Cards too much for USM
By By Stan Caldwell / EMG Sports Writer
Jan. 30, 2003
HATTIESBURG When you're a basketball team trying to stitch together a huge upset, sometimes the threads can be mighty thin.
That was the case for the University of Southern Mississippi men Wednesday night against eighth-ranked Louisville.
The Golden Eagles stayed in the game for most of the first half, but a small letdown at the end of the half set the Cardinals up for a big second half as they ripped USM 94-65 in a Conference USA game at Reed Green Coliseum.
A crowd of 6,308, the largest of the season, gave the Eagles a boost early, as USM led by five points with six minutes gone in the game.
But when Louisville started finding the range from outside, the Eagles couldn't keep up. The win kept Louisville undefeated in C-USA at 6-0 (15-1 overall), while USM dropped to 9-8 and 2-4.
The Cardinals shot the lights out from 3-point range practically all night in winning their 14th straight game, the second longest winning streak
in the country. UL hit 12-of -27 from behind the arc, including 7-of-13 in the second half.
The chief bombardier for Louisville was senior guard Erik Brown, who swished 5-of-5 from 3-point range to finish with a game-high 22 points.
Fueled by the big crowd, USM had a good start. Greg Johnson converted a pair of jump shots to twice give the Eagles a five-point advantage, first at 9-4 and then at 12-7. But each time, UL came down and made a 3-pointer, first by Reece Gaines and then by Brown.
Brown converted three jump shots, the second a trey, scoring all the points in an 10-2 run that put Louisville ahead for good. USM cut the margin to a single point, but a 7-2 run gave the Cards some breathing room.
Still, the Golden Eagles cut a nine-point deficit to three with an 8-2 run late in the half. Freshman Jason Forte of Bay Springs converted two foul shots with 51 seconds left to make it 38-35.
Brown came down and nailed a 3-pointer from the left baseline, then a turnover by USM led to a basket by Ellis Myles to give UL a 43-35 lead at halftime.
Indeed. The Cards came out the first five minutes of the second half and smoked the Eagles with a 13-5 run, helped by another trey by Brown and USM never recovered.
And like sharks, the Cardinals turned the rest of the game into a feeding frenzy, building as much as a 33-point lead before Pitino called off the dogs with two minutes to play.
USM was hoping Louisville might overlook Wednesday's game, since the Cards had a big road win last Saturday at Tennessee, and follow USM with home games Saturday against Indiana and a big C-USA showdown against Cincinnati on Wednesday. But that was not the case.
Charles Gaines led USM with 15 points and 13 rebounds; Greg Johnson had 13 points and Jasper Johnson had 12. Reece Gaines had 16 points and 11 assists for Louisville, and Marvin Stone added 16 points and 11 rebounds.
USM will hope to halt its four-game skid on Saturday when it travels to Memphis for a 1 p.m. tipoff.
