GAME NOTES: The Drexel Dragons will try for their first home win of the season on Sunday when they welcome the Southern Miss Golden Eagles to the Daskalakis Athletic Center for non-conference action.

After suffering its first loss of the season at Alabama on Nov. 20 (81-67), USM bounced back on its home floor on Nov. 25 by squeaking by Troy, 72-70. The Golden Eagles are 3-1 on the season.

Drexel began its season with four straight losses, which included falling to the seventh-place game of the Charleston Classic with setbacks against Miami- Florida (66-46) and USC (72-70). The Dragons finally notched the win column in their tournament finale by defeating Cornell last Sunday, 61-59, to salvage their stay.

The programs met for the first time last season, with USM coming away with a 66-49 win in Hattiesburg.

The Golden Eagles appeared in jeopardy of a rare home loss in their most recent matchup as they faced a nine-point deficit to Troy in the second half, but they worked their way back in it and with under 10 seconds to play Norville Carey swiped a steal and converted the game-winning layup on the other end to lift his team to the thrilling two-point victory. They shot a solid 45.5 percent from the field on the night and made their mark in the turnover battle, forcing 19 while only giving away eight themselves. Matt Bingaya scored a career-high 25 points on 8-of-16 from the field, including 3- of-6 from 3-point range. Chip Armelin added 15 points in the winning effort.

On the season, USM has posted strong offensive numbers by shooting just under 46 percent from the field for 73.2 ppg, which is just enough to support its defensive effort (68.2 ppg). Bingaya is the catalyst in the paint, registering 19.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg while shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc. Armelin (11.3 ppg), Carey (9.8 ppg) and Shadell Millinghaus (9.0 ppg) are all solid complementary options.

The Dragons were staring down the barrel of an 0-5 start trailing Cornell by 14 in the second half but they mounted a furious comeback to capture the two- point win, with Rashann London's jumper with 1:35 left proving to be the game- winner. After shooting a woeful 18.2 percent from the field in the first half, the Dragons' improved all the way to 51.7 percent after intermission, and they were also aided by winning both the rebounding (44-35) and turnover (14-9) battles. Damion Lee was the spark plug with 28 points, doing so on 9-of-24 from the field and 8-of-10 at the foul line. No one else scored in double figures but Rodney Williams was a difference-maker in the paint with nine points and 14 rebounds.

Drexel hopes that's its second-half performance against Cornell is a sign of things to come, as it is shooting a lowly 35.5 percent from the field for just 54.8 ppg this season, and the disappointing offense all but spoils a strong scoring defense (62.8 ppg). Lee shoots less than 40 percent from the floor but generates enough volume to put up 20.8 ppg, which ranks in the top-25 nationally. Tavon Allen (9.2 ppg) and Williams (8.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg) are other mainstays in the starting lineup.

While Drexel will get a boost from its home crowd in this one, USM is simply the better team and should find a way to overcome its road surroundings.