There aren’t many times where a team dominates every aspect of a game. However, Southern Miss controlled every possession as they beat William Carey, 99-54 Sunday afternoon at Reed Green Coliseum.
The Golden Eagles, who were coming off a 67-62 win over Houston Baptist in part of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic, did not deter from their winning ways.
Southern Miss took control from the tip, jumping out to a 14-8 lead five minutes into the game. After a timeout, the Golden Eagles went on a 10-0 run to make the lead 24-8 and begin what would be a debacle of the Crusaders.
William Carey only scored 19 more points in the first half which paled in comparison to USM’s offense. The Golden Eagles scored 50 points with 5:43 remaining in the second half.
Southern Miss dominated the first half and led 61-27 at halftime. Guard Chip Armelin scored 12 points in the first half. Neil Watson, who only played 6 minutes in the first half, went 4-4 from 3-point range to add 12 points as well. The team shot an impressive 68 percent from the floor and 58 percent from behind the arch.
The second half featured much of what took place in the first half. Southern Miss continued to dominate every phase of the game. The Golden Eagles produced 29 points off 29 turnovers and out-rebounded the Crusaders 35-29 while the bench added 25 points.
Guard Jeremiah Dunnings scored 11 points and forward Detrick Davis added 9 points as the high scorers for the Crusaders. William Carey shot 42 percent from the field and just 29 percent from 3-point land.
Armelin led all scorers for Southern Miss with 16 points for the game, followed by Neil Watson and Matt Bingaya with 14 points each. In addition, three players finished in double figures that afternoon. Southern Miss shot a superb 63 percent from the field.
The Golden Eagles (6-0) look to remain undefeated as they travel to Louisville, Ky., to take on the Louisville Cardinals on Nov. 29. The third-ranked defending National Champion Cardinals are coming off a 93-84 loss to North Carolina.
Projected lottery pick Russ Smith scored 36 points in the neutral court loss for the Cardinals. Defending him will be difficult, but the matchup will provide USM with a measuring stick with how they fare against a top-tier program.
Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. Friday night.