Bearkats Loses To Southern Miss. 61-49

by Cheval John

In the second game of the Progressive Legends classic, Southern Mississippi Eagles defeated Sam Houston State Bearkats 61-49.

The win increase the Eagles record to 4-0 while the Bearkats drop to 1-3.

The Eagles, who beat the Georgia Bulldogs 62-60 in OT, shot 50% from the field and went 6 of 19 from the three-point line.

Southern Miss outscored the Bearkats 28-4 in the paint.

“We’re really getting pounded inside on the glass,” head coach Jason Hooten said.

“The point guard (Darius Gatson) was the lead rebounder with six, that’s not good.”

Both teams came out of the gate and exchanged a total of 10 points early in the first half.

Then Southern Miss. exploded with a 14-3 run to lead it 19-8.

The Eagles didn’t look back as their defense kept the Kats out of rythm for the entire game.

The closest the Bearkats came toward tying the game late in the second half.

The Eagles was leading 45-40 when the Bearkats went on a 6-2 run to cut the lead at 47-44 courtesy of Nathaniel Mason.

But Southern Miss. was too much as they closed it out on two clutch three-pointers by Dwayne Davis and the relentless scoring by Jonathan Mills.

Davis finished the game with 27 points, four rebounds, two steals and two assists while Mills scored 12 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

Jeremy McKay led the Kats with 10 points.

The sub-regional of the Progressive Legends Classic continues tomorrow as UC-Irvine faces Southern Miss. at 5 p.m. and the Bearkats facing Liberty Flames at 7 p.m.

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