March 7, 2008

Southern Miss closes the regular season when it travels to Huntington, W.V. to face Marshall, Saturday at 6:00 p.m. (CT) in the Cam Henderson Center.

With a win, the Golden Eagles (16-13, 8-7 C-USA) will wrap up the fifth seed in the Conference USA Tournament.

Southern Miss and Marshall will face each other for just the seventh time in a series that dates back to 1951. The Thundering Herd leads the series, 4-2, but the Golden Eagles have won two of the last three meetings. In games played in Huntington, Marshall holds a 3-1 advantage. Last year, Southern Miss defeated Marshall, 83-73, in Hattiesburg.

The Golden Eagles are led by guard Jeremy Wise. The sophomore leads the team in scoring with 19.1 points per game. Right behind him is freshman R.L. Horton with 12.0, junior Courtney Beasley with 11.1. Craig Craft is at 8.4 points, while Sai'Quon Stone leads the team with 5.4 rebounds.

Last year, Southern Miss defeated Marshall, 83-73, in the 2006-07 regular season finale. The win gave head coach Larry Eustachy his 300th career victory. Jeremy Wise led five Golden Eagles in double-figures, with 19 points. Mark Dorris paced the Thundering Herd with a game-high 23 points.

Marshall (16-12, 8-7 C-USA) enters today's game with a 16-12 overall record, 8-7 in conference, and have won five of its last seven games. The Thundering Herd is led by guard Mark Dorris. The senior currently leads the team with 13.8 points per game. Junior forward Markel Humphrey is averaging 13.4 points and 5.6 rebounds. Freshman forward Tirrell Baines leads the team with 5.8 rebounds.

MU is coming off a 70-68 victory over Tulane. Humphrey and Baines led Marshall with 20 points. Dorris scored the 16 points, including the game-winning jumper with 1.6 seconds left. Tyler Wilkerson added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Following the regular season closer, Southern Miss will head to Memphis, Tenn. for the Conference USA Tournament. The tournament will be held at FedEx Forum, March 12-15.