we got a huge offensive rebound, and Artur stepped calmly to the line and drilled them. Then we did a great job defending and made them take a very low-percentage shot on the other end."
The sophomore Konontsuk finished with 15 points, the second-most of his career and highest total since he had 19 against No. 7 Gonzaga last season.
The Cardinals added two free-throws with 1:06 left to get within 64-61. After several fouls to put the Golden Eagles on the line with 10 seconds left, Konontsuk pulled down an offensive rebound on the front end of a one-and-one. His two clutch shots preceded a deep miss for the Cardinals that closed it out.
Southern Miss led 33-20 at the break and was able to stretch it to 42-28 in the first four minutes. Lamar pulled within 45-40 at the 12:58 mark before Konontsuk sank a three from the wing and Denijay Harris laid one in off the glass.
The Black and Gold gained their largest separation with a 14-0, first-half run to lead 24-9 at 8:03, and it later became a 16-point lead at 4:58.
"First of all, we expected a great effort from Lamar," Ladner said. "I thought our team, similar to last game, came out strong defensively. It's the second-straight time we've held the team to under 25 percent shooting in the first half."
Southern Miss now has a four-game homestand to prep for with the addition of a Dec. 28 matchup against Loyola-New Orleans. The swing begins Saturday against ULM (2 p.m.).
NOTABLE
-Southern Miss leads the all-time series 8-6. It was the first matchup between the teams since 2005 in Alaska.
-Draine's six points moved him to 967 for his career with 189 threes, five away from tying Casey Fisher for No. 2 all-time at the school.
-Konontsuk (15 points) reached double-figures for the 12th time in his career. Southern Miss is 7-5 when he does so.
-Konontsuk is also 7-for-12 from deep his last two games.
-Stevenson's 12 rebounds marked a career-high. He previously had 11 against LA Tech and FIU last year.
"Any time you can go on the road and get a Division I win is a good thing," head coach Jay Ladner said. "The team's improving. As we continue to grow, we will learn how to handle the last 10 minutes of games better. When it came down to it, we got a huge offensive rebound, and Artur stepped calmly to the line and drilled them. Then we did a great job defending and made them take a very low-percentage shot on the other end."
The sophomore Konontsuk finished with 15 points, the second-most of his career and highest total since he had 19 against No. 7 Gonzaga last season.
The Cardinals added two free-throws with 1:06 left to get within 64-61. After several fouls to put the Golden Eagles on the line with 10 seconds left, Konontsuk pulled down an offensive rebound on the front end of a one-and-one. His two clutch shots preceded a deep miss for the Cardinals that closed it out.
Southern Miss led 33-20 at the break and was able to stretch it to 42-28 in the first four minutes. Lamar pulled within 45-40 at the 12:58 mark before Konontsuk sank a three from the wing and Denijay Harris laid one in off the glass.
The Black and Gold gained their largest separation with a 14-0, first-half run to lead 24-9 at 8:03, and it later became a 16-point lead at 4:58.
"First of all, we expected a great effort from Lamar," Ladner said. "I thought our team, similar to last game, came out strong defensively. It's the second-straight time we've held the team to under 25 percent shooting in the first half."
Southern Miss now has a four-game homestand to prep for with the addition of a Dec. 28 matchup against Loyola-New Orleans. The swing begins Saturday against ULM (2 p.m.).
NOTABLE
-Southern Miss leads the all-time series 8-6. It was the first matchup between the teams since 2005 in Alaska.
-Draine's six points moved him to 967 for his career with 189 threes, five away from tying Casey Fisher for No. 2 all-time at the school.
-Konontsuk (15 points) reached double-figures for the 12th time in his career. Southern Miss is 7-5 when he does so.
-Konontsuk is also 7-for-12 from deep his last two games.
-Stevenson's 12 rebounds marked a career-high. He previously had 11 against LA Tech and FIU last year.
Team Stats
USM
Lamar
FG%
.500
.358
3FG%
.429
.227
FT%
.714
.909
RB
36
27
TO
21
12
STL
3
10
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
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