Thursday, February 24
Denton, TX
7:00 PM
Southern Miss
-622,114 CUSA
61
at
85
North Texas
-214,141 CUSA
1
2
F
Southern Miss.
19
42
61
North Texas
39
46
85
Shorthanded Golden Eagles Fall at North Texas
2/24/2022 11:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
DENTON, Texas -- On its first of a two-game road swing in Texas, the Southern Miss men's basketball team fell on Thursday night at North Texas, 85-61. The shorthanded Golden Eagles were led by Walyn Napper's 21 points at the Super Pit in Denton.
"Sometimes it's judging guys the best you can given the circumstances," said head coach Jay Ladner. "We're gonna play -- we were supposed to play. We had seven scholarship guys and we were missing a lot of our offensive production, but I'm proud of them."
North Texas' (21-4, 14-1 C-USA) stout defense effort forced the Golden Eagles (6-22, 1-14 C-USA) to start 3-of-10 from the field, but its offense started just as hot, as the Mean Green went 7-of-10 from the field to open the game. The offensive barrage granted the Conference USA West Division leaders a 17-6 minutes into the ballgame. Denijay Harris had a team-high six points in the opening frame, while Abou Ousmane recorded 15 of his game-high 21 points. Ousmane hit his first five shots of the game and finished 7-of-9 from the floor.
Southern Miss was never able to mount a substantial comeback in the second half after trailing by 20 at the break. The Golden Eagles would get within 14 after a Rashad Bolden jumper with 15:37 left on the clock, but North Texas answered with a Mardrez McBride trey to slice any momentum the visitors had. The Golden Eagles scored 42 of their 61 points in the final frame after being outscored 39-19 in the first half.
Bolden scored in double figures for the eighth time this season and for only the second time dating back to Jan. 6 at UTSA. Junior Isaih Moore scored in double figures for the sixth consecutive game, pouring in 14 points to go along with six rebounds. Before fouling out, DeAndre Pinckney finished with seven points and four rebounds. Napper led the Golden Eagles in the assist column with four.
The Golden Eagles finished 20-of-47 from the floor and hit three of their 11 three-point attempts. North Texas shot at a 55.3 percent clip and drained nine three-pointers. The Mean Green also outrebounded the Golden Eagles, which was the first time they have been outrebounded since playing UAB on Feb. 10.
The Road Ahead
Southern Miss will head to Houston on Friday morning to prepare for Saturday's contest at Rice. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m.
Game Notes
- Southern Miss used its 12th different starting lineup combination this season - Walyn Napper, Denijay Harris, Rashad Bolden, DeAndre Picnkney, Isaih Moore.
- Isaih Moore finished with at least 10 points for the sixth consecutive game.
- North Texas' win moved its winning streak to 13 games.
"Sometimes it's judging guys the best you can given the circumstances," said head coach Jay Ladner. "We're gonna play -- we were supposed to play. We had seven scholarship guys and we were missing a lot of our offensive production, but I'm proud of them."
North Texas' (21-4, 14-1 C-USA) stout defense effort forced the Golden Eagles (6-22, 1-14 C-USA) to start 3-of-10 from the field, but its offense started just as hot, as the Mean Green went 7-of-10 from the field to open the game. The offensive barrage granted the Conference USA West Division leaders a 17-6 minutes into the ballgame. Denijay Harris had a team-high six points in the opening frame, while Abou Ousmane recorded 15 of his game-high 21 points. Ousmane hit his first five shots of the game and finished 7-of-9 from the floor.
Southern Miss was never able to mount a substantial comeback in the second half after trailing by 20 at the break. The Golden Eagles would get within 14 after a Rashad Bolden jumper with 15:37 left on the clock, but North Texas answered with a Mardrez McBride trey to slice any momentum the visitors had. The Golden Eagles scored 42 of their 61 points in the final frame after being outscored 39-19 in the first half.
Bolden scored in double figures for the eighth time this season and for only the second time dating back to Jan. 6 at UTSA. Junior Isaih Moore scored in double figures for the sixth consecutive game, pouring in 14 points to go along with six rebounds. Before fouling out, DeAndre Pinckney finished with seven points and four rebounds. Napper led the Golden Eagles in the assist column with four.
The Golden Eagles finished 20-of-47 from the floor and hit three of their 11 three-point attempts. North Texas shot at a 55.3 percent clip and drained nine three-pointers. The Mean Green also outrebounded the Golden Eagles, which was the first time they have been outrebounded since playing UAB on Feb. 10.
The Road Ahead
Southern Miss will head to Houston on Friday morning to prepare for Saturday's contest at Rice. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m.
Game Notes
- Southern Miss used its 12th different starting lineup combination this season - Walyn Napper, Denijay Harris, Rashad Bolden, DeAndre Picnkney, Isaih Moore.
- Isaih Moore finished with at least 10 points for the sixth consecutive game.
- North Texas' win moved its winning streak to 13 games.
Team Stats
USM
UNT
FG%
.408
.531
3FG%
.231
.529
FT%
.692
.706
RB
28
33
TO
16
10
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballSouthern Miss-Alabama State Highlights - 12/05/24
Friday, December 06
MBB: Southern Miss vs. Loyola New Orleans Highlights
Wednesday, November 13
Postgame Highlights - Southern Miss vs. Xavier (La.)
Wednesday, March 06
La Familia Special Edition
Thursday, January 11