Stevenson, Hardy Power Southern Miss to Explosive Win at FIU

Friday, February 19

Miami, FL

6 PM CT

Southern Miss

-814,411 CUSA

FIU

-915,213 CUSA

Southern Miss.

FIU

Stevenson, Hardy Power Southern Miss to Explosive Win at FIU

2/19/2021 9:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Game Book

MIAMI -- Tyler Stevenson (26 points, nine rebounds) and Tae Hardy (19 second-half points) were the leading forces for the Southern Miss men's basketball team as it stormed past FIU, 85-72, to begin its two-game series Friday night.

Stevenson's 12 field goals (on 16 attempts) matched a career-high, and Hardy's 20 marked one as well, in addition to his sixth double-figure scoring road game over his last seven. They became the first Southern Miss teammates with 20-plus points in a game since Jan. 23, 2020 a UAB.

The Golden Eagles' 61-percent shooting performance was its best since Jan. 26, 2019 against Marshall (won 101-51). Southern Miss also shot 70 percent in the second half (21-for-30).

"Tae's a winner," head coach Jay Ladner said. "He took a challenge at halftime, and he was the difference in the second half. Tyler played a great second half, and Tae really put us on his back."

FIU (9-15, 2-13 C-USA) stretched its lead to 10 points twice in the first part of the second half, but Hardy reeled off seven-straight points, also marking eight consecutive made field goals by the team, to pull within 62-57 at the under-12 media timeout.

The Golden Eagles' 14-0 run, including a sprinting DeAndre Pinckney layup on an in-bounds, football pass by Hardy from the other side, upped the advantage to 83-68 with 2:54 left.

Southern Miss (8-14, 4-11 C-USA) faced a 26-10 deficit over the first 10 minutes before reeling off a 14-3 run of its own, a 29-24 deficit at 5:15. Jay Malone's turnaround, baseline jumper in transition gave it momentum and a 43-37 difference at the half.

"Give Coach (Jeremy) Ballard credit," Ladner said. "They're high-powered and lead the country in three-point shots and makes. What we kept telling our guys is to step out the pressure a little bit. We prepared our guys for FIU having runs. At halftime, we challenged them to play for each other and to play to win, not for themselves. We ended with 20 assists and did a good job at just finding open people."

The two teams will meet again Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.

NOTABLE
-The 85 points marked a season-high, and it marked the Golden Eagles' first victory when allowing 70-plus points.
-The 16-point deficit marked its largest to overcome in a win since Dec. 7, 2019 against Southern Illinois (trailed 24-7).
-Southern Miss held a 54-26 edge in the paint.
-FIU was 10-for-22 from deep in the first half but held to 2-for-16 in the second.
-Tyler Stevenson (26 points) had his ninth game with 20-plus points (sixth this season), and seven of those have come against C-USA foes. He now has 773 for his career.
-Tyler Morman matched a career-high 18 minutes for the second-straight game. Each of his three other games playing in double-figures were in non-conference action.
-Justin Johnson earned his fourth start of the season and second in a row.