The Student Printz November 16, 2022 | Volume 108 Issue 12

PARADE

Mold a major problem in campus dorms

BY CULLIN ROGERS SM2 STAFF

Mold has become a significant issue on the University of Southern Missis sippi’s campus. In this semester alone, complaints have been issued from every dorm on cam pus, as well as complaints from several fraternity and sorority houses.

Many students have claimed that the mold in their buildings have made them incredibly sick with some students even report ing that merely being in their dorms makes them feel signifi cantly worse.

Guillermo Munita, a fresh man exchange student living in USM’s Hillcrest dorm, stated that,”I have been sick from the black mold for the past several weeks. It is also affecting me financially as I had to pay $100 for tests and medication. I have also frequently missed my class es due to always being sick.”

A female student living in USM’s Lucky Day dorm stat ed that her roommate had a terrible cough for weeks.

“She would be up at night coughing so loud that it would wake me up at times,” she said. “I had congestion as well, but we had no idea it was mold until one day my roommate found a black dot while dusting near our vent. I removed the vent and was hit with the most foul smell, there was mold lining the entire vent. We put in an emergency request and when mainte

nance eventually came, all they did was get a rag and wipe the vent, with no further instruc tion on how to keep it at bay.”

Students living in the Sig ma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house filed a report on all the black mold in their house, and while USM did supposedly use mold-killing paint on some of the mold that was visible in the rooms, they did not paint over every area and reportedly did nothing about the mold in the student’s vents. When SAE

president Jacob Brogan then complained further about the mold, USM housing represen tative Teresa Crum responded, stating that their team had tested the house and that the spore count inside the house relative to outside is “excel lent”.

“We know from respond ing to other residence halls at the Village that a lot of the times students will report

Mold outside Guiller mo’s dorm.

SM2 reporter | Cullin Rogers

Mold found lining the vent in the Lucky Day dorms on campus.

SM2 reporter | Cullin Rogers

The Student Printz is the student-produced newspaper of the Southern Miss Student Media Center (SM2) in the School of Media and Communication at The University of Southern Mississippi. It is published every Wednesday morning and updated online at www.SM2media.com. The newspaper has been printed since 1927, serving the campus and community with news and information. Today, SM2 student journalists and media producers create and share stories with multiple medias on mul tiple

Opinions

Opinions expressed in The Student Printz are those of the writer and not necessarily those of The Student Printz, its publication manager, USM, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning or the USM Board of Student Publications.

Editorial Policy

The views represented in The Student Printz’s columns and editorials do not represent those of the faculty, staff or administration of The University of Southern Mississippi. We welcome letters to the editor representing similar and contrasting opinions. To be eligible for publication, all submission must include name, class distinction, major, phone number and email address. Submissions should be emailed to printzeditors@ gmail.com by 5 p.m. on the Friday before publication. Please limit them to 500 words or less. The Student Printz reserves the right to refuse publication or edit any material on the basis of clarity, space or journalistic ethics.

4th Street Sports Producer

Charlie Luttrell charles.luttrell@usm.edu

SM2 Sports Reporter Dima Mixon joshua.mixon@usm.edu

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

mold around the vents, etc,” Crum said. “In every case we have found those areas to be dust and dirt build up. We had

some samples done this year at the Village to double check and it came back dirt and makeup.

Unsatisfied with USM’s reply, the fraternity conducted their own test using a mold

test kit. The results show an astounding amount of mold growth in the house.

Many students are unhappy with the way USM is handling the mold issue and are mov ing out of on campus housing.

Could this issue spell the death of resident life, and what is USM really doing, if anything, to address this issue. Student Printz will have more as the story unfolds.

Hattiesburg honors veterans

On Friday Nov. 11, the City of Hattiesburg hosted its annual Veterans Day parade and ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park. U.S. Army retired Sgt. First Class Haskins Nelson received the honor of Veteran of the Year.

