University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Thursday, February 6
Huntington, WV
6 p.m. CT
Southern Miss
at
Marshall
Photo by: Joe Harper
Men's Basketball Set for Road Battle at Marshall
2/5/2020 12:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss men's basketball team is en route to Marshall University, where it will battle the Thundering Herd on Thursday night at 6 p.m. CT.
Jake Griffith and Bob Bolen will have the call on ESPN+, while John Cox will carry the action on the Southern Miss Learfield IMG Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and Gameday app.
Game Notes
– Southern Miss had an emotional win over Charlotte on Saturday, winning 74-68 in overtime after the 49ers rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final 2:07 of regulation. The Golden Eagles held them to just two free-throws in the extra session. It marked the second-straight game and third of the last four in which the Black and Gold used just seven players, with LaDavius Draine and Gabe Watson each going the full 45 minutes. It was Southern Miss' first win despite losing the turnover battle (17-9).
– Leonard Harper-Baker (16 rebounds, 10 assists) became the ninth player in the last 10 years to produce such numbers, and he was two points away from the first Southern Miss triple-double since 1980. Draine recorded 20-plus points for the secondstraight game, and Tyler Stevenson produced his second-straight double-double while setting career-highs in minutes each of the two weekend contests (36 and 42).
– Southern Miss has won the last two meetings. The first, a 101-51 decision in Hattiesburg, was the largest margin-of-victory between C-USA opponents in league history. The second contest came in the C-USA Quarterfinals, with the Golden Eagles surviving 17 Herd three-pointers to win 82-73. They were the 71st team out of 431 since 2010-11 to win despite allowing 17-plus treys. In those two contests, Draine went 10-for-14 from deep (14-for-20 overall) for 19.0 ppg, while Harper-Baker averaged 16.5 points and 11.5 boards.
– Stevenson, a walk-on last year, ranks second and ninth in C-USA play for rebounding (8.5 pg) and field-goal percentage (53.6), respectively. The UTEP game was his only league game in which he was held to single-digit scoring. While Jay Ladner has emphasized getting to the free-throw line, Stevenson has proved his reputation as one of the most coachable guys on the team with a team-best 76 tries, making 72.4 percent of them.
– Southern Miss, in league play, leads C-USA with an 82.5 free-throw percentage (127-for-154). It was at 68.6 percent in nonconference action. The 75.2-percent clip for the year would be a program record, besting the 2011-12 NCAA Tourney squad (73.6). Several notable improvements have been made with four of the six returners. Draine is up 7.4 percent, Watson 13.7, Tyler Stevenson 25.0 and Jacdonmi 44.2 (was 4-for-12, now 31-for-40).
– Watson has been the team's top performer away from home, leading in scoring (15.6 ppg), free-throws (22-for-25 / 88 percent) and minutes (34.4 mpg). The sophomore has been thrust back into the point-guard role with Jay Malone being inactive, and all four of his 20-point games this season have come on the road (best was 27 at UAB). He has sat only three combined minutes the last four games, while Draine is at two for that span. As a freshman reserve, Watson scored in double-figures four times, and three were away (SMU, FIU, Longwood). He played 20-plus minutes six times, maxing with 29 at SMU.
– Draine has 159 three-pointers in his career, which ranks fourth in school history. Next up is Neil Watson at 164 from 2011-14. He had five treys versus ODU (four in the second half) on a career-high 11 tries, marking the third time this season (fifth of career) in which he's made five. Draine has also made his last 20 foul shots, all in league play, and it leads C-USA as well (missed his final attempt in Tougaloo game). It's the sixth-longest streak in school history and the best since Kourtlin Jackson (22) from Feb. 27 - March 5, 2016.
– The Golden Eagles are one possession away from entering with a two-road-game win streak. Draine's three-pointer at Middle Tennessee tied it with 11 seconds left, but a foul was called on the Blue Raiders' last-second layup that allowed for the deciding points. Draine and Clay Weatherspoon are the only Eagles to have stepped foot inside The Cam, playing three minutes apiece in the Dec. 2017 meeting.
