Men's Basketball Continues Road Swing at LA Tech

Thursday, January 13

Ruston, LA

6:00 PM

Southern Miss

LA Tech

Men's Basketball Continues Road Swing at LA Tech

1/12/2022 12:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- After splitting a pair of Conference USA road games last weekend, the Southern Miss men's basketball team ends a five-game road stint at Louisiana Tech on Thursday night. Tip from the Thomas Assembly Center to slated for 6 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.

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The Need to Know
- Tyler Stevenson, Isaih Moore, Jaron Pierre, Jr. and Rashad Bolden are all averaging double figures in the scoring column through the first two CUSA games. The group has accounted for nearly 70 percent of Southern Miss' points over the last two games.
- Stevenson, a preseason All-Conference USA honoree, is nearly averaging a double-double at 12.2 PPG and 8.5 RPG. Stevenson's 7.08 defensive rebounds per game is tops in the conference.
- Stevenson is 47 points away from reaching 1,000 career points. He would be the 39^th player in program history to achieve that feat and the 16^th player to notch 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
- Freshman Rashad Bolden has scored in double figures in three of his last four games, including 17 points at UTSA last Thursday.
- All five of Southern Miss' wins have come when they shoot better than its opponent. The Golden Eagles have shot at least 45 percent from the floor in four of the five wins.
- The Golden Eagles have not lost this season when committing few turnovers than the other team.
- Southern Miss' win at UTSA last Thursday was the first in program history at the Convocation Center.
- Including Thursday's game in Ruston, Southern Miss has played 11 of its 15 games on the road. Three home games have been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.
- Jaron Pierre, Jr. has knocked down 17 three-pointers in his last five games after hitting only 10 in the first nine games.

Scouting the Bulldogs
- Two of LA Tech's three losses have come against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 at the time and are currently 4-0 in CUSA play.
- Amorie Archibald is coming off a 31-point performance at UTSA after going 12-of-14 from the field.
- Kenneth Lofton, Jr. continues to be a force for the Bulldogs as the reigning Conference USA Freshman of the Year is averaging 16.7 PPG and 10.8 RPG.
- Lofton (16.7 ppg), Archibald (14.3 ppg), Isaiah Crawford (11.3 ppg), Keaston Willis (10.4 ppg) and Cobe Williams (10.1 ppg) are all averaging double figures this season for LA Tech.
- Lofton leads all CUSA players in double doubles (9), field goal percentage (55.7%), offensive rebounds per game (4.00), rebounds per game (10.8) and total rebounds (162).
- The Bulldogs rank as the second-best scoring offense in CUSA at 79.0 PPG.
- As a team, LA Tech leads all CUSA teams in assist to turnover ratio (1.33), free throw attempts (302), free throws made (218) and total assists (245).
- Dating back to 1965, LA Tech has won every matchup against Southern Miss in Ruston.

The Road Ahead
- Southern Miss returns to Reed Green Coliseum on Sunday to host LA Tech. It marks the first home game for the Golden Eagles since Dec. 14.