HATTIESBURG – (AP) Jonathan Mills didn’t expect to hear a referee’s whistle blowing counterpoint to the game-ending buzzer as red neon framed the backboard just above his head.
“I was surprised; I was,” the Southern Mississippi forward said. “I thought maybe time had run out because I didn’t know how much time was left on the clock before I threw it up.”
The shot, which followed a missed 3-pointer by Angelo Johnson, didn’t go in, but Rice forward Arsalan Kazemi was called for a foul on the play by longtime official Tom O’Neill. With less than a second remaining, Mills dropped in two free throws to give the Golden Eagles a 58-56 Conference USA victory over the Owls before 3,965 at Green Coliseum.
“That was just a great, great, ugly win,” said Southern Miss coach Larry Eustachy, who was lifted onto his team’s shoulders in celebration of his 400th career victory. “We’re just not completely right, right now, but we’ve been fighting through these games, and (Saturday), we won.”
In doing so, Southern Miss (23-6, 10-4) snapped a two-game losing streak while improving to 14-0 on its home court.
Rice (16-13, 7-7), which trailed 29-21 at halftime, lost for just the third time in its last eight games.
Rice coach Ben Braun said he was disappointed to see the call at the end.
“I didn’t think it was that obvious a call, but that’s just my opinion, from where I was, and I had the worst seat in house,” Braun said. “So, I’ll reserve judgment until I see the tape, but you’d just like to see the players decide that one.”
Eustachy said he had just seen a tape of the end of the game in the locker room, and “he was fouled. It was a great call, and a gutsy call, by a veteran guy, and he deserves a lot of credit.”
In the final 15 seconds, both teams had a chance to break a 56-56 tie.
Rice forward Ahmad Ibrahim missed a wide-open 3-pointer with Mills grabbing the rebound with 12.6 seconds to play.
After a timeout, Southern Miss guard Angelo Johnson dribbled down the clock before launching his errant 3-pointer.
Mills said he wasn’t nervous as he went to the line.
“Not at all,” said Mills, who finished with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds. “Coach loosened me up with his dance. When we were in the (team) circle, he did this little dance.”
Eustachy smiled when asked about his shimmy.
“I had to do something because he looked like he was trying to swallow a goat,” Eustachy said. “I just told him we’d be dancing tonight when he hit those two free throws.”
Guard Neil Watson led Southern Miss with 14 points, while swingman Maurice Bolden added 10 points and eight rebounds.
Guard Dylan Ennis led Rice with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Kazemi added 17 points and nine rebounds.
Southern Miss played without its leading scorer, junior guard LaShay Page, whose mother died earlier this week. Page, who averages 12.1 points per game, also was expected to miss the Golden Eagles’ final two regular-season games.
Rashard McGill finished with nine points and five rebounds in Page’s place.
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