Southern Miss's whiteout game

|Jack Duggan, Assistant Athletic Director/Media Relations

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Southern Miss men’s basketball team returns to Reed Green Coliseum for the first of three consecutive home games, Saturday, when they entertain Louisiana Tech in the school’s annual WHITEOUT contest. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

The first 3,000 fans in attendance receive an official WHITEOUT game t-shirt. Also, the contest will be the annual Take a Kid to the Game for Free, where any child, age 12 and under, will receive a free ticket to this game with the purchase of an adult single game ticket as part of a promotion packed Saturday.

The Golden Eagles (5-11 overall, 2-3 Conference USA) have won two of their last three contests, including a 66-60 decision at FIU last Saturday in which the squad overcame a four-point halftime deficit.

The team tries to avenge an 87-57 loss to the Bulldogs (13-5, 2-3) earlier this month in Ruston, looking to also snap a four-game losing streak to LA Tech. Southern Miss does lead the overall series 42-35, including a 30-5 record against LA Tech in Hattiesburg.

Redshirt senior Kourtlin Jackson (Des Moines, Iowa) continues to lead the team in scoring at 11.3 points per contest, while averaging 4.3 rebounds per game. Jackson tallied 23 points at FIU, giving him five double-digit scoring performances over his last six games.

Khari Price, a redshirt junior from Slidell, La., ranks second on the team in scoring at 9.8 points a tilt, to go along with 3.0 rebounds and a team-best 3.5 assists per game. Sophomore Keljin Blevins (Hot Springs, Ark.) adds 6.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest for the Golden Eagles.

Since defeating Southern Miss back on Jan. 2, the Bulldogs come into Hattiesburg having lost three of their last four contests, including a last-minute heartbreak at Florida Atlantic, 63-61, this past Saturday in Boca Raton.

Senior Alex Hamilton leads four LA Tech players in double-figure scoring at 18.2 points, while adding 5.6 rebounds. Redshirt junior Erik McCree, who scored 30 points between the two schools in the first meeting this season, ranks second with a 15.7 point average, while Qiydor Davis ranks third at 10.6 points, but who is not expected to play in this contest, and sophomore Dayon Griffin at 10.3 points.

The game will be televised on ASN and can be seen in Hattiesburg on MyTV (Channel 218 on Comcast), as well as Bounce in Meridian, MyTV in Columbus and Cox Sports TV in Greenwood. The game will also be distributed through regional sports networks, MASN2 and Comcast Sport Net Bay Area. The game is also available online at SouthernMiss.com for All-Access subscribers.

Following the LA Tech game, Southern Miss returns home next Thursday, Jan. 28, when they entertain UTEP in a 7 p.m., contest.