Monday, December 28
Reed Green Coliseum
2 p.m.
Southern Miss
-43,00 CUSA
74
vs
54
Loyola (La.)
0-1
1
2
F
Loyola (LA)
27
27
54
Southern Miss.
35
39
74
LaDavius Draine Joins 1,000-Point Club as Southern Miss Wins Third-Straight
12/28/2020 5:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss.-- Southern Miss senior LaDavius Draine reached the 1,000-point milestone in an explosive way, scoring on three-straight possessions in the second half as Southern Miss defeated Loyola New Orleans, 74-54, on Monday afternoon.
Draine's barrage upped the Golden Eagles' lead to 71-38 with 9:21 to play, and he ultimately finished with 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting (5-for-8 from deep). Oddly enough, Southern Miss' last contest against Loyola (Feb. 22, 2011) also saw Gary Flowers become the fourth-fastest Golden Eagle to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
"LaDavius came here when it wasn't cool to come here (9-22 the season before)," head coach Jay Ladner, who was hired prior to Draine's junior year, said. "He stayed the course. Not many kids would do that, and that's a credit to him, his family, his high school coach and our fans that he did. He doesn't say more than 3-4 words, but he's always smiling and goes about his business."
Also of note, it marked a win for Ladner over his son, Luke, a sophomore guard for Loyola who even hit a three-pointer in front of the Southern Miss bench.
"With all my heart, I wanted to turn around and look at him," Luke said. "But then I thought about the next time I'd come to Hattiesburg and seeing his reaction. I've been up here the last three weeks while we weren't playing, so I'm up in the stands cheering his team on. It's hard to cheer them on, and I'm pretty good friends with all of this team, and then go against them. But that's part of the game, and we play to win."
The elder Ladner had his thoughts too.
"It's a very odd experience," the coach said of the game. "We wanted a very challenging opponent after the break, and they provided the best opportunity of it. I don't like the emotions because it's a conflict in that you're trying to beat them, but I'm one of Loyola's biggest fans. Both teams were very business-like and have a lot of respect for each other, and I don't relish coaching against my son or my friends."
It was a game of runs for the home team, which took the lead for good with 5:55 left in the first half after a 13-0 run made it a 30-20 contest. The Wolf Pack kept it within 35-27 at the break before the Black and Gold opened with nine-straight to gain an insurmountable lead.
Southern Miss will next host UTEP on Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (4 p.m.) to open C-USA play.
NOTABLE
-Jay Ladner joins John Calipari (Kentucky) and Fred Hoiberg (Nebraska) as the only Division I coaches with games against their sons this year. Kentucky's against Detroit Mercy (Nov. 27 and Dec. 15) were both postponed, while Nebraska faces Michigan State on Jan. 2 and Feb. 3.
-LaDavius Draine's game-high 21 points give him 11 with 20-plus for his career (first time this season).
-He is now the 38th member of the 1,000-point club and the first since Cortez Edwards entered in November 2019.
-Draine sits one point shy of Berlin Ladner for No. 37 on the school's all-time scoring list (1,006 from 1965-68).
-His five triples moved him into sole possession of second in school history (199). He entered the day tied with Casey Fisher (1984-88). Next up is Bernard Haslett with 316 from 1990-94.
-Tae Hardy went 6-for-6 at the line, giving him 16 makes in his last 17 tries.
-Artur Konontsuk scored 11 points off the bench. Southern Miss is 3-1 this year when he hits double-figures, and it was the 13th instance of his two-year career.
-DeAndre Pinckney had career-highs of seven points and 15 minutes. He started the opener but exited due to a concussion. He returned in the team's last game, playing seven minutes.
-Southern Miss has held six of its seven opponents to under 30 points at the half, and each of its last three opponents to under 35.8 percent shooting.
Draine's barrage upped the Golden Eagles' lead to 71-38 with 9:21 to play, and he ultimately finished with 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting (5-for-8 from deep). Oddly enough, Southern Miss' last contest against Loyola (Feb. 22, 2011) also saw Gary Flowers become the fourth-fastest Golden Eagle to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
"LaDavius came here when it wasn't cool to come here (9-22 the season before)," head coach Jay Ladner, who was hired prior to Draine's junior year, said. "He stayed the course. Not many kids would do that, and that's a credit to him, his family, his high school coach and our fans that he did. He doesn't say more than 3-4 words, but he's always smiling and goes about his business."
Also of note, it marked a win for Ladner over his son, Luke, a sophomore guard for Loyola who even hit a three-pointer in front of the Southern Miss bench.
"With all my heart, I wanted to turn around and look at him," Luke said. "But then I thought about the next time I'd come to Hattiesburg and seeing his reaction. I've been up here the last three weeks while we weren't playing, so I'm up in the stands cheering his team on. It's hard to cheer them on, and I'm pretty good friends with all of this team, and then go against them. But that's part of the game, and we play to win."
The elder Ladner had his thoughts too.
"It's a very odd experience," the coach said of the game. "We wanted a very challenging opponent after the break, and they provided the best opportunity of it. I don't like the emotions because it's a conflict in that you're trying to beat them, but I'm one of Loyola's biggest fans. Both teams were very business-like and have a lot of respect for each other, and I don't relish coaching against my son or my friends."
It was a game of runs for the home team, which took the lead for good with 5:55 left in the first half after a 13-0 run made it a 30-20 contest. The Wolf Pack kept it within 35-27 at the break before the Black and Gold opened with nine-straight to gain an insurmountable lead.
Southern Miss will next host UTEP on Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (4 p.m.) to open C-USA play.
NOTABLE
-Jay Ladner joins John Calipari (Kentucky) and Fred Hoiberg (Nebraska) as the only Division I coaches with games against their sons this year. Kentucky's against Detroit Mercy (Nov. 27 and Dec. 15) were both postponed, while Nebraska faces Michigan State on Jan. 2 and Feb. 3.
-LaDavius Draine's game-high 21 points give him 11 with 20-plus for his career (first time this season).
-He is now the 38th member of the 1,000-point club and the first since Cortez Edwards entered in November 2019.
-Draine sits one point shy of Berlin Ladner for No. 37 on the school's all-time scoring list (1,006 from 1965-68).
-His five triples moved him into sole possession of second in school history (199). He entered the day tied with Casey Fisher (1984-88). Next up is Bernard Haslett with 316 from 1990-94.
-Tae Hardy went 6-for-6 at the line, giving him 16 makes in his last 17 tries.
-Artur Konontsuk scored 11 points off the bench. Southern Miss is 3-1 this year when he hits double-figures, and it was the 13th instance of his two-year career.
-DeAndre Pinckney had career-highs of seven points and 15 minutes. He started the opener but exited due to a concussion. He returned in the team's last game, playing seven minutes.
-Southern Miss has held six of its seven opponents to under 30 points at the half, and each of its last three opponents to under 35.8 percent shooting.
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Team Stats
Loyola
USM
FG%
.322
.446
3FG%
.200
.348
FT%
.706
.727
RB
43
38
TO
18
13
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
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