Feb. 1, 2008

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss (10-10, 2-4 C-USA) begins a two-game homestand this Saturday. The Golden Eagles will face East Carolina (7-11, 1-4 C-USA) in a 4:00 p.m. (CT) contest at Reed Green Coliseum.

This will be the tenth meeting between the two schools in a series that dates back to 1971. The Pirates lead the series, 6-3, but the Golden Eagles have won the last three meetings. In games played in Hattiesburg, the series is tied at two. Last year, Southern Miss swept the series, defeating ECU in Hattiesburg, 83-72 before taking the second game, 80-42, in Greenville.

Southern Miss 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 12.2, junior Courtney Beasley with 11.5 and sophomore Sai'Quon Stone at 8.3. Gjio Bain leads Southern Miss on the boards, pulling down 6.6 rebounds a game.

Southern Miss is coming off a 90-79 defeat at UTEP on Wednesday. Jeremy Wise led the Golden Eagles with 19 points, six assists and five rebounds. Courtney Beasley had 18 points and seven rebounds. Craig Craft and Demar Dotson added ten points apiece. The Miners shot 55.6% (30-54) from the field, as well as 46.2% (12-26) from behind the arc. Southern Miss was 26-50 (52.0%) from the floor.

East Carolina enters today's game with a 7-11 record, 1-4 in conference play. The Pirates are led by guard Sam Hinnant. The junior currently leads the team with 11.4 points per game while grabbing 3.4 rebounds. Sophomore forward John Fields is averaging 9.2 points and 4.9 rebounds. Sophomore forward Gabe Blair leads the team with 7.4 rebounds.

ECU is coming off a 72-56 defeat at the hands of Tulane, extending its losing streak to three games. Senior guard Darrell Jenkins led the team with 12 points and five rebounds. Cory Farmer added nine points in the loss.

Southern Miss closes its two-game homestand next Tuesday, February 5. The Golden Eagles will host UAB at 7:00 p.m. in Reed Green Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on CSS.