Cougars travel to division
leader
By Crystal J. Doucette
Daily Cougar Staff
The leading team in Conference USA will
be facing the UH Cougars tonight.
Head coach Ray McCallum and his squad travel
to Hattiesburg, Miss., to take on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles for the
first time in what may be their toughest match this season.
"Theyive done a great job of defending
their home court," McCallum said.
Southern Miss is undefeated in eight games
in the Reed Green Coliseum and sits atop the National Division of Conference
USA. The Golden Eagles (4-1 C-USA, 14-3 overall) defeated Louisville 69-60
on Sunday to mark their best 17-game start since the 1990-91 season.
"Weire going in to face, at this time,
the best defensive team in the conference," McCallum said.
The Golden Eagles have held their opponents
to an average of only 59 points per game, 57 per conference matchup. With
such tough players as senior center Vandarel Jones, senior guard Mel Cauthen
and senior forward David Wall, Southern Miss is as tough offensively as
it is defensively.
Max Lacayo/The Daily Cougar
Junior guard Dominic Smith
jump-stops during the UH vs. Texas game. Smith has been a strong offensive
force for the Cougars this season.
Wall is averaging 15.8 points per game
and leads the team in field goals and 3-pointers made for the season. Jones
holds the top shooting percentage with .578 and is second in scoring with
11.6 per game.
Cauthen averages 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals
per game. He and Jones are the only Golden Eagles to start every contest
on the five senior-rich team.
"(Itis) a veteran team with Cauthen in
the point guard position, Jones on the interior and Wall at the wing spot,"
McCallum said. "Itis going to be a major challenge for us.
"We have to not turn the ball over and
we need Dominic (Smith) to continue to play well," he said.
A McCallum recruit from Paris Junior College,
Smith is a conference leader in free throw shooting, ranked No. 19 in NCAA
rankings. Heis averaging 15.3 points per game in C-USA contests and has
earned his position as starting point for the Cougars.
"He has really made a tremendous improvement,"
McCallum said. "Weive been really pleased with the progress that heis made."
Smith averages 3.4 assists per game and
leads the team in three-point percentage and minutes played with 30.9 per
game. The Cougars canit expect Smith to carry the team, as shown in their
loss to Memphis on Saturday, when he scored a career-high 22 points.
"We need George (Williams) to continue
to play well and we need a couple of other players to give us a lift offensively,"
McCallum said.
The NCAA decision on senior Kenny Youngeris
appeal was announced to the team Tuesday.
"Heis been a great competitor and a great
teammate," McCallum said. "Itis just unfortunate because we really wanted
him to be a part of the team this year."
