GAME NOTES: Holding down last place in the Conference USA standings, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles aim for just their second league victory on Thursday night as they host the FIU Panthers at Reed Green Coliseum.

Southern Miss has won a grand total of six games all season long, and just one of those has come against a conference opponent. Since barely getting by North Texas in overtime (75-71) on Jan. 24, the Golden Eagles have dropped four straight and are now a mere 1-10 versus the rest of Conference USA.

Last weekend, the Eagles paid a visit to UAB and were turned back by the Blazers, 78-68, marking the 13th loss in the last 14 outings overall.

As for the Panthers, tied with Rice for eighth place in the C-USA standings at 4-6, they just completed a three-game homestand during which they started off with a 64-56 win over Florida Atlantic before falling to both UTSA (74-63) and UTEP (67-64).

Southern Miss won the only previous meeting between the programs last season by a score of 78-66 at home.

FIU led by a point with 83 seconds left in regulation against visiting Texas- El Paso last weekend, but the hosts could not hold on as they dropped to 0-4 in the all-time series with the Miners. Dennis Mavin managed to score a game- high 23 points and Daviyon Draper another 21 off the bench before fouling out. Adrian Diaz logged a double-double for the Panthers with 12 points and a game- high 11 rebounds, adding four blocked shots for a unit that failed to capitalize on the fact that the Miners made only 18-of-32 at the free-throw line.

On a team that is producing 62.7 ppg this season, Mavin is responsible for not only 17.7 ppg but also 5.3 rpg and a team-best 68 assists, but he has also turned the ball over 74 times and shot less than 30 percent behind the 3-point line so having the ball in his hands does not always result in a positive outcome. Diaz produces another 13.5 ppg and is first on the glass with 6.9 rpg, but the drawbacks to his presence on the floor include shooting just 55 percent at the free-throw line and fouling out of six contests.

In a game that featured nine ties and 12 lead changes, the most telling stat in the USM loss to the Blazers was that the visitors were outscored at the charity stripe by a massive 35-10 margin. Nevertheless, Chip Armelin led all scorers with 26 points on 10-of-18 from the floor, including 4-of-8 behind the 3-point line. Matt Bingaya chipped in a double-double with 22 points and a game-high 12 rebounds in the setback as well.

As the only player to have started every game for the Golden Eagles, it only makes sense that Armelin is the top point producer for the group with 15.3 ppg. Bingaya offers up another 14.1 ppg and is first on the glass with 5.8 rpg for a group that is coming up 3.8 rpg behind the competition. Norville Carey's part-time starting position has resulted in 10.9 ppg and 5.3 rpg as he shoots 58.4 percent from the field.

Not much has gone right for the Golden Eagles this season, but giving up on talent like Armelin and Bingaya would be a mistake, particularly since USM is at home and the visitors aren't exactly world beaters these days.