Nelson owns several estab lishments in downtown Hat tiesburg and is an alumnus of the University of Southern Mississippi. He was also pre sented a quilt by Quilts of Val or, a group that makes quilts for veterans and presents them on Veterans Day.

The event was slated to start at 11 a.m. and an overnight vigil was held the night prior.

PHOTOS BY SEAN SMITH SM2 PHOTO EDITOR

Haskins Nelson is presented with a Quilt of Valor during the Veterans Day ceremony hosted by the City of Hattiesburg.

Above, Veteran L. Majzak salutes the flag during the national anthem. Below, USM’s ROTC lowers the flag.

Above, students at Sacred Heart Catholic School wave flags during the Veterans Day parade. Below, Sarah Allen holds her late husband’s Johnny C. Allen’s flag, who served in the Army.

Above, Edith James, 103 and retired Navy, waves a flag during the parade. Below, the parade begins down Hardy Street in downtown Hattiesburg Nov. 11, 2022.

No-shave November in full swing

Zion Cochran SM2 Reporter

Although unknown to many, November is very significant to millions of Americans of all ages, races, religions, classes, groups and or any and every walk of life all over the United States of America.

Men’s Health Month in November. Some individuals call it “Movember” and others recognize it as No Shave Novem ber. Men’s Health Month is a national movement to raise awareness for men’s health issues mostly concerning Prostate Cancer and Testicular Cancer, although this does not exclude other health con cerns such as mental health, colorectal cancer or various conditions. Men's health month promotes men of all ages

to get screened and examined, establish primary care with a doctor or physician, be aware of the risk factors and family history, do annual visits with their doctor, and take self-exams to recognize if their body has any abnormal behavior.

Many experts and doctors recommend males as young as teenagers and college students get examined for early signs of these diseases such as Prostate and Testicular Cancer. With Testicular Cancer and Prostate Cancer being the two most common cancers among men, it is vital that awareness spreads and that all men get examined.

One way millions of Americans across the nation are spreading awareness is by participating in No-Shave-Novem ber. As mentioned earlier in the article,

No-Shave-November is also an alter nate name for Men's Health Month. No-Shave-November is a movement initiated to raise attention by allowing your hair to grow for 30 days. Men are impugned to grow out their facial hair, beard, mustache, or whatever they can allow. This movement was created to raise awareness of Men’s Health issues, includ ing a number of diseases and conditions. The goal of No-Shave November is to grow awareness by embracing our hair, which many cancer patients lose, and letting it grow flowingly and freely. In addition to that, No-Shave-November is not exclusive to just men to participate in. Both men and women are welcome to join the movement and spread awareness. Many cancer societies suggest partici

pants donate the money they would have used on haircuts and razors for the month to a charity of one's choice. Also towards the end of November, most participants donate their hair to charity or cancer societies for research, and sometimes the hair donated is used and applied to cancer patients to boost self-morale and confidence.

Lastly, if an individual cannot partic ipate in No Shave November because of certain circumstances, one could simply donate. More than 3 million cases of Prostate and Testicular Cancer are dis covered each year. This is life-altering and could change an individual's life for the worst. However, with enough people and advocacy, Americans could prevent the spread of these life-threatening diseases.

USM’s Center for Behavioral Health hosts fundrasier

Shannon Barbin SM2 Reporter

The University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Behav ioral Health (CBH) is hosting a fundraiser throughout the month of November in effort to increase access to autism services.

Recent statistics show one in 44 chil dren in the U.S has autism, said Kristy McRaney, Ph.D., director for Center of Behavioral Health.

“The rates are increasing that we are seeing,” McRaney said. “That doesn’t nec essarily mean autism is more common. I think we are doing a lot more awareness around autism, and we are getting better

at detecting it earlier and earlier.”

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder usually presented in early child hood. Patients with autism experience challenges with social skills, verbal and non-verbal communication and repet itive behavior. Autism can range from moderate to severe. Some can go on to live independently while others will need supervision for the entirety of their life. According to the CDC, there are many different factors that have been identified that may make a child more likely to have autism, including environmental, biologic and genetic factors.

