HATTIESBURG, Miss.-Saint Louis senior guard Reggie Bryant knocked down a 14-foot floater with 1.2 seconds remaining as the Billikens knocked off Southern Miss 65-63 tonight in a Conference USA men's basketball game at Reed Green Coliseum. In posting their first C-USA road win of the year, the Bills snapped a two-game losing streak while extending the Golden Eagles losing skein to five.
"That's a senior stepping up in a big way at the end of the game," Billikens head coach Brad Soderberg said. "We didn't lose our composure when we were down early in the game, and we hung in there at the end when Southern Miss came after us."
Saint Louis appeared to be in good shape after Bryant drained a long threeball to put the Bills on top 42-28 at the 14:37 mark. A pair of turnovers and back-to-back treys from guard Michael Ford fueled a rally that eventually saw USM tie the game at 53 on forward Jasper Johnson's free throws with 6:09 to play.
With the Bills trailing 63-61 after USM senior guard David Haywood made just 1-of-2 free throws with one minute remaining, Bryant knocked down two tosses to knot the game with 50 seconds left. In the Eagles last possession, the Bills kicked the ball out of bound with 15 seconds to play, ensuring that USM could have the last shot. SLU guard Anthony Drejaj pressured Ford, who chose to drive to the basket rather than run the clock down. Ford missed the runner, and SLU controlled the rebound and called timeout with 13 ticks left. USM didn't double-team Bryant, whose rainbow from just inside the free throw line was all net. The Eagles didn't get a good look off the inbounds play, and the Bills escaped with the win.
"The play was just to get the ball to me out on the wing and let me work for a shot," Bryant said. "I wasn't supposed to go until the clock got to five, and I got a good look."
In the first half, Saint Louis got off to another slow start as the Billikens missed six shots from close range early. With the missed opportunities combined with five early SLU turnovers, USM jumped out to a 22-12 lead. With the Eagles leading 24-14 after a short jumper by Rashaad Carruth with 5:42 to play in the half, the Bills clamped down defensively and ended the half with a 15-0 run. SLU used interior scoring from sophomore center Ian Vouyoukas and senior forward Izik Ohanon combined with eight perimeter points from Bryant to build a 29-24 halftime edge.
Ford led Southern Miss (9-8, 0-5) with 21 points, while Carruth added 16 and Haywood popped in 11. The Eagles shot 4.2 percent from the field, 38.9 percent from three-point range and 85.7 percent from the free throw line. The Bills survived USM making 18-of-21 from the stripe in the second half.
Bryant finished with a game-high 24 points, while Ohanon chipped in with 18 and Vouyoukas added a career-high 13 points. Vouyoukas also topped the Bills with eight boards as SLU held a 25-23 edge on the glass.
The Billikens (4-12, 2-2) return to Savvis Center to entertain TCU on Sat., Jan. 22, at 7:10 p.m.
