BEAUMONT, Texas – A back-n-forth affair that saw both teams hold leads in the closing stages of the game went against Lamar University Monday evening as Southern Mississippi escaped with a three-point victory, 82-79.
 
Lamar (5-6) finished the night with four players in double figures led by 16 points each from Adam Hamilton and Cody Pennebaker. Hamilton just missed a double-double with seven rebounds. Junior Jakevion Buckley scored 12 points and dished out seven assists and Chris Pryor added 10 points for an offense that shot 31-of-68 (.456) from the field but struggled from long range converting just 6-of-22 (.273).
 
The Golden Eagles were 29-of-62 (.468), including 10 three-pointers, on the night. They also held a 41-36 advantage in rebounds, and pulled down 13 offensive boards, but that only led to a 20-18 lead in second chance points. Southern Miss' Austin Crowley led three Golden Eagles in double figures with 22 points.
 
Owning just a three-point lead heading into the locker room, Southern Miss managed to build a 13-point advantage less than six minutes into the second half. The Golden Eagles appeared to be going for the knockout punch early in the half, but Lamar dug in and began to chip away at the lead.
 
After an offensive rebound, Terry Anderson fed Pennebaker the ball who knocked down a jumper just outside the paint. After a stop on the defensive end of the floor led to two Buckley free throws the Cardinals were back within two possessions with just over eight minutes remaining.
 
The Cardinals pulled to within a point, 67-66, following an offensive rebound and putback from Errol White and a fastbreak bucket from Anderson. Big Red managed to pull even with 3:47 remaining on another fastbreak basket from Anderson.
 
The lead would change hands seven times in the final 3:47 with each team exchanging baskets on nearly every possession. Southern Miss managed to grab a three-point lead late and Lamar was forced to put their guests on the free throw line. Southern Miss hit 5-of-6 attempts down the stretch to prevent any late game heroics from the Cardinals.
 
The Red and White will need to have a short-term memory because they will be back in action Thursday when they travel to Baton Rouge, La., to face LSU. The game against the Tigers is set to tip off at 8 p.m.