“The Center for Behavioral Health serves not just our campus community but our local community,” McRaney said.

“We operate on a sliding scale schedule which means we offer very low rates of services to our community members and because of that we are able to serve community members who don’t have insurance or under insured. The Center for Behavioral Health completes evalua tion in addition to therapy. We have a lot of kiddos that are coming to us for autism evaluation.”

The fundraiser’s goal is to fill in the gap of funding that is needed to bring special ized training to the CBH’s clinicians. The CBH recently received a grant that covers a great portion of the funding needed for this training but not all of it. Part of the goal is to go from three people to at least 50 clinicians who are able to administer

‘Guys and Dolls’ debuts

Makayla Stapleton SM2 Reporter

The School of Music at The University of Southern Mississippi presents “Guys and Dolls” Nov. 10-12 in the Mannoni Performing Arts Center in Hattiesburg. The show was rec ognized as the first full-scale mu sical that was performed on the MPAC in three years. With scores conducted by Dr. Michael Miles, music director, and performed by Southern Miss’ Symphony Orchestra. Show director, Mike Lopinto, discussed how it was a

wonderful way to return to the stage in glorious fashion. ““This cast has really pulled out all the stops for a big evening of singing, dancing, and comedy that will be the perfect night out.””

"Guys and Dolls!" takes us from the heart of Times Square to the cafes of Havana, Cuba and even into the sewers of New York City, but eventually, everyone ends up right where they belong. Frank Loesser's brassy, immortal score makes "Guys and Dolls!" a real crowd-pleaser for audiences of all ages!”

“Set in Damon Runyon's myth ical New York City, Guys and Dolls is an oddball romantic comedy. Gambler Nathan Detroit tries to find the cash to set up the biggest craps game in town while the authorities breathe down his neck. Meanwhile, his girlfriend and nightclub performer, Ade laide, laments that they've been engaged for 14 years. Nathan turns to fellow gambler, Sky Mas terson, for the dough, and Sky ends up chasing the strait-laced missionary, Sarah Brown, as a result.”

a specialized tool used to detect autism called the Autism Diagnostic Observa tion Schedule second edition. Having more clinicians reduces the wait time for children who are waiting for results.

“That’s really important because early intervention is critical for children with autism, and the longer they wait, that’s the longer they don’t have that service that they really need,” McRaney said. “So we are really excited about this, and we really need some donations to finish the gap.”

Those interested in donating can visit the CBH social media pages on Face book which is USMCBH or Instagram @ USM_CBH or go directly to eaglefever. usm@usm.edu\unlockpotential.

With over 1,200 shows per formed since 1950, “Guys and Dolls” is the perfect musical comedy for any theatrical enthu siast. Among the overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics; the show was a success and won a bevy of awards, including Tony Awards, Drama Desks and Oliv ers.

To learn more about any up coming events, visit the Opera and Musical Theatre on Hatties burg Campus or call 601.266.5418

USM creates innovative opportunities for nursing shortage

Van Arnold University Communications

Stress, burnout, long hours, lagging salaries, work ing conditions, a global pandemic: you name a workplace malady, nurses have likely experienced it over the past several years. Consequently, the United States finds itself staring squarely in the eyes of a nursing crisis.

Nursing is the nation's largest healthcare profession. Records show there are nearly 4.5 million registered nurses with active licenses. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says of those, only 72% percent are employed as RNs. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the country will need more than 203,000 new regis tered nurses every year through 2026 to fill the gap in care left by a retiring workforce. The average age of a nurse right now is 51.

At The University of Southern Mis sissippi (USM), innovative initiatives have been enacted by skilled, devot ed professionals within the College of Nursing and Health Professions to help offset the critical nursing shortage. Long renowned as a lead er in nursing education, USM saw 148 undergraduate and 48 graduate students earn degrees last year. Earlier this year, online resource guide Nurs ingprocess.org, ranked USM as No. 1 for best accredited nursing schools in Mississippi.

