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Final Game Statistics
Eagles Lose At Louisville, 76-42
LOUISVILLE, Ky. --
Southern Miss dropped its opening Conference USA game here tonight, a 76-42 decision to a nationally-ranked Louisville team that now has won 10-straight games, and 13-straight games at Freedom Hall.
The Cardinals improved to 10-1 with the victory.
Southern Miss (7-5) kept the game close in the early going, and led 10-9 with 15:53 left in the first half. However, Louisville quickly pushed ahead, and then put the game out of reach when the Golden Eagles went the final 7:31 of the first half and the first 5:21 of the second half without scoring. In that time, Louisville extended its lead to 50-19, leaving little in doubt except the final score.
"While you never like to lose, I thought we did some good things tonight," said Head Coach James Green. "We played hard throughout, and that was especially true of Charles Gaines. We also were able to plays some of our younger players, and that experience will be good for them as we get further into the season.
"This is a great atmosphere here (Freedom Hall), and there will be other teams that will come in here and have the same trouble we had tonight. We do have to learn and grow from this game, and I think we'll do that."
The Cardinals, who shot .463 from the floor, put only two players in double figures, but played 13 players, and 11 of those scored. Nate Daniels led the winners with 15 points and Taquan Dean added 11. Louisville also won the rebounding battle, 40-38, with three players pulling down six each and 12 players getting at least one.
Gaines topped Golden Eagle scorers with 12 points and led all rebounders with 10, his seventh double-double of the season. He also contributed four blocked shots while playing 32 minutes. Jasper Johnson added 11 points and no other Golden Eagle player had more than seven points. Southern Miss shot only .294 (15-51) in the game, and made just 6-of-14 free throws.
Following the Louisville game, the Eagles host Memphis in a 4 p.m., Saturday game that will be televised on ESPN. Then, it's back on the road for games at Saint Louis (Jan. 13) and against Marquette (Jan. 16), with that game scheduled for Green Bay, Wis.
