Golden Eagles Fall in Heartbreaker at ECU

GREENVILLE, N.C. -- The Southern Miss men's basketball team ended its non-conference slate in dramatic fashion on Tuesday afternoon, falling at East Carolina in the final seconds, 68-67.

The Golden Eagles were led by Jaron Pierre, Jr.'s 20 points, but it was his final shot that proved to the difference maker. Pierre came off a screen with 10 seconds left, but his uncontested three-pointer from the left corner came up on the short side of the rim.

Southern Miss struggled to hit a shot in the early going en route to scoring only nine points in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Pirates extended their lead to 10 at the 8:16 mark and then to 11 with 5:54 on the clock. Junior Tyler Stevenson drained a floater in the lane to ignite Southern Miss.

Junior Isaih Moore followed with another basket, then Pierre nailed a three-pointer to cut the ECU advantage to five. The Golden Eagles continued to chip away and then Pierre hit a transition three to give Southern Miss its first lead of the game with 3:05 left in the half. The lead ballooned to five just before half when junior DeAndre Pinckney found the basket on a deep three-pointer from the top of the arc.

Southern Miss ended the first half on a 19-3 run that spanned just over five minutes. The Golden Eagles shot a sizzling 48.1 percent from the floor in the opening frame and knocked down five three-pointers. Pierre led all scorers with 13 points at the half and Stevenson had seven rebounds to go along with six points.

The lead continued to grow in the second half after Bolden swooshed a jump shot to make it 42-34 five minutes in. ECU made a run of its own over the next two minutes to make it a two-point game, however, Stevenson and Pierre combined for three baskets to push the lead back to eight. Pinckney followed that stretch with an and-one to make it a nine-point lead after ECU momentarily cut into it.

ECU tied the game with 4:54 left and took its first lead since the half with just over three minutes to play. The Golden Eagles and Pirates would trade leads four times over the next two minutes until Vance Jackson made a layup to give ECU a 68-67 lead. ECU escaped after Moore failed to get a shot off near half court with a tick remaining on the clock.

Southern Miss limited itself to four turnovers in the second half after recording 10 in the opening 20 minutes. The Golden Eagles held ECU to a 39.7 shooting percentage, but the Pirates shot 55.2 percent in the second half. The Black and Gold shot at least 50 percent from the field for the first time since shooting 62.5 percent against UNCW on Nov. 26.

Stevenson went for 16 points and eight rebounds, while Bolden finished with 12 points and a career-high five assists. Battling foul trouble, Moore finished with nine points. Four of those came on a pair of flashy putback dunks. Pinckney finished with eight points and four boards. Jay Ladner's squad knocked down eight three-pointers and combined for a season-high 22 assists, led by Walyn Napper's six helpers.

What's Next
The Golden Eagles will take a short holiday practice before returning to campus on Dec. 26 to prepare for their Conference USA opener against Western Kentucky on Dec. 30. Tip from Reed Green Coliseum is slated for 7 p.m. CST.

Game Notes
- Southern Miss started Walyn Napper, Rashad Bolden, Isaih Moore, Tyler Stevenson, and Jaron Pierre, Jr. Jay Ladner last went with that group against Southern Illinois on Dec. 4.
- Southern Miss held the lead at the half for the first time since leading 33-29 at Montana on Nov. 26.
- The Golden Eagles went on a 19-3 run over the last 5:30 of the first half to take a five-point lead into the locker room.
- Freshman Rashad Bolden had a career-high five assists.
- Freshman Jaron Pierre, Jr.'s 20 points was a season high. His previous high this season was an 18-point performance against Jacksonville.
- Junior DeAndre Pinckney had his best game since scoring 12 points against Montana on Nov. 16. He went for eight against ECU.
- Southern Miss' eight three-pointers were its most since recording eight against Lamar on Nov. 21. Its season-high is 10 and that came in the season-opener against William Carey.
- Southern Miss shot a season-low three free throws.

Golden Eagles Fall in Heartbreaker at ECU

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Team Stats

Jaron Pierre, Jr.

Tyler Stevenson

Rashad Bolden

Isaih Moore

Players Mentioned

Rashad Bolden

Isaih Moore

Walyn Napper

Jaron Pierre, Jr.

DeAndre Pinckney

Tyler Stevenson

Players Mentioned

Rashad Bolden

Isaih Moore

Walyn Napper

Jaron Pierre, Jr.

DeAndre Pinckney

Tyler Stevenson