Dr. Lachel Story, Dean of USM’s College of Nursing and Health Pro fessions, says the eye-opening num bers connected to the nursing dilem ma are not necessarily surprising.

“No, the nursing shortage has been a building issue long before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the pandemic made this issue worse and shined a spotlight on it,” said Story. Much like the pandemic, the nursing shortage will likely persist for some time without a comprehensive ap proach that incorporates innovative strategies. The shortage is at all levels, including registered nurses, advanced practice nurses, and nursing faculty.”

A new survey by staffing firm Incredible Health found that more than one-third (34%) of nurses say it is very likely that they will leave the profession by the end of 2022 and 44% cited burnout and a high-stress environment as the reason for their

desire to leave. Nurses cited benefits and pay as the second-leading reason (27%) for quitting their jobs. The company analyzed data from more than 400,000 Incredible Health nurse profiles and surveyed more than 2,500 registered nurses in the U.S. in February 2022.

One unique approach USM has taken to combat the shortage and meet demands is an accelerated pathway to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree that will be offered on the University’s Gulf Park campus in Long Beach, Miss.

The pathway will help eligible students earn a BSN degree in a shorter time and decrease barriers to admission, while providing benefits to those who have already earned a higher education degree. The initial cohort is expected to start course work in January 2023. Plans call for two admission cycles per year.

USM nursing officials look forward to sharing more information about the exciting initiative during an open house on Nov. 18, from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the University Club on the Gulf Park campus in Long Beach.

Significant components of the ac celerated plan include: can be finished in 12 months; scholarships are avail able; same degree as traditional BSN – has same clinical experiences; able to bypass some typical requirements, having already earned a degree; and CCNE accredited.

“These students will be able to bypass certain requirements because they already have a bachelor’s degree, and they will be able to complete the nursing requirements in 12 months, as opposed to the traditional 24 months,” said Story. “This will get nurses out into the workforce in the most efficient and cost-effective manner while still ensuring the same high-quality educational and clinical experiences that we are known for.”

Data compiled by the Mississippi Center for Quality and Workforce shows that Registered Nurse (RN) va cancy rates in hospitals statewide rose from 4.3% in 2011 to 15.9% percent in 2021. Mississippi hospital vacancy rates for Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) were 20.1% percent and 14% for Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) in 2021.

The turnover rates last year for hos pital nurses were even more alarming with RNs at 23.5%; LPNs at 28%, and

CNAs at 46.2%. In 2017, hospitals statewide reported 473 RN vacancies. Last year that number swelled to more than 2,800.

LaNelle Weems, Director of the Mississippi Center for Quality and Workforce, serves as an external advisory board member for USM’s College of Nursing and Health Pro fessions. She notes that USM plays a vital role in helping the state replenish nurses.

“As an anchor university in south ern Mississippi, it is imperative that the university work with the commu nities it serves to prepare a nursing/ healthcare workforce to meet the needs of the healthcare facilities local ly and across the state,” said Weems. “With the impact from the loss of healthcare workers over the last few years, we lost experience, leadership, and skills of those who are not work ing in Mississippi’s healthcare arena. It sends a strong message that our state needs to prepare more nurses with skillsets across the nursing con tinuum to provide safe and quality care.”

Most registered nurses today enter practice with a baccalaureate degree offered by a four-year college or uni versity, or an associate degree offered by a community college. As of 2020, 65.2% of the RN workforce earned a baccalaureate or higher degree as their highest level of nursing educa tion.

Singing River Hospital in Pasca goula, Miss., has been a long-term supporter and benefactor of the USM nursing program. Susan Russell, Chief Nursing Officer at Singing Riv er, praises the University’s commit ment to supplying qualified nurses through the regional pipeline.