Jake Griffith and Bob Bolen will have the call on ESPN+, while John Cox will carry the action on the Southern Miss Learfield IMG Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and Gameday app.
Game Notes
– Southern Miss had an emotional win over Charlotte on Saturday, winning 74-68 in overtime after the 49ers rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final 2:07 of regulation. The Golden Eagles held them to just two free-throws in the extra session. It marked the second-straight game and third of the last four in which the Black and Gold used just seven players, with LaDavius Draine and Gabe Watson each going the full 45 minutes. It was Southern Miss' first win despite losing the turnover battle (17-9).
– Leonard Harper-Baker (16 rebounds, 10 assists) became the ninth player in the last 10 years to produce such numbers, and he was two points away from the first Southern Miss triple-double since 1980. Draine recorded 20-plus points for the secondstraight game, and Tyler Stevenson produced his second-straight double-double while setting career-highs in minutes each of the two weekend contests (36 and 42).
– Southern Miss has won the last two meetings. The first, a 101-51 decision in Hattiesburg, was the largest margin-of-victory between C-USA opponents in league history. The second contest came in the C-USA Quarterfinals, with the Golden Eagles surviving 17 Herd three-pointers to win 82-73. They were the 71st team out of 431 since 2010-11 to win despite allowing 17-plus treys. In those two contests, Draine went 10-for-14 from deep (14-for-20 overall) for 19.0 ppg, while Harper-Baker averaged 16.5 points and 11.5 boards.
– Stevenson, a walk-on last year, ranks second and ninth in C-USA play for rebounding (8.5 pg) and field-goal percentage (53.6), respectively. The UTEP game was his only league game in which he was held to single-digit scoring. While Jay Ladner has emphasized getting to the free-throw line, Stevenson has proved his reputation as one of the most coachable guys on the team with a team-best 76 tries, making 72.4 percent of them.
– Southern Miss, in league play, leads C-USA with an 82.5 free-throw percentage (127-for-154). It was at 68.6 percent in nonconference action. The 75.2-percent clip for the year would be a program record, besting the 2011-12 NCAA Tourney squad (73.6). Several notable improvements have been made with four of the six returners. Draine is up 7.4 percent, Watson 13.7, Tyler Stevenson 25.0 and Jacdonmi 44.2 (was 4-for-12, now 31-for-40).
– Watson has been the team's top performer away from home, leading in scoring (15.6 ppg), free-throws (22-for-25 / 88 percent) and minutes (34.4 mpg). The sophomore has been thrust back into the point-guard role with Jay Malone being inactive, and all four of his 20-point games this season have come on the road (best was 27 at UAB). He has sat only three combined minutes the last four games, while Draine is at two for that span. As a freshman reserve, Watson scored in double-figures four times, and three were away (SMU, FIU, Longwood). He played 20-plus minutes six times, maxing with 29 at SMU.
– Draine has 159 three-pointers in his career, which ranks fourth in school history. Next up is Neil Watson at 164 from 2011-14. He had five treys versus ODU (four in the second half) on a career-high 11 tries, marking the third time this season (fifth of career) in which he's made five. Draine has also made his last 20 foul shots, all in league play, and it leads C-USA as well (missed his final attempt in Tougaloo game). It's the sixth-longest streak in school history and the best since Kourtlin Jackson (22) from Feb. 27 - March 5, 2016.
– The Golden Eagles are one possession away from entering with a two-road-game win streak. Draine's three-pointer at Middle Tennessee tied it with 11 seconds left, but a foul was called on the Blue Raiders' last-second layup that allowed for the deciding points. Draine and Clay Weatherspoon are the only Eagles to have stepped foot inside The Cam, playing three minutes apiece in the Dec. 2017 meeting.
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