Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Southern Miss
Marshall Falls at Southern Miss 67-63
1/21/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2012
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Marshall outscored Southern Miss by eight points in the second half, but it wasn't enough as the Thundering Herd men's basketball team lost 67-63 in Hattiesburg Saturday night.
The loss was Marshall's second straight and first in a Conference USA game. The Herd fell to 13-6 overall and 4-1 in C-USA. USM improved to 17-3 overall and 4-1 in C-USA.
"It's a tough way to lose a game," said Marshall head coach Tom Herrion. "Our kids fought very hard. I thought we gave unbelievable effort. We settled into the game a little too late. Our defense in the second half was phenomenal. We rebounded the ball the way we're supposed to rebound the ball."
Coming off a game where it was outrebounded for the first time all season, Marshall got back to doing what it does well with a 43-34 advantage on the glass. However, the Herd shot just 55 percent (11-20) from the free throw line and 39 percent from the field.
Sophomore guard DeAndre Kane scored a game-high 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting including 2-of-5 from three-point range. He also added four rebounds and four assists.
Junior forward Nigel Spikes led the rebounding effort with a season-high 12, including four offensive, while playing 20 minutes off the bench.
Junior forward Dennis Tinnon came close to his ninth double-double of the season, but settled for nine points on 4-of-6 shooting and eight rebounds.
Southern Miss shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and held its largest lead of the game, 42-26 with 1:20 to play before heading into halftime up 42-30.
Marshall's defense held Southern Miss without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes. The drought lasted from the 1:54 mark of the first half to the 12:58 mark of the second. Still, during that stretch Marshall was unable to get any closer than six points due to strong free throw shooting by Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles entered the game leading C-USA in free throw accuracy and shot 69 percent (20-29) on Saturday.
The Herd made it close towards the end with a trio of three-point buckets.
Shaquille Johnson hit a three-pointer with 2:12 remaining to cut the Southern Miss lead to 62-57. On Marshall's next possession, Kane drained a three-pointer to cut the Golden Eagles' lead to 64-60 with 1:38 remaining.
After a missed three by Southern Miss, Tinnon was forced to attempt his first three-pointer of the season and made it to get within one-point, 64-63 with 47 seconds to play.
However, USM's Neil Watson drained a three-pointer to give his team a four-point lead with 18 seconds to play. Kane missed a three-pointer on the other end as Southern Miss never trailed in the game and improved to 10-0 at home this season.
Johnson finished the game with seven points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Yous Mbao made three free-throws for a season-high three points. He also recorded two blocks to add to team-high season total of 19.
Watson lead the Golden Eagles with 18 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals. LaShay Paige joined Watson in double figures with 15 points.
Marshall will next be in action on Wednesday as it hosts UAB at 7 p.m. ET.