“Our system has a close affilia tion with USM since Singing River operates more acute care facilities and clinics that any other health system in the region. We have always had a reli able source of highly qualified grad uates from USM’s programs,” said Russell. “The workforce shortage in nursing has been a major concern for everyone and we appreciate Dr. Story and her colleagues coming up with creative ways to provide more student nurse positions, including embedded clinical faculty.”

Added Russell: “One of our doctor al prepared managers from the USM program currently directs a weekly

clinical group on our Ocean Springs campus, which is a huge win for both the University and health care systems seeking more baccalaureate prepared nurses.”

Russell lauds USM’s accelerated BSN pathway. As a member of several advisory boards, she has long advo cated that such initiatives offer one of the better solutions for producing high quality RN graduates.

“With more funding sources and scholarships for students, it makes more sense than ever to have highly qualified students enter these types of programs to increase BSN graduates for Mississippi and the region,” she said.

Nursing schools turned away more than 90,000 qualified applications last year — the highest number in de cades – because there wasn’t enough capacity, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

USM currently has approximately 350 students enrolled in the BSN program. In recent years, the pro gram has turned away as many as 150 qualified students. Initiatives like the accelerated BSN pathway create alternatives for students who might not otherwise gain admission.

Story emphasizes that the faculty and staff in the College of Nursing and Health Professions at USM, remain devoted to providing a quality education that is student-centered and supportive.

“They are continuously looking for ways to improve the curriculum to best align with standards, work force needs, and student experience,” she explained. “Our clinical practice partners join us in this process by not only providing clinical experiences for our students, but also engaging in conversations and the work to improve our programs and, subse quently, the graduates they will one day employ.

Beyond that, some things truly cannot be taught.

“Our students show up with pas sion and dedication to not only earn a degree, but to become nurses who will make a transformative impact on the individuals they care for; as well as to their patient’s family and com munities,” said Story.

To learn more about USM’s nurs ing program, call 601.266.5445 or visit: https://www.usm.edu/nurs ing-health-professions/index.php

USM partners with Copiah-Lincoln Community College to create smoother pathway to Honors College

The University of Southern Mississippi and Copiah-Lincoln Community College have partnered together to cre ate a smoother pathway to the university’s Honor College.

On Wednesday, Nov. 9, of ficials from the two schools signed a Memorandum of Un derstanding at the Trent Lott Center on USM’s Hattiesburg campus. The understanding allows any students that have graduated or will graduate—in good standing from the CoLin Honors College—to receive admission to USM’s two-year Keystone Honors College pro

Abigail Troth SM2 Reporter Cullin Rogers SM2 Reporter

gram. Students at the 10 or 21 credit-hour level and have a cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher will be eligible for admission.

Co-Lin students with an honors diploma must complete multiple courses to graduate from the USM Honors College. Within the Honors College, stu dents must keep an average cu mulative GPA of 3.25 or higher, participate in Honors advising, and “make satisfactory progress toward degree completion.”

“Co-Lin Honors College stu dents can now smoothly transi tion to our Keystone program, which is the research portion of the USM Honors College. The Memoradum of Understand ing paves a smooth pathway to admission. The Southern Miss

Honors College has access to a pool of academically talented, highly motivated students who want to complete their bachelor’s degree and maybe stay for gradu ate school at our University,” said Dr. Sabine Heinhorst, Dean of USM’s Honors College.

Juniors and seniors can select their own courses and navigate their curriculum through the senior Honors Thesis course, a creative or research project. Stu dents must follow the standard university admissions require ments for transfer students to properly complete the Keystone application.

Dr. Joe Paul, President of USM, praised the deal between the two schools.

“We have long been the uni

versity of choice for Missis sippi’s best community college graduates,” Paul said. “And now, the best and brightest honors graduates from Co piah-Lincoln can seamlessly become a part of our honors program and our University.” Paul said that transfer stu dents from Copiah-Lincoln Community College always do well academically.

