University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Thursday, January 28
Reed Green Coliseum
6 p.m.
Southern Miss
vs
Louisiana Tech
Southern Miss to Host, Travel to LA Tech This Weekend
1/27/2021 9:04:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss men's basketball team is returning home for a Thursday 6 p.m. matchup against rival Louisiana Tech. The return matchup is Saturday at 2 p.m. in Ruston.
TV: CBS Sports Network (Daniel Waugh, Tim Doyle) / CBSSports.com/Live / CBSSportsNetwork.com
  ESPN+ (Lyn Rollins, Chris Mycoskie)
Radio: Southern Miss Learfield IMG Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and Gameday app with John Cox
Tickets: None available
Week in Review
Southern Miss is coming off two, six-point losses at UTSA, where the series is split at seven-apiece and the home team claiming all of them. The Golden Eagles trailed by 17 and 15 before pulling within one and four points over the final three minutes on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Returning Home
The last home series, a sweep of Middle Tennessee, featured an 84-54 win on Friday, the team's largest C-USA margin of victory since the 2018-19 home finale against UTSA (81-48), and a 64-59 edging Saturday. In the latter contest, Southern Miss led most of the way and took the lead for good at 2:56. Tyler Stevenson's put-back slam at 1:46 for a 57-53 lead was the spiritual lift for the team in the final stretch.
About the Series
The Golden Eagles are seeking their third win over LA Tech in the last four years. The Bulldogs got the upper hand in last year's split-site series. It was a similar story in each contest: a 13-0 run to begin the second half in Hattiesburg, followed by an 11-0 spurt to close the first in Ruston five days later.
Superstar in the Making
Stevenson produced back-to-back double-doubles (23 points, 10 rebounds on Friday and 15-10 on Saturday), giving him seven for his career. He has recorded double-figure scoring in 24 of 26 career C-USA starts. This year, he was averaging 10.0 ppg in non-conference and 17.1 since. The former walk-on is fifth in C-USA play for rebounding (7.4) and seventh for scoring, joining only WKU's Charles Bassey in the top-10 for both. His 54.2 career field goal percentage ranks eighth in school history.
Heating up from Deep
LaDavius Draine went 7-for-15 from deep (46.7 percent) against UTSA, putting him at 41.9 percent on the year and 43.5 for his career. The fourth-year sniper, who broke the school's three-point percentage record as a sophomore (46.4 percent and C-USA Sixth Man of the Year honors), was held to just 16 attempts over the first six C-USA games, and the team will continue to find ways to get him open. Three-time C-USA Freshman of the Week Jaron Pierre Jr. is at 54.2 percent in league play and made six treys against South Alabama and Middle Tennessee.
Keys to Winning
The Golden Eagles, in C-USA play, rank third in field-goal percentage defense (39.4) and fourth in offense (46.3). While they are the third-best shooting team from deep, they have attempted a league-low 13.4 tries per game. In Saturday's defeat, the squad held the explosive Roadrunners to 39 percent from the field but had six more turnovers and nine fewer offensive boards.
Charity Stripe
The San Antonio trip saw Southern Miss go 32-for-40 at the foul line, a trend that has continued to bolster the squad that shot only 56.4 percent in non-conference action and 75.4 percent since. When the squad shocked UTEP with a 7-0 run over the final 45 seconds to later win in overtime, it made its final 14 free-throws.Â
Numbers Don't Lie
All of Southern Miss' wins have come when leading at the half, while six of the year's victories have come when out-shooting the opponent. The Golden Eagles are 40th nationally in defensive scoring (63.7 ppg) after being No. 260 last year (72.3). They have out-shot their opponents at home 47.1 to 39.1 percent. Southern Miss also forced 31 turnovers in the two Middle Tennessee games after just 17 the previous three games.
Lineup Changes
Southern Miss has won eight of its last nine games when Artur Konontsuk has scored in double-figures, dating back to last year. The only blemish was South Alabama's buzzer-beating victory on Dec. 12. He started the two UTSA games in place of Tae Hardy, who was nursing an injury. Hardy's 18 points on Jan. 16 against Middle Tennessee were a career-high, and he is sixth in C-USA with an 82.5 percent clip at the line. He started 3-for-8 and is 27-for-32 since. His non-conference and C-USA shooting splits are also 36.5 and 48 percent.
