Less than 24 hours after the Miners suffered a meltdown in the final minutes, losing 74-66 (OT) in their C-USA opener, the team found redemption by dominating the Golden Eagles, 77-62, on Saturday and splitting the series.
It was the first time the Miners had won against Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, Miss. since Feb. 24, 2010.
The game was really balanced for UTEP scorers, seeing point guard Jamal Bieniemy lead the way with 20 points, seven assists and no turnovers. Souley Boum (17 points), Bryson Williams (10) and Tydus Verhoeven (11) all scored in double figures for the Miners. The team shot 51% (27-of-53) from the floor as a whole today, far better than shooting just 36% (25-of-69) on Friday.
The University of Southern Mississippi came back from down seven points with less than a minute to play and went on to down the University of Texas-El Paso in overtime, 74-66.
2021/01/02 12:47 HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) Tae Hardy made a shot with 4:23 remaining in overtime to give Southern Miss a lead they would not relinquish en route to a 74-66 win over UTEP on Friday night. The Golden Eagles’ Jaron Pierre Jr. made a layup to even the contest at 60-all with 15 seconds left in regulation and send the game to overtime. Tyler Stevenson had 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Golden Eagles. Jaron Pierre Jr. had 15 points and six rebounds for Southern Miss (5-3, 1-0 Conference USA), which won its fourth consecutive game. DeAndre Pinckney added 11 points and 10 rebounds. Hardy had 11 points. LaDavius Draine had six points and 11 rebounds.
Southern Miss holds on for 74-66 win over UTEP in OT theparisnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theparisnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Let me preface this by saying it is very early in the 2020-21 college basketball season and a lot can happen between now and March, including the season getting suspended as COVID numbers rise around the country. That being said, Miners fans saw a men s basketball team last night that reminded them of every other UTEP squad they have watched over the last 10 years.
The team s extended scoring droughts, defensive shortcomings, and lack of adjustments were on full display as they could not overcome a St. Mary s team that looked polished, well disciplined, and in-sync all game long. It should not have come as much of a surprise since Randy Bennett is nearly unbeatable on his home court and his teams had been to the postseason 11 straight years prior to COVID canceling the season back in March. Still, the Gaels lost 72% of their scoring from the 2019-20 team, but you would have never known that while watching them dissect UTEP. Tommy Kuhse looked more like Bob Cousy as he set a career