GAME NOTES: The North Dakota State Bison take aim at their fifth win in a row as they visit Reed Green Coliseum for a non-conference tilt against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

Coach Dave Richmond's inaugural two outings at the helm of the NDSU program resulted in lopsided losses to Texas (85-50) and Iowa (87-56), both on the road. The Bison bounced back with three consecutive victories in Fargo before they completed a 72-51 rout of Montana State on the Bobcats' home floor. NDSU shot 27 percent from the field in games at No. 10 Texas and No. 25 Iowa to open the campaign, but the Bison have bounced back to shoot 45.3 percent from the field and 44 percent from 3-point range during their current four-game win streak.

Doc Sadler's Golden Eagles will be anxious to erase the memory of the 59-36 setback they were handed by Drexel in Philadelphia on Sunday. The loss dropped Southern Miss to a 3-2 overall record, including an 0-2 mark on the road. The Golden Eagles' three triumphs all came at Reed Green Coliseum, where they outdueled William Carey (86-63), South Alabama (68-59) and Troy (72-70). Southern Miss is ranked in the middle of the pack of the 14-team Conference USA in both scoring offense (65.8 ppg) and scoring defense (66.4 ppg).

Southern Miss won the only meeting between the two schools last season when it downed the Bison, 70-69 in Fargo on Nov. 18.

NDSU is ranked second to last in the Summit League in offensive production at 64 ppg and it is one of just three teams in the conference converting less than 40 percent of its field goal tries. All five of the Bison who started at Montana State reached double-digits in the scoring column. A.J. Jacobson drained a career-high five 3-pointers versus the Bobcats. Lawrence Alexander, who is averaging a team-best 14.9 ppg, posted 18 points with four makes from beyond the arc. Point guard Carlin Dupree showed off his versatility against MSU, tallying 10 points, seven boards, five assists and three steals.

USM is led by sophomore swingman Matt Bingaya, who is the third leading scorer in the C-USA at 17.0 ppg, which he is accompanying with a team-leading 5.8 rpg. Junior forward Norville Carey was the lone bright spot for the Golden Eagles in their frustrating loss to Drexel. Carey finished with 16 points and six rebounds, hitting on 7-of-11 shots from the floor. The rest of the Golden Eagles combined to make good on just 8-of-36 field goal attempts, including a 2-of-13 clip from 3-point range. Bingaya went 3-of-8 from the floor to net seven points and committed four of the team's 11 turnovers. Senior guard Chip Armelin (10 ppg, 4.0 rpg) added only five points in the setback.

USM has won 18 straight home games, the eighth longest streak in the country. The Golden Eagles have also won 37 consecutive home non-conference regular season games. Those streaks will surely be in jeopardy if USM's offensive woes in the City of Brotherly Love continue in Hattiesburg. NDSU is playing at a very high level right now and will be out to revenge last season's heartbreaking loss to the Golden Eagles.