Golden Eagles Rout UTEP, 96-70 :: Jeremy Wise scored 22 points to lead Southern Miss

March 4, 2008

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Jeremy Wise had 22 points, and four other players scored double-digits, as Southern Miss defeated UTEP, 90-76, Tuesday night in its home finale at Reed Green Coliseum.

"I loved the attitude of our guys going into the game," said Southern Miss head coach Larry Eustachy. "We were gearing towards this game, even while we were preparing for Memphis. I thought we really set the tone. We were very determined, and when we concentrated, we played really well for long periods of time."

With the win, the Golden Eagles (16-13, 8-7 C-USA) snapped a two-game losing streak, and assured Southern Miss of its second consecutive winning season.

Southern Miss now sits in sole possession of fifth place in the conference with the rest of the league playing tomorrow night.

With the game tied at one, the Golden Eagles went on a 12-1 run. Southern Miss led by as many as 18 points (29-11) with 10:32 to play before heading into halftime ahead, 47-32.

The teams traded buckets through the first four minutes of the second half. However, Southern Miss went on a 20-3 run over the next five minutes to take its biggest lead of the game, 75-46, with 10:58 to play.

Along with Wise, R.L Horton scored 17 points, and Courtney Beasley scored 15. Andre Stephens recorded his second double-double in three games, scoring 13 points and pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds. Craig Craft added 12 points.

Stefon Jackson led the Miners (16-12, 7-8 C-USA) with 22 points. Marvin Kilgore scored 14, and Victor Ramlho added 10.

The Golden Eagles were 12-of-21 (54.7%) from the field, including a season-high 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from behind the three-point arc. They also outrebounded the Miners 41-23.

UTEP was held to 41.5 percent from the field, and a season-low 9.1 percent (1-11) fro behind the arc.

Southern Miss closes out the regular season schedule next on March 8. The Golden Eagles travel to Huntington, W.V. this Saturday to face Marshall in a 6:00 p.m. (CT) at the Cam Henderson Center.