PRESS RELEASE FROM SOUTHERN MISS
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss got off to a strong start and never
looked back, defeating Grambling State, 93-45, Saturday night at Reed Green
Coliseum.
The 48-point margin ties the
seventh largest in school history. The victory snapped a three-game losing
streak. Southern Miss (7-3) has now won 18 consecutive home games and 26
straight non-conference home games.
"First off, we played without
turning (the ball) over," said Southern Miss head coach Donnie Tyndall. "Eleven
turnovers are pretty good. Our guys played more within themselves, yet we were
aggressive off the dribble. It's just much easier to play when you're not
turning the ball over."
Michael Craig led Southern
Miss with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting. He also had seven rebounds, six
assists and five steals. Jonathan Mills dropped in 17 points on 7-of-10
shooting. Neil Watson had 15 points and six assists and Jerrold Brooks added 12
points. Deon Edwin also had seven points and seven rebounds.
Watson got things started
with a jumper from the right corner. After Terry Rose tied the game at two,
Craig and Mills connected on jumpers to give Southern Miss a 6-4 lead. Derron
Hobbs hit a pair of free throw to pull Grambling State to within 6-4. But a
jumper by Mills followed by a three-pointer by Brooks gave the Golden Eagles an
11-4 lead just 2:47 into the game.
Rose hit a three-pointer of
his own to make it 11-7. But Southern Miss went on a 28-3 run over the next
10:07, including a string of 19 straight points. Roman Higgins hit a pair of
free throws followed by a Cedric Jenkins layup and free throws from Norville
Carey and Brooks, giving Southern Miss its largest lead of the half at 43-12.
A pair of three-pointers by
Grambling State (0-8) bookended six straight points by the Golden Eagles, as
Southern Miss held its largest halftime lead of the season, 50-21. The halftime
margin ties the fifth largest in school history.
Southern Miss shot
59.6-percent (34-of-57) from the field, including 7-of-16 (43.8%) from
three-point range. Grambling State was held to just 32.6-percent
(15-of-46) from the floor and 9-of-27 (33.3) from behind the arc. The Golden
Eagles won the rebounding battle, 36-to-23. They also recorded 18 assists and
14 steals.
Terry Rose led the Tigers
with 18 points and four rebounds.
Southern Miss continued it
barrage in the second half scoring 12 of the first 14 points before leading by
as many as 48.
Southern Miss begins a
trek of three straight road games next Tuesday, Dec. 18, at Georgia State.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be televised by CSS.
