2007 C-USA Basketball Tournament Recap: #6 Southern Miss 59 - #11 SMU 52

Southern Miss advances by defeating SMU 59-52

Southern Miss advanced to the quarterfinals for the second year in a row by defeating SMU, 59-52, in the first round of the CUSA Men’s Basketball Championship on Wednesday afternoon in Memphis.

The Golden Eagles now set their eyes on second round opponent Houston, who is the number three seed in the tournament. Southern Miss improved to 20-10 on year while the Mustangs end their season at 14-17.

Jeremy Wise had 15 points in the game and got the Golden Eagles going early by sinking two free throws and a lay-up to put Southern Miss out to an early 8-2 advantage. Jarvis Hill led the Golden Eagles in scoring with 16 and came through big by grabbing eight rebounds in the victory over SMU.

Southern Miss started the game shooting 5-of-9 from the floor, but allowed SMU to tie the game at 14 after committing five turnovers in the first five minutes of the contest.

Memphis' Fed Ex Forum is the host to the 2007 Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship which began on Wednesday.

SMU grabbed an early lead after a free throw and a lay-up by Devon Pearson that gave them a 17-14 lead. Southern Miss ended SMU’s 8-0 run with a three by Jarvis Hill to tie the contest at 17.

Southern Miss would keep its hot hand, as it eliminated the turnovers and went on a 14-2 run that extended the lead to 28-19 with seven minutes to go in the first half.

Despite some poor shooting, SMU reduced Southern Miss’ advantage down to four in the first half. The Mustangs shot 18.2 percent from beyond the arc in the first half and were 4-of-8 from the line.

In the second half, SMU stayed within striking distance throughout. Southern Miss’ hot hand had cooled off and allowed the Mustangs to wipe out the nine-point lead that Golden Eagles had built with 18 minutes remaining in the game.

Southern Miss built another lead, as Jarvis Hill connected on a three that put Eustachy’s club up ten. SMU was able to scored five unanswered after a three by Dez Willingham cut the lead to five. However, that was as close as the Mustangs would get and Southern Miss would go on to a 59-52 win.

Southern Miss will now face third-seeded Houston in the quarterfinals. The Cougars will attempt to avenge a loss late in regular season to the Golden Eagles. Tom Penders’ club is 16-14 on the season.

60 Minutes
Southern Miss has now held 14 of its opponents to less than 60 points and is a spectacular 12-2 in those match ups.

Coach of the Year
Both coaches in this contest were previously named National AP Coach of The Year. Larry Eustachy earned the honor at Iowa State in 2000 while Matt Doherty was able to follow in Eustachy’s footsteps in 2001 when he earned coach of the year at North Carolina.

20 minutes
Southern Miss is now 16-1 when leading at the break. Its lone loss came at UCF when the Golden Knights defeated Southern Miss with a late comeback.

Block Party
SMU was able to reject six of Southern Miss’ shots in the contest with Devon Pearson, Ike Ofoegbu and Donatas Rackauskas swatting two a piece.