The Southern Miss Golden Eagles officially joined the growing pool of bubble teams leading up to Selection Sunday. They were slated as an 11-seed according to SB Nation's latest bracketology rankings heading into Friday's 2012 Conference USA Tournament Championship Game. A 73-62 loss to the Marshall Thundering Herd put their postseason fate in serious jeopardy, however.
Conference USA Tournament Bracket Update: Marshall Earns Automatic Bid With Upset Over Southern Miss
The two teams went back-and-forth throughout the first half, with the Herd taking a one-point lead into the locker room. They would pull away in the game's second stanza, taking a 68-58 lead with 3:26 remaining on a 21-6 run. Shaquille Johnson scored 10 points during the run, on his way to team-leading the 24 points. He went 4-for-6 from beyond the 3-point arc, and Marshall went 9-for-17 for the game.
Southern Miss had just three turnovers to 17 for Marshall, and were dominant on the glass with 17 offensive rebounds. They shot just 34.2 percent from the floor, however. Angelo Johnson scored 24 points on 11-for-17 shooting, but none of his other teammates came close to making 50 percent of their shots. Neil Watson led the team in scoring this season, but went 3-of-12 shooting to finish up with nine points.
For complete coverage of the 2012 Conference USA Tournament, stay tuned to this StoryStream or visit SB Nation’s dedicated NCAA basketball hub.
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