University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Friday, January 15
Reed Green Coliseum
7 p.m.
Southern Miss
-66,23 CUSA
84
vs
54
Middle Tennessee
-36,12 CUSA
1
2
F
Middle Tenn.
22
32
54
Southern Miss.
38
46
84
Southern Miss Fires on All Cylinders in 84-54 Win over Middle Tennessee
1/15/2021 10:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss.-- Freshman Jaron Pierre, Jr. produced his second double-double (24 points, 10 rebounds) while three other Golden Eagles scored 12 points in an 84-54 win over Middle Tennessee Friday night to open the two-game series.
The two teams meet again at 4 p.m. Saturday.
"I thought our guys prepared well this week," head coach Jay Ladner said. "I thought when we left our gameday walk-through that I felt confident in our abilities, but maybe not necessarily the margin. Our guys were locked in and the staff prepared them for tonight. But tomorrow is a different story."
Pierre went 9-for-11 from the field, including 6-for-8 from deep. He was one point shy of a career-high, while it was also his second game connecting six times from long range. Denijay Harris' dozen points were his own career-high, while Tyler Stevenson and Artur Konontsuk added the same as well.
"It was great to see Jaron Pierre bounce back after not playing his best Saturday at UAB," Ladner said. "He's an 18-year-old true freshman. His teammates did a great job at finding him. So many of his shots were off assists. Denijay Harris had a career-high in points, and Tae (Hardy) and Tyler (Stevenson) were solid as usual. Artur Konontsuk also did well off the bench, and LaDavius Draine has always been a team guy as defensive pressure builds (on his shooting ability)."
Southern Miss went on a 12-2 run over the final four minutes to lead 38-22 at the break, its largest of the season. Konontsuk's corner three at the buzzer put on the finishing touch.
A 29-10 run midway through the second half moved the lead to 82-46 with 2:59 remaining. The Blue Raiders shot just 29 percent in each half, while the Golden Eagles were 50 percent in both.
Southern Miss also won the points-in-the-paint battle, 46-18, and had an 18-3 edge in points off turnovers.
NOTABLE
-Middle Tennessee had won all three meetings last year by an average score of 63.7-59.3
-The 30-point margin was Southern Miss' largest of the Ladner era and most since the 2018-19 home finale against UTSA (81-48).
-The Golden Eagles shot 47.8 percent from deep (11-for-23), their highest clip of the season. The 11 makes were the second-most of the season (15 against South Alabama), while the 23 attempts came after the team had just 39 in the first four C-USA games.
-Southern Miss' five turnovers were a season-low (previously 11).
-The 16 assists were the team's most since Dec. 15 at Lamar.
The two teams meet again at 4 p.m. Saturday.
"I thought our guys prepared well this week," head coach Jay Ladner said. "I thought when we left our gameday walk-through that I felt confident in our abilities, but maybe not necessarily the margin. Our guys were locked in and the staff prepared them for tonight. But tomorrow is a different story."
Pierre went 9-for-11 from the field, including 6-for-8 from deep. He was one point shy of a career-high, while it was also his second game connecting six times from long range. Denijay Harris' dozen points were his own career-high, while Tyler Stevenson and Artur Konontsuk added the same as well.
"It was great to see Jaron Pierre bounce back after not playing his best Saturday at UAB," Ladner said. "He's an 18-year-old true freshman. His teammates did a great job at finding him. So many of his shots were off assists. Denijay Harris had a career-high in points, and Tae (Hardy) and Tyler (Stevenson) were solid as usual. Artur Konontsuk also did well off the bench, and LaDavius Draine has always been a team guy as defensive pressure builds (on his shooting ability)."
Southern Miss went on a 12-2 run over the final four minutes to lead 38-22 at the break, its largest of the season. Konontsuk's corner three at the buzzer put on the finishing touch.
A 29-10 run midway through the second half moved the lead to 82-46 with 2:59 remaining. The Blue Raiders shot just 29 percent in each half, while the Golden Eagles were 50 percent in both.
Southern Miss also won the points-in-the-paint battle, 46-18, and had an 18-3 edge in points off turnovers.
NOTABLE
-Middle Tennessee had won all three meetings last year by an average score of 63.7-59.3
-The 30-point margin was Southern Miss' largest of the Ladner era and most since the 2018-19 home finale against UTSA (81-48).
-The Golden Eagles shot 47.8 percent from deep (11-for-23), their highest clip of the season. The 11 makes were the second-most of the season (15 against South Alabama), while the 23 attempts came after the team had just 39 in the first four C-USA games.
-Southern Miss' five turnovers were a season-low (previously 11).
-The 16 assists were the team's most since Dec. 15 at Lamar.
Team Stats
MTSU
USM
FG%
.295
.500
3FG%
.269
.478
FT%
.611
.250
RB
42
43
TO
15
5
STL
4
8
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
6
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
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