The Golden Eagles offense’s 42-point second half was not enough to beat the Rice Owls, who are ranked No. 25 in the nation in points per game, with a 61 – 58 loss.
Southern Miss started the game with a quick 3 – 0 lead, but Rice answered with a 17 – 0 run. Rice’s man-to-man defense kept Southern Miss in check for the entire first half. The offense looked leaderless without their senior point guard Khari Price, who missed the game due to a finger injury.
“The first half was just brutal offensively, [and] we never got into any kind of rhythm,” said Head Coach Doc Sadler.