In a physical battle to the very end, Southern Miss prevailed in a 68-57 war with Texas State to advance to 12-0 at home.
The goal for the team prior to the season was to be .500 or better at home according to Southern Miss head coach Jay Ladner. With an undefeated home record and just three games at Reed Green Coliseum remaining, the worst Southern Miss can finish at home is .750. The Southern Miss faithful have let the team hear it, as the attendance eclipsed 4,200 in each game of this four-game homestand.
“That’s four-straight games we’ve had 4,200 (fans) or better which I think is the top attendance we’ve had in the last nine years. The crowd… you can’t even get off the floor because of the community involvement and so-forth,” Ladner said. “I’m thankful and grateful for our crowds. They’ve been outstanding, and our players have been feeding off that.”
It was a contest where Southern Miss failed to play their cleanest game, but they still managed to come out with a nine-point victory thanks to strong defense down the stretch. The Golden Eagles ended the game on a 14-3 run before putting away the game Bobcats.
“We got guys that can rebound and guys that can defend at a high level, no matter who it is – big or small,” Guard Austin Crowley said. “Coach Juan [Cardona’s] attitude makes us want to play more defense. In the last couple of minutes, we locked in and played the best.”
“In the past, if it came down to that, we probably would have folded and lost by 20. We would have disappointed all the fans and never had another fan in there,” Forward Deandre Pinckney said. “One thing I can say about this team is that we
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