Louisville-No. 2 seed Southern Miss knocked Saint Louis out of the Ohio Casualty Group Conference USA postseason tournament this afternoon with a 63-54 decision at Louisville's Freedom Hall. C-USA Defensive Player of the Year Vandarel Jones scored 20 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and made the key defensive play of the game to send the Golden Eagles to a semifinal match-up with Charlotte.
"They've got a veteran team with a bunch of seniors, and their experience and maturity played a big role today," Billikens head coach Lorenzo Romar said. "We missed some good shots early, missed some free throws, got behind and then it was up hill the rest of the afternoon."
The Eagles forged a 33-25 halftime lead behind superior rebounding and free throw shooting. USM out-rebounded the Saint Louis 26-19 in the first half and watched the Billikens shoot only 4-10 from the line. Meanwhile, USM drilled 9-12.
Saint Louis clawed its way back into the game in the early stages of the second half by limiting the Eagles to a pair of three-point goals in the first 12 minutes. Steady free throw shooting allowed USM to maintain its lead, but senior SLU swingman Maurice Jeffers drained a pair of free throws with 7:57 remaining to pull the Bills within 44-42.
Saint Louis forward Justin Tatum rose high for the dunk that would have tied the game, but Jones blocked it cleanly. Southern Miss guard Brad Richardson drilled a triple at the other end, and USM regained its five-point lead.
The Billikens made one last surge when Jeffers hit a long trey to pull the Bills within 56-51 at the 2:26 mark. Jeffers attempted another three that would have pulled SLU within a bucket, but drew front iron. The Bills rebounded the long miss, and sophomore guard Josh Fisher passed up an open look at a three for a perfect delivery to center Chris Heinrich down low for a lay-up. Heinrich fumbled the pass, and Southern Miss came away with it.
Jeffers led the Bills with 21 points, and Heinrich added 10. The Billikens shot 38 percent from the floor, but only 61.9 percent from the free throw line.
USM's Jones dominated the interior with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Richardson sparked the Eagles off the bench with 14 points and four steals while senior point guard Mel Cauthen was plagued with foul trouble. USM shot only 34.7 percent from the field, but made up for it with 78.1 percent marksmanship from the free throw line. Southern Miss won the game by outscoring the Bills 25-13 from the line.
The Billikens (17-14) await the possibility of an NIT bid on Sunday.