“They become campus leaders,” Paul said. “They go out in the world and do great things and give back to both institutions.”

For more information on USM’s Honor College, call 601.266.4533, or visit their website at www.usm.edu/hon ors.

November is Epilepsy Awareness Month

November is a month full of activities such as Dios de los Muertos, Veterans Day, Election Day, No Shave Novem ber, the well-known Thanksgiving, daylight savings time, Black Friday, and the beginning of Christmas set up for many, but it is also National Epilepsy Awareness month.

Epilepsy is a disorder where the nerve cell activity in the brain is disrupted, causing recurrent seizures. Epilepsy can be caused by a genetic disorder or an injury to the brain. Seizures can manifest themselves in differing ways; their symptoms can include staring spells, rapid blinking, jerking of limbs, stiff body, uncon sciousness, rhythmic head nodding, difficulty breathing or blue lips.

Epilepsy is a dangerous disorder that cannot be cured and can cause sudden and unexpected death also known as SUDEP (sudden, unex pected death in epilepsy). The goal of National epilepsy awareness month is to raise awareness for the disorder. One of the major goals of this month

is to educate people on epilepsy. So, if someone may be having a seizure, one can help by laying them safely on their side while cushioning their head and timing the seizure, position their mouth downward to prevent choking, loosen any tight clothing from around the neck, speak to them calmly, ensure those around remain calm, try to make sure they are in a safe area and not walking around, do not hold them still instead allow them to move freely.

It is a myth that you should put something in their mouth, stay with them until their seizure passes, do not allow them to eat or drink until they are alert, if it appears they have stopped breathing it is likely it is ac tually just a muscle contraction in the chest and breathing should return to normal on its own and always check for an emergency medical bracelet that may have information on it. If a person having a seizure seizes for longer than five minutes, struggles to return to an awake and alert state, injures themselves while seizing, is pregnant, appears to be choking or has repeated seizures call 911.

This years National epilepsy awareness month’s theme is there is no

NEAM with out ME. This theme was chosen to emphasize the importance of individual involvement and sup port. Some ways to get involved this month is to educate yourself on epi lepsy and seizures, donate to organi zations such as your local foundations (epilepsy foundation of Mississippi), CURE Epilepsy, American Epilepsy

Society and SUDEP Action, who are looking for a cure and striving to raise awareness, wear purple, create a flyer, volunteer, become an epilepsy ambas sador, sign up for free seizure first aid training through the epilepsy founda tion, register for a walk to end epilep sy in your area, and spread awareness through social media.

USM Basketball looks to make turnaround with new, but familiar faces

Dima Mixon SM2 Sports Reporter

HATTIESBURG, MS –

Southern Miss Men’s bas ketball has found new life this year that they have not had in years past. The Golden Eagles ran past Loyola (New Orleans) for a 3-0 start to the 2022 campaign. This new-look team has looked ex ceptionally different than past Ladner teams.

“Credit to Loyola, not exactly what we expected,” said Head Coach Jay Ladner. “They were scrappy, and a small ball team. They play a lot of guard players, and skill guys that can shoot it. I was very impressed with them. It wasn’t our best game, but it was a good workman like game.”

The first 10 minutes of the first half was a balanced game on both sides of the ball for teams. Both teams were able move the ball around and get shots up, but neither side was con verting those shots consistently.

Southern Miss was being plagued with missed free throws early and fouls early. Sometimes Ladner and Juan Cardona’s high-paced, on-ball pressure of a defense works, but the fouls it has a chance of giving up is a significant downfall. Southern Miss had seven team fouls within the first 10 minutes of play, which put Loyola in the bonus.

“Their point guards are quick, and they got guys that can really shoot it,” Ladner said. “I thought we were a little tentative. But after the second media timeout, we made adjustments Coach Juan said the heck with this we are going back to our bread and but ter. That is when you saw the pressure get ignited a bit.”

