SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
72, EAST CAROLINA 60 |
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Inside
Game Day Wednesday, January
25, 2012
By Al Myatt |
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Southern Miss prolongs ECU's struggle
By
Al Myatt
©2012 Bonesville.net
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GREENVILLE — It's been said that there are
lies, damn lies and statistics, the inference being that statistics can
be misleading.
That wasn't the case as Southern Miss won its 18th game of the season,
72-60, over East Carolina in Williams Arena of Minges Coliseum on
Wednesday night.
The Pirates avoided the slow start that characterized their mode of
operation early in the Conference USA schedule but with 2:35 left in the
first half, ECU had made two of nine 3-point attempts while the Golden
Eagles had dropped five of eight. Southern Miss was 8 for 8 at the free
throw line while the Pirates were 1 for 3. ECU was getting outrebounded
26-12.
At that moment in time, the statistics were very truthful and it was no
mystery as to why early Pirate leads of 13-7 and 15-9 had turned into a
33-23 deficit.
ECU coach Jeff Lebo didn't know Wednesday afternoon if he would be able
to coach because a left eye infection had limited his vision. The
condition cleared up and Lebo wore glasses for the game. I was wondering
if he might go for the Pirate look with an eye patch but he wouldn't
have liked much of what he saw either way. As former ECU football coach
Steve Logan might put it, Stevie Wonder could see the issues the Pirates
are facing.
The consistent ills in an 0-6 C-USA start for ECU can be traced to the
limitations of personnel. It starts with a lack of frontcourt depth. The
Pirates lost 6-foot-8 South Carolina transfer Austin Steed when his
reported GPA of 2.85 was not good enough for him to continue his
graduate studies. He became ineligible at semester break. Robert Sampson
continues to struggle with areas of the game that require touch because
of a thumb brace on his left shooting hand. Maurice Kemp, who is 6-8 but
weighs just 180 pounds is a little "light in the tail" as Lebo describes
it, which limits him physically inside.
Yasin Kolo, a 6-10 freshman, went out early with a foot condition.
The frontcourt deficiencies resulted in 40 minutes for senior center
Darrius Morrow, who provided 14 points and 11 rebounds in another
workmanlike effort. At this point, the question is who can Lebo sub for
him?
The manner in which teams usually compensate for lack of size include
outrunning opponents or extending defensive pressure, neither of which
have been viable solutions.
Pirate point guard Miguel Paul is a jet on the dribble but the players
filling the lanes in fast break situations don't beat opposing defenses
down the floor. Lebo said foes are aware of taking that area of attack
away from ECU.
Lack of depth is a factor that eliminates the defensive pressure option
for lengthy periods. It's simply too exhausting for the Pirates to play
94 feet for 40 minutes.
ECU has sought to overcome its weaknesses with good shooting. Other than
Paul's 3-for-4 effort from behind the arc on Wednesday night, the
Pirates were 1-for-10 from distance. That won't get it done.
The Pirates made 52.9 percent of their field goal attempts in a 78-76
loss at Southern Miss in the league opener on Jan. 4. ECU finished 20 of
47 for 42.6 percent in the sequel at home.
"I just thought we were fortunate that they missed shots," said USM
coach Larry Eustachy, who said this is the best team he's had in eight
seasons with the Golden Eagles.
As ECU slipped to 9-10 overall, the caliber of competition should be
taken into consideration. Southern Miss is balanced with five players
averaging in double figures. Five scored in double figures against the
Pirates but it wasn't all of the same five who lead team scoring for the
season. That means a lot more for opposing coaches to deal with than ECU
is presenting at the moment. Eustachy said the defensive focus was
primarily on Paul, who had 21 points, and Morrow. Erin Straughn helped
ECU make a mild rally in the second half and assumed the third scoring
spot, often manned by Kemp. Straughn had 14 points. Kemp managed but
two.
The Pirates' personnel isn't going to change until more size and
shooting ability became available next season.
ECU travels to Alabama-Birmingham for an 8 p.m. game Saturday and at
least no one seems to be saying that something can't be salvaged from
the season.
As Morrow alluded, ECU was 11-9 on Jan. 26 last season but went on to
finish 18-16 for its first winning record since 1996-97. He made the
point that this year's record is comparable.
Paul said he has no regrets about transferring from Missouri, although
the Tigers are currently 18-2 and ranked No. 2 nationally.
"It's tough on everybody," Lebo said of the six-game losing streak. "We
just need one win to feel good about ourselves. ... There's no magic
dust we can sprinkle on them. We've just got to keep working."
BOX
SCORE
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI 72, EAST CAROLINA 60
Date:
Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012
Place: Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum, Greenville, NC
Attendance: 4,235
Records: ECU 9-10 (0-6 Conference USA); USM 18-3 (5-1)
SCORE BY PERIODS 1 2 FINAL
Southern Miss 38
34 - 72
East Carolina
23 37 - 60
SOUTHERN
MISS GOLDEN EAGLES
#
PLAYER FG 3PT FT R PTS MIN
......................... ..
... .. . ... ...
24 Mills, Jonathan..... f 5-10 0-0
3-4 8 13 23
00 Page, LaShay........ g 3-7
2-5 4-4 1 12 40
01 Bolden, Maurice..... g 3-7
0-1 2-2 11 8 30
12 McGill, Rashard..... g 0-3
0-0 0-0 0 0 7
23 Johnson, Angelo..... g 1-5
0-1 0-0 5 2 29
02 Dodson, Darnell....... 4-9
2-3 0-0 6 10 14
05 Watson, Neil.......... 4-7
1-2 2-3 2 11 33
10 Jenkins, Cedric....... 2-4
2-2 0-0 6 6 12
15 Pelham, Torye......... 1-3
0-0 8-10 2 10 12
TEAM.....................
2
TOTALS................... 23-55 7-14 19-23 43
72 200
PERCENT.................. 41.8 50.0
82.6
EAST
CAROLINA PIRATES
#
PLAYER FG 3PT FT R PTS MIN
......................... ..
... .. . ... ...
01 Morrow, Darrius..... f 6-10 0-0
2-6 11 14 40
12 Sampson, Robert..... f 0-0
0-0 0-0 1 0 15
00 Paul, Miguel........ g 5-11 3-4
8-9 1 21 30
20 Bowden, Shamarr..... g 1-6
1-4 2-4 1 5 29
23 Straughn, Erin...... g 6-8
0-2 2-3 4 14 34
02 Kemp, Maurice......... 0-3
0-1 2-2 1 2 19
11 Gaines, Corvonn....... 1-4
0-1 0-0 3 2 15
22 CAMPBELL, Paris....... 1-5
0-2 0-0 1 2 12
35 Morales, Darius....... 0-0
0-0 0-0 0 0 6
TEAM.....................
3
TOTALS................... 20-47 4-14 16-24 26
60 200
PERCENT.................. 42.6 28.6
66.7
Fouled
out: None
Technical Fouls: None
Officials: Les Jones, Jeff Smith, J.B. Caldwell |
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01/27/2012 01:29:24 AM
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