‘I really got tired of losing.’ Southern Miss picks up 1st D1 win under Jay Ladner.
Ten games into the Jay Ladner era, Southern Miss basketball fans got their first chance to appreciate a significant win.
USM (3-7) topped Southern Illinois 72-69 Saturday at Reed Green Coliseum to give the Golden Eagles their first victory over a Division I program this season.
Senior forward Leonard Harper-Baker had the prettiest line of the day with 20 points and 11 rebounds, but it was the play of junior guard LaDavius Draine that should help Ladner sleep better at night.
Draine put up 12 points, hitting three of five 3-point attempts to give the Golden Eagles the outside threat that they badly need.
The Calhoun City native showed signs of breaking out of an early slump when he hit nine of 16 3-pointers against Gonzaga and Seton Hall in the Bahamas, but he again struggled over the last two losses against Alabama and Tulane, hitting just a single 3-pointer and two of his last 16 attempts from the field.
His 0-for-8 showing in a 61-56 loss to Tulane on Wednesday may have been his low point of the season.
On Saturday, he didn’t hit his first basket until he nailed a 3-pointer with 1:49 left in the first half.
“When I made my first one, the basket got bigger for me,” Draine said. “The past couple of practices, I’ve been shooting it pretty good and it translated to the game.”
Draine was one of the nation’s better 3-point shooters a year ago, making 46.4 percent from the field. After Saturday’s game, he stood at 31.4.
Even though Draine has been inconsistent with his shot, Ladner has tried to be hands off in his approach with the 2018-19 Conference USA Co-Sixth Man of the Year.
“Even when I was coaching at St. Stanislaus, if I had guys I knew could shoot the ball, I never said much to them,” Ladner said. “One thing we’ve worked with LaDavius on here lately after watching him a lot on film, is his feet weren’t balanced. Last year you had a Tyree Griffin that could live in the lane. He had more time to catch and shoot. We don’t have that this year. We don’t have that point guard play that can help him create. He’s having to do things a little faster than he’s comfortable with. Early on, he didn’t make that adjustment and it affected him. Now, in practice he’s really working on getting his feet set and getting rid of it a little quicker.
“I have never made one issue with him about not shooting the ball. I told him, ‘Just make sure you’re shooting open shots and I’ll never say a word to you. You’re a good shooter. You keep shooting until I tell you to quit.’”
The Salukis (4-6) from the Missouri Valley Conference jumped out to a 24-7 lead at the 11:05 mark of the first half, but USM responded with one of its biggest runs of the season to take the lead at 28-27 on a 3-pointer by Harper-Baker with 3:45 left in the first half.
Southern Illinois erased a 65-55 lead for USM with 4:43 remaining, tying the game at 67-67 on a Harwin Francois jumper with 1:59 remaining. He also gave the Salukis a 69-67 lead with a pair of free throws with 1:27 remaining.
Draine hit one of two free throws with 1:09 left to cut the lead to 69-68 and Tyler Stevenson, who was fouled on on a lay-up attempt, put the Golden Eagles in the lead for good by hitting both of his free throw tries with 26 seconds left.
After earning a steal and getting fouled on the way to the rim, Draine hit both of his free throws with seven seconds on the clock to put the game to bed.
The 20-point performance by Harper-Baker was a season high for him.
“I was just locked in,” the Detroit native said. “I really got tired of losing and I wanted to make a difference for my team.”
Forward Marcus Domask led Southern Illinois with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
Saturday’s win marked the first time that USM has beaten a Missouri Valley team since a 77-71 overtime game against Evansville in Hattiesburg in 1999.
USM injury report
Southern Miss senior forward Boban Jacdonmi, who is averaging 12.4 points and 6.4 rebounds, missed his second consecutive game with a high ankle sprain, but Ladner said there’s a good shot he’ll return for the Dec. 14 home game against North Florida.
“He’s made great progress,” Ladner said. “We don’t play for another week. He should easily be ready to go by next Saturday, but with a high ankle sprain you can never say for sure. We need him.”
In Jacdonmi’s absence, 6-foot-8 Stevenson proved up to the task on the offensive end with 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting.
While Jacdonmi may be close to returning, Ladner was concerned that he may have lost arguably his best freshman in guard Angel Smith.
“We’re not sure if he has a broken his wrist or not,” he said. “He’s on his way to get X-rays right now.”
Smith got the start, but played only three minutes before leaving with the injury.
Sophomore point guard Gabe Watson played well off the bench in his absence, coming up with 14 points, five assists and three rebounds.
This story was originally published December 7, 2019 at 6:14 PM.