The Golden Eagles were also being bullied in the paint early. At the under eight timeout, Southern Miss was outscored in the paint 18-10, not ideal when they were already not shooting well. Still, their defense had kept them in the game.

The last 10 minutes of the first half, Southern Miss was able to play tight er defense and that defense was final ly starting to turn into offense for the Golden Eagles.They started steadily pulling away opening their largest lead with two minutes remaining the half. The difference was that their defensive pressure was wearing down the Wolfpack, which led to quick transition baskets, and Southern Miss was able to score in the paint more with ease.

“The last couple of games outside of Vanderbilt, we have started a little

slow,” said forward Felipe Hasse. “But we approach it as a boxing game. Coaches like to see it like that. We are measuring all the time. They got off to a good start, they are a high-volume, three-pointing-shooting team. We may have gotten a little too concerned with that, which opened the lane a bit.”

To close the half, Southern Miss went on a 6-0 run after capturing their largest lead of the night and went into the locker-room with a 13-point cushion, 45-32. DeAndre Pickney led Southern Miss scorers with 13, and Denijay Harris was right being him with 10 points off the bench.

Southern Miss had 19 bench points in the first half, which was a testa ment to their depth this season. They also benefited from eight points off of Wolfpack turnovers and nine second chance points. From halftime on, they never looked back extending their lead early in the second half to 16.

“Our pressure ignited. That was the

difference in the game.” Ladner said.

Over the first eight minutes of the second half, Southern Miss turned what was a 13-point halftime lead to a 21-point lead, outscoring the Wolfpack 18-10. The Golden Eagles full court press was really hurting the ability of the Wolfpack to move the ball down the court. Southern Miss had five points off their turnovers and 14 points in the paint.

From then on it was all Southern Miss opening up a 28-point lead late in the second half to completely pull away and reach 3-0.

Hasse led all Southern Miss scorers with 17 points, and Pickney was right behind him with 16 points. Pickney was super-efficient— 5-8 on field goals, 2-4 from the arc, along with seven rebounds and four steals.

“I know the start of the season didn’t go as expected, but I know I put in the work every day,” Pickney said. “So it’s like I can’t dread the situation or be down on myself if the ball doesn’t go down. If I put in the

work, it’s going to all come together. It’s basketball. Everybody has bad games, but it’s not about those games, it’s how you respond to them.”

Southern Miss outrebounded Loyola (44-26). They had more bench points (32-14), more points in the paint (50-40), had more second chance points (20-7) and led the game for more than 30 minutes. They thoroughly dominated and are 3-0 for the first time since 2018.

“We’re really excited about the start, and we just have to keep it going,” Ladner said. “We got to keep building. We got to keep things in perspective, and we got to come back and look at the things we have to im prove on. We have got to improve our offensive execution, now at times we have executed really, really well. We want to be good at all phases. But… it’s been fun so far.”

The fun continues Friday when Southern Miss (3-0) travel to Lynch burg, VA to take on the Liberty Flames (2-1).

Photo | Charlie Luttrell

DeAndre Pinckney celebrates after a home win against Loyola.

Southern Miss falls to Coastal Carolina, 26-23

DIMA MIXON SM2 SPORTS REPORTER

CONWAY, SC – South ern Miss will have to wait yet another week to reach bowl eligibility after a 26-23 defeat to Coastal Car olina. In a game where the Golden Eagles were heavy underdogs, it took everything from the Chanticleers to put them away.

“I'm really proud of our kids. I was hired 23 months ago, we inherited a program with 27 kids ineligible, 62 players on scholarship, and 1 scholarship quarterback. 23 months later we are 5-5, and we just took the daddies of this league to wire, and we are hurting because we couldn't win it," said Head Coach Will Hall in his postgame radio interview.

The Golden found themselves down 17-0 early in the game but battled back behind the performance of quarterback Trey Lowe III. Lowe went for 19-36 and 295 yards and one touchdown, which is his career high in passing yards.

