USM kicked off its two-game road trip against UTEP and UTSA this past weekend. The Golden Eagles dropped both games, putting their away record on the year at 2-10.
USM traveled to El Paso, Texas to take on the UTEP Miners on Thursday, losing in a close one, 78-73.
Three Golden Eagles would finish in double digits led by senior Kourtlin Jackson, who contributed 17 points while shooting an impressive 8-of-14 from the floor.
The Golden Eagles would see tough times early. They failed to muster a single basket in the first 5:38 of play, missing their first seven field goals.
With USM struggling, the Miners’ own Lee Moore and Earvin Morris proved to be too much for th Eagles as they single- handedly scored the first 13 points of the game, putting USM behind 13-0.
USM would not allow the scoring drought to affect them for a long period of time. Michael Ramey and Michael O’Donnell scored a combined 15 points in the last four minutes of the first half to help USM cut the deficit to only two, 36-34.
USM’s hot start at the end of the first period would carry on to the second half.
The Golden Eagles managed to score 12 of the first 16 points by both teams in the first period.
O’Donnell’s presence would be felt again as he drained a 3-pointer that sparked a 10-0 run for the Golden Eagles first lead of the game, 46-40.
A few more shots would fall for the Golden Eagles before turnovers and missed opportunities lead to a rally by the Miners.
Miner Dominic Artis capped the rally off with a steal around the eight minute mark. Artis’ steal would lead to four more consecutive scores to ultimately tie the game, 52-52.
Both teams would go back and forth with the lead until the final moments of the ball game. Late mistakes by the Golden Eagles would eventually cost them the game, 78-73. After a tough loss on Thursday, USM looked to bounce back two days later against UTSA.
Southern Miss and UTSA both came into the matchup with horrendous losing streaks. UTSA on a nine game losing streak and Southern Miss on a five game losing streak.
From the opening seconds, both teams displayed how determined they were to get a win, with each starting the game with a pair of 3-pointers.
After the hot start in the first few minutes, the Golden Eagles struggled to maintain the intensity and struggled to score points. The Roadrunners managed to put together a 11-0 run during USM scoring drought’s, putting them ahead 30-19 with 7:40 in the second period.
J.R. Harris and Ryan Bowie accumulated double digit points in the first half alone, shooting a combined 52 percent by themselves helping the Roadrunners lead grow.
UTSA would also connect on 10- of-15 from the three-point line in the first half. Southern Miss fell behind 42-31
going into the second half. Southern Miss’ early struggles would once again carry with them into the second half. USM missed their first nine shots while UTSA went on a 9-0 run to increase the lead, 51-31.
Much like the first half, USM struggled to score the ball. Shooting a mere 32 percent for the game, the Golden Eagles never managed to get the ball into the hoop.
UTSA on the other hand would have no problem scoring, shooting an impressive 51 percent from the floor and 64 percent from the 3-point line. The hot hand of UTSA would lead them to a 74-53 victory over The Golden Eagles.
Jackson would be the only Golden Eagle to break double digits. Not one Golden Eagle would shoot better than 40 percent or connect on a decent percentage from the 3-point line.
Southern Miss looks to end their losing streak next Thursday against Rice at Reed Green Coliseum.
