March 8, 2008

Box Score

Box Score

HUNTINGTON, W.V. - Jeremy Wise led a group of four players in double-figures, as Southern Miss held off Marshall in a tightly contested game, 63-58, Saturday night at the Cam Henderson Center.

With the win, the Golden Eagles clinched the fifth seed in next week's Conference USA Tournament, as well as clinched back-to-back winning seasons in conference play for the first time since the inception of Conference USA.

Southern Miss (17-13, 9-7 C-USA) held Marshall to just one field goal over the final 6:48 of the game.

"We made some key baskets tonight," said Southern Miss head coach Larry Eustachy. "We made some adjustments, and you just can't say enough about how our players reacted to them. We were settling for outside shots in the second half, but we started to take the ball to the paint, and that was key for us."

The game was a back-and-forth affair throughout, as neither team held more than a five point lead. After Tyler Wilkerson's three-pointer gave Marshall a 5-4 lead, the team traded leads 11 times. A Jeremy Wise three-pointer gave the Golden Eagles a 14-9 lead, but Marshall came back to tie it at 18.

The Thundering Herd (16-13, 8-8 C-USA) took a 24-21 lead with five minutes remaining in the half. But Sai'Quon Stone lay-up at the 4:19 mark gave Southern Miss the lead for good, as the Golden Eagles closed the half on a 9-1 run to hold a 30-25 advantage at the break.

The second began once again with each team trading buckets. With Southern Miss ahead one, the Golden Eagles went on an 11-4 run, taking their biggest lead of the game, 45-37, eight minutes into the half.

Marshall battled back pulling to within one point on a Markel Humphrey free throw with 6:48 to play. But the Thundering Herd would get no closer.

Wise led Southern Miss with 16 points and five assists. Demar Dotson recorded his second career double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Courtney Beasley and Sai'Quon Stone added 11 points apiece. Stone also pulled down nine boards.

Marshall was led by senior Mark Dorris, who had 16 points. Tyler Wilkerson recorded a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Markel Humphrey added 11points.

Southern Miss will now head to Memphis, Tenn. for the Conference USA Tournament. The tournament begins, Wednesday, March 12 at the FedEx Forum. The Golden Eagles open the tournament against 12th-seeded Rice Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m.