"[I'm] just really proud of him. I'm proud of the human being he is. I hope my two boys grow up to be like him. Nobody has had it harder than him, from his transfers to his coach ing changes, [and a] broken foot. From last year, and having to come back from that, and to everything that has gone down this year, I love him and I have high respect for him, and he played well tonight," Hall said.

Coastal Carolina entered the game 8-1 on the season with their one loss being a fluke to Old Dominion. They were heavy favorites and early on, it looked as if they were going to cruise to victory. Coastal Carolina took the opening drive 75 yards in just four plays. Backup Coastal quarterback Jarrett Guest found Braydon Bennett for a 41-yard gain and on the next play, Aaron Bedgood rushed right up the middle for a 30-yard touchdown to go up 7-0. The Chanticleers took the ball right back down the field the next drive on a six-play, 70-yard drive that was capped off with a Reese White one-yard touchdown run to put Coastal up 14-0 eight minutes into the game.

Southern Miss had to find some thing on offense, and on the follow

ing drive, they went three and out. Coastal got the ball back and added a 32-yard field to go up 17-0. Hall and Southern Miss were in serious jeopardy of the game getting out of hand, and they responded. Lowe put together an 11-play, 61-yard drive capped off by a Briggs Bourgeois 21yard field goal to bring the score to 17-3. It would start a common trend of Southern Miss not being able to finish with a touchdown in the red zone.

But after the field goal, a different life flowed into the Golden Eagles Guest tried to squeeze the ball be tween a few defenders but Lakevias Daniel intercepted it and returned it to the Coastal 39. That pick was Dan iel's first interception of the season, and it could not have come at a more important time.

“The difference was that we just got off the field on third down. That was it. We got them to third and long early and they were converting third downs. And late in the game, we were making those plays on third down," Hall said.

Southern Miss cashed in the interception and scored a touchdown on a Kenyon Clay one-yard rush to bring the score to 17-10. Southern Miss had all the momentum on both

sides of the ball, and that momentum elevated the defense. As we have seen before this season, the defense play ing with energy is a difficult defense to face, especially for a first-time starter in Guest.

Coastal went backward and went three and out on their next posses sion and Southern Miss had the ball driving to tie just a mere 10 minutes after being down 17-0. Lowe led the offense right down the field on a fiveplay, 37-yard drive and threw his lone touchdown pass to cap off the drive. He found Ty Mims on a 15-yard re ception in the corner of the endzone to tie the game at 17.

“Offensively, we dropped the ball early, but we moved the ball pretty consistently. I thought Trey played well. If we could have scored another touchdown in the rezone, that could have been the difference too," Hall said.

The third quarter was all about defense, with neither team being able to put together much offense. Both teams did hit a field goal, though. Southern Miss drove down the field on their first drive of the second half to take their first lead of the game. After Southern Miss hit another short field goal, Coastal scored the only touchdown of the second half on a

two-yard rushing touchdown from White. The Golden Eagles blocked the extra point to keep the game a one-possession contest at 26-23.

Southern Miss had a chance to drive to tie or take the lead, but Lowe was sacked on fourth and 10 on their final drive, which was Coastal's fourth sack of the second half. The Golden Eagles outgained Coastal 365-361, but errors in the redzone and sacks ended up being their Achil les heel. Coastal held Southern Miss to just 52 yards rushing.

“Galatians 6:9, you can't grow weary of doing what's right," Hall said when asked what his message to the team was. "We talked about where we were at the day I walked through those doors and begged kids to stay, just to give us a chance. We were so short on scholarships and had so many people ineligible. Then we talk ed about how far we have come. We had to hurt tonight, because we had a great opportunity to beat the daddies of this league, and we just weren't quite good enough to get it done."

Southern Miss has two more op portunities to reach bowl eligibility, starting with South Alabama next weekend in the final home game of the season.

Southern Miss quarterback Trey Lowe III makes a run against Coastal Carolina.

Photo Courtesy Southern Miss Athletics