Rice Pulls Away Late to Defeat Southern Miss

Wednesday, March 4

Reed Green Coliseum

7 p.m. CT

Southern Miss

9-21, 5-12CUSA

Rice

15-15, 7-10CUSA

Rice

Southern Miss

Rice Pulls Away Late to Defeat Southern Miss

3/4/2020 10:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats (PDF)

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss unleashed a 17-3 run to take a 43-40 lead with 13 minutes left, but Rice responded with an 11-2 burst and never looked back in a 72-57 defeat in Wednesday's home finale.

"I feel bad for our players," head coach Jay Ladner said. "I felt like we had our best two practices this week. We wanted to win but just didn't do enough, and the better team tonight won. You can't turn the ball over, and we had some careless mistakes in the first half. I attribute that to the lack of experience in these types of games: a playoff atmosphere. It was hard to overcome.

"I thought we were fortunate to be down 32-22 at the half, and that's because we guarded well. We haven't been able to rest guys, playing them every minute every night, and I think that lack of depth has worn on them."

The aforementioned 17-3 run featured Gabe Watson's first five points of the night, as well as a trio of three-pointers by LaDavius Draine, including a four-point play.

It remained a 59-52 difference with less than three minutes to play, but the Owls (15-15, 7-10 C-USA) scored five-straight and held their double-digit lead over the final two minutes.

Draine produced the third double-double of his career with 22 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.

"We had a hurt locker room, and one thing we talk about all the time is that if it hurts to lose, you have a chance not just as a basketball player, but as a man," head coach Jay Ladner said. "Winning is the result of a process in doing the right things every day and working hard. It's an everyday deal, and a temporary setback for our team."

Southern Miss (9-21, 5-12 C-USA) will conclude its season Saturday at Middle Tennessee (5 p.m. CT).

NOTABLE
-LaDavius Draine's other two double-doubles came in back-to-back games this year against WKU and Florida Atlantic.
-Draine's four treys puts him at 177 for his career. He is 17 away from tying Casey Fisher (1984-88) for No. 2 in school history.
-Leonard Harper-Baker's 11 rebounds gave him 18, double-figure games for his two-year career.
-Southern Miss won the rebounding battle 39-33, giving it a plus-42 margin over the last six games.