Southern Miss’ road record fell to an even 3-3 after a 71-56 loss in the first conference game of the season against Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

The game opened with a jump shot made by redshirt junior forward Boban Jacdonmi with an assist from redshirt senior Tyree Griffin. A minute later, redshirt senior Kevin Holland made a three-point shot to extend the team’s early lead to 5-0. However, the Bulldogs took an 8-5 lead at the 16:39 mark and held the lead for the remainder of the first half, going into halftime with a 33-27 lead over Southern Miss.

The Golden Eagles continued to trail the Bulldogs for the remainder of the game. Louisiana Tech outscored Southern Miss 38-29 in the second half. Head Coach Doc Sadler also pulled the Southern Miss starters at the 11:30 mark of the half and the game ended in a 71-56 win for the Bulldogs.

“The bottom line is that if we don’t bring more energy and passion than that, especially in the second half, you’re not going to have any success at home or on the road,” Sadler said.  “Louisiana Tech is playing as well as anybody in the league. You knew they were going to bring everything, and if you don’t exceed that energy or even match it, it’s going to be tough.”

Senior Cortez Edwards put up 10 points for the Golden Eagles in the game, including two free throw shots and three rebounds. Sophomore LaDavius Draine scored a team-high 13 points in the contest and made three three-point jump shots along with two free throw shots.

Holland also went 3-for-4 from the field for a total of nine points against Louisiana Tech. Freshmen Tyler Stevenson and LaDarius Marshall each totaled nine minutes of play in the contest.

Following the loss, the Golden Eagles’ overall record stands at 8-5 with a conference record of 0-1. Southern Miss will continue its six-game road series as they travel to Houston, Texas on Jan. 3 to play Rice.