Jan. 25, 2008

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Having lost its last two games and six of its last seven, the Southern Miss looks to snap out of its recent struggles when they host Rice this Saturday in a 4:00 p.m. (CT) contest at Reed Green Coliseum.

This will be the fifth meeting between the two schools in a series that dates back to 1975. The Owls (3-15, 0-5 C-USA) lead the series, 3-1, and have won the last three meetings. In games played in Hattiesburg, the series is tied at one. Last year, Rice defeated the Golden Eagles, 70-55 in Houston.

Southern Miss (9-9, 1-3 C-USA) is led by guard Jeremy Wise. The sophomore leads the team in scoring with 18.2 points per game. Right behind him is freshman R.L. Horton with 12.1, junior Courtney Beasley with 11.2 and sophomore Sai'Quon Stone at 7.8. Gjio Bain leads Southern Miss on the boards, pulling down 7.0 rebounds a game.

Southern Miss is coming off an 83-47 loss at second-ranked Memphis last Saturday. The Golden Eagles began the game 1-of-7 from the field. But, the Golden Eagles got into a groove, taking a 12-9 lead seven minutes into the game. However, Memphis went on a 7-0 run over the next minute and a half to take a 16-12 lead. The teams then traded baskets for the next seven minutes, before the Tigers went on a 20-4 run to end the half ahead 44-23. Memphis led by as many as 40 in the second half before settling on the final score. Jeremy Wise and R.L Horton led Southern Miss with nine points. Andre Stephens added ten rebounds.

Rice enters today's game with a 3-15 record, 0-5 in conference play. The Owls are currently on an eight-game losing streak. Rice is led by forward Paulius Packevicius. The senior currently leads the team with 11.1 points per game and 9.8 rebounds. Junior guard Rodney Foster is averaging 10.1 points while leading the team with 2.3 assists. Senior forward Patrick Britton is averaging 5.1 rebounds.

Rice is coming off a 69-60 defeat at the hands of Houston. Packevicius led the way with 16 points and 20 rebounds, his eighth double-double of the year. The Owls also got 14 points from Britton and Foster. Lawrence Ghoram added ten points.

Southern Miss gets back to action next Wednesday. The Golden Eagles will travel to El Paso, Texas to take on UTEP January 30, at 8:05 p.m. (CT).