Pinckney Goes for Career Night in Loss to LA Tech

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- DeAndre Pinckney's career-high 21 points and 11 rebounds was not enough Sunday afternoon as Louisiana Tech pulled away late in a 76-62 win over the Southern Miss men's basketball team. The Black and Gold were greeted by 3,110 fans after not playing a home game since Dec. 14.

"We settled down after LA Tech's hot start and they're the league favorites, but we went tooth and nail with them," said head coach Jay Ladner. "I was proud of our guys, but there's no moral victories, we're here to win. There was certainly a lot of positives and this was anybody's ballgame with three minutes left."

It was the third consecutive game in which the Carol City, Fla. native finished in double figures and the 14^th of his career. The junior also notched his second double-double and first this season.

LA Tech built an early lead before Southern Miss stormed back to take its first lead of the game with a hair over 12 minutes left on the clock in the first half. Kenneth Lofton, Jr. made a move in the paint to put the Bulldogs back on top with three right before the under-eight media timeout, but Ladner's squad answered once again with Pinckney hammering home a dunk to jumpstart a run. From there, Mo Arnold and Rashad Bolden drained a pair of three-pointers, while Walyn Napper and Tyler Morman each made a free throw. Cobe Williams did knock down three after Pinckney's dunk, but the Golden Eagles led by four after the 11-3 run.

The Bulldogs bit into the Southern Miss lead over the final two minutes as they scored eight unanswered points, including a Keaston Willis three-pointer at the buzzer to put them ahead by four at the half. Senior Tyler Stevenson nearly had a double-double in the first half, going to a team-high nine points and nine rebounds. The Golden Eagles shot 27.8 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes and went a 3-of-11 from deep.

Southern Miss regained the lead on a pair of Stevenson free throws two minutes into the second half and then proceeded to score its next eight points from free throws. Napper's free throw with 13:53 left in the game put the Golden Eagles ahead by one, which was ultimately the last point in which the Golden Eagles held a lead. LA Tech would go on a 14-4 run over the next five minutes to extend its lead to 10. Like clockwork, the Golden Eagles answered back and pulled within two points after Napper received a pass from Arnold before scoring a contested layup. The Bulldogs' lead would hover around six points over the next two minutes before running to a 14-point advantage at the end of the game.

Stevenson continues to climb the Southern Miss scoring ranks and now sits at 39^th all-time with 991 points. His 21 points tonight tied a season best and marked the most since playing UC San Diego at the Zootown Classic. The senior has scored at least 10 points in 12 games and grabbed his third double-double this season with 10 rebounds. Southern Miss finished at a 32.8 percent shooting clip and knocked down six three-pointers. It was limited to 11 turnovers outrebounded LA Tech by two rebounds. The Golden Eagled grabbed a game-high 15 offensive rebounds, while Pinckney had four of them.

Sophomore Denijay Harris added four points as he started his second consecutive game. Bolden finished with five points and Napper had four. Napper dished out a game-high four assists.

Southern Miss will play at home on Wednesday against Southeastern Baptist. The new addition to the schedule will mark an additional non-conference game and will tip at 7 p.m. inside Reed Green Coliseum.

Pinckney Goes for Career Night in Loss to LA Tech

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Team Stats

DeAndre Pinckney

Tyler Stevenson

Rashad Bolden

Walyn Napper

Players Mentioned

Mo Arnold

Rashad Bolden

Denijay Harris

Tyler Morman

Walyn Napper

DeAndre Pinckney

Tyler Stevenson