FORT COLLINS, Colo.—LaShay Page made his first shot, a heavily contested jumper from the right corner, 26 seconds into the game Saturday night. He never stopped, scoring a career-high 30 points and hitting 8 of 11 3-pointers as Southern Mississippi defeated Colorado State 79-58.
“Shooting is all about rhythm,” said Page, who was 11 of 15 overall from the field. “When I hit the first 3, I just felt I was in a rhythm and any open shot after that I couldn’t miss.
“My teammates kept getting me the ball. They made the extra pass and got me open looks.”
Maurice Bolden added 11 points and six rebounds for the Golden Eagles (2-1), who outrebounded Colorado State 37-18 overall and 14-4 on the offensive glass. In addition, Southern Miss shot 53 percent from the field.
“Well, I don’t know if anyone could have beaten us tonight,” Golden Eagles coach Larry Eustachy said. “We haven’t shot like this since I’ve been at Southern Miss.”
Greg Smith had 18 points and Jesse Carr 13 for the Rams (2-2), who were missing power forward Pierce Hornung due to a concussion.
“That was a complete embarrassment,” Colorado State coach Tim Miles said. “They completely dominated the game in every facet and Page had a spectacular performance.
“We obviously need to regroup.”
Miles was angered enough to not allow his players into a postgame press conference.
“I am not making them available,” Miles said. “Their performance spoke for themselves tonight.”
Southern Mississippi buried the Rams in the first half, shooting 60 percent from the floor and making 7 of 12 3-pointers to lead 47-28. Page had 19 by himself, making his first five shots.
Without Hornung, Colorado State struggled, getting only two points in the paint. A 3-pointer by Carr and two free throws by Smith got the Rams within 34-26, but Page had two treys of his own in a 12-0 run and Southern Mississippi outscored the Rams 13-2 over the last 3:37 of the half.
Colorado State made minor strides at the start of second half, getting as close as 51-35 after a 3-pointer by Dorian Green. But Page hit two 3-pointers, the first with Wes Eikmeier in his face and the second from NBA range, to extend the Golden Eagles’ lead to 60-39 with 15:11 left.
“That was a good contest and very good defense by him,” Page said. “There will be games at times when you can’t find the back side of a rim on a shot like that.”
Southern Mississippi pulled farther ahead, 65-39, on another 3-pointer by Page and Rashard McGill’s layup. The Rams managed only a rebound basket on their next five possessions and Bolden provided the Golden Eagles with their largest lead, 77-48 with 6:24 left.
“It was a freakish game,” Eustachy said. “We made a lot of shots and