Marshall Pulls Away Late from Southern Miss, 72-58

Thursday, February 6

Huntington, WV

6 p.m. CT

Southern Miss

-717, 38 CUSA

Marshall

-1113, 56 CUSA

SOUTHERN MISS

MARSHALL

Marshall Pulls Away Late from Southern Miss, 72-58

2/6/2020 8:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats (PDF)

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Southern Miss went on a 15-1 run to take a seven-point lead at 11:48, but Marshall ultimately ended the night on a 16-2 burst for a 72-58 win inside the Cam Henderson Center on Thursday.

"We had taken control of the game but had some critical turnovers in that stretch that flipped on us," head coach Jay Ladner said. "We have to do a better job at not bowing to teams when they get on big runs. A few guys were slow getting out to shooters, and that has plagued us at times this year. It's disappointing because our guys had played hard. We aren't going to make excuses about our depth, and we know we have enough talent to win."

The Golden Eagle run at one point consisted of 10 consecutive points from Leonard Harper-Baker, playing in front of his family who drove in from Detroit. The Herd then got three consecutive treys to fall, and before too long built up its game-deciding streak.

Southern Miss trailed 35-29 at the break. Tyler Stevenson scored the team's first eight points, and after Marshall led 26-12, the Golden Eagles fought back with a 10-0 run to the 5:13 mark.

"We got off to a good start," Ladner said. "I didn't like our defense early, but our guys battled to within six at the half. Marko Sarenac came off the bench and made some big shots for them, and you can't be slow to the ball in Division I."

Sarenac went 4-for-5 on treys in the second half, while Iran Bennett led the way with 18 points and 12 rebounds for Marshall (11-13, 5-6 C-USA)

As for Southern Miss, Harper-Baker produced game-highs of 18 points and 14 boards to go with five assists. Gabe Watson also contributed 15, seven and five, respectively.

The Golden Eagles (7-17, 3-8 C-USA) will look to rebound Saturday night at WKU. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on Stadium (Facebook).

NOTABLE
-Leonard Harper-Baker produced his fifth double-double of the year (ninth of career).
-Harper-Baker also connected on two three-pointers after entering the night with four.
-LaDavius Draine is now tied for fifth in school history with 22 consecutive free-throw makes (Kourtlin Jackson, 2016). Next up is Neil Watson (2011) and Neil Reed (1998-99) with 28 apiece.
-Draine notched his 160th three-pointer, putting him four away from tying Neil Watson (2011-14) for third all-time.