Eagles look for rare win at Fogleman Arena

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss returns to the road tonight, when they travel roughly 100 miles south to New Orleans to take on rival Tulane. The Golden Eagles have won four of their last five games and look to hold that momentum going into Fogleman Arena. A win tonight would give Southern Miss their first season sweep of the Green Wave since 2004.

In a series that dates back to 1948, the Eagles and Wave have met 45 times. The Wave hold a 39-26 all-time advantage and have won four of the last six between the two schools. The Eagles have struggled in Fogleman Arena winning only nine times in 32 tries. Earlier in the season the Eagles posted a 71-54, win in Hattiesburg.

The Golden Eagles (14-11, 8-6) are led by guard Jeremy Wise. The sophomore leads the team in scoring with 18.6 points per game. Right behind him is freshman R.L. Horton with 12.5, junior Courtney Beasley with 11.5 and sophomore Sai'Quon Stone at 8.4. Senior center Gijo Bain is beginning to round back into form after a mid-season foot injury slowed the 7-footer.

The Green Wave(15-10, 5-6) is riding a four game losing streak and coming off a 97-71 defeat against top-ranked Memphis.

The Green Wave is led by forward David Gomez. The senior leads the team with 14.9 points and 6.0 rebounds. Sophomore guard Kevin Sims is averaging 12.1 points and a team-leading 4.1 assists. Junior forward Robinson Louisme is also averaging 12.1 points.

When the two teams met in Hattiesburg earlier in the season it was Southern Miss that was on a four game skid. The used a 23-point performance by Wise to snap the losing streak by hanging a 71-54 loss on the Green Wave. The Eagles also managed to hold Wave big man David Gomes to his season low in scoring produciton (11 pts).

Southern Miss closes out the two-game road trip next Wednesday, February 27, when the Golden Eagles face Houston at 7:00 p.m. (CT) at Hofheinz Pavilion.