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TV: CBS Sports Network (Daniel Waugh, Tim Doyle) / CBSSports.com/Live / CBSSportsNetwork.com
  ESPN+ (Lyn Rollins, Chris Mycoskie)
Radio: Southern Miss Learfield IMG Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and Gameday app with John Cox
Tickets: None available
Week in Review
Southern Miss is coming off two, six-point losses at UTSA, where the series is split at seven-apiece and the home team claiming all of them. The Golden Eagles trailed by 17 and 15 before pulling within one and four points over the final three minutes on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Returning Home
The last home series, a sweep of Middle Tennessee, featured an 84-54 win on Friday, the team's largest C-USA margin of victory since the 2018-19 home finale against UTSA (81-48), and a 64-59 edging Saturday. In the latter contest, Southern Miss led most of the way and took the lead for good at 2:56. Tyler Stevenson's put-back slam at 1:46 for a 57-53 lead was the spiritual lift for the team in the final stretch.
About the Series
The Golden Eagles are seeking their third win over LA Tech in the last four years. The Bulldogs got the upper hand in last year's split-site series. It was a similar story in each contest: a 13-0 run to begin the second half in Hattiesburg, followed by an 11-0 spurt to close the first in Ruston five days later.
Superstar in the Making
Stevenson produced back-to-back double-doubles (23 points, 10 rebounds on Friday and 15-10 on Saturday), giving him seven for his career. He has recorded double-figure scoring in 24 of 26 career C-USA starts. This year, he was averaging 10.0 ppg in non-conference and 17.1 since. The former walk-on is fifth in C-USA play for rebounding (7.4) and seventh for scoring, joining only WKU's Charles Bassey in the top-10 for both. His 54.2 career field goal percentage ranks eighth in school history.
Heating up from Deep
LaDavius Draine went 7-for-15 from deep (46.7 percent) against UTSA, putting him at 41.9 percent on the year and 43.5 for his career. The fourth-year sniper, who broke the school's three-point percentage record as a sophomore (46.4 percent and C-USA Sixth Man of the Year honors), was held to just 16 attempts over the first six C-USA games, and the team will continue to find ways to get him open. Three-time C-USA Freshman of the Week Jaron Pierre Jr. is at 54.2 percent in league play and made six treys against South Alabama and Middle Tennessee.
Keys to Winning
The Golden Eagles, in C-USA play, rank third in field-goal percentage defense (39.4) and fourth in offense (46.3). While they are the third-best shooting team from deep, they have attempted a league-low 13.4 tries per game. In Saturday's defeat, the squad held the explosive Roadrunners to 39 percent from the field but had six more turnovers and nine fewer offensive boards.
Charity Stripe
The San Antonio trip saw Southern Miss go 32-for-40 at the foul line, a trend that has continued to bolster the squad that shot only 56.4 percent in non-conference action and 75.4 percent since. When the squad shocked UTEP with a 7-0 run over the final 45 seconds to later win in overtime, it made its final 14 free-throws.Â
Numbers Don't Lie
All of Southern Miss' wins have come when leading at the half, while six of the year's victories have come when out-shooting the opponent. The Golden Eagles are 40th nationally in defensive scoring (63.7 ppg) after being No. 260 last year (72.3). They have out-shot their opponents at home 47.1 to 39.1 percent. Southern Miss also forced 31 turnovers in the two Middle Tennessee games after just 17 the previous three games.
Lineup Changes
Southern Miss has won eight of its last nine games when Artur Konontsuk has scored in double-figures, dating back to last year. The only blemish was South Alabama's buzzer-beating victory on Dec. 12. He started the two UTSA games in place of Tae Hardy, who was nursing an injury. Hardy's 18 points on Jan. 16 against Middle Tennessee were a career-high, and he is sixth in C-USA with an 82.5 percent clip at the line. He started 3-for-8 and is 27-for-32 since. His non-conference and C-USA shooting splits are also 36.5 and 48 percent.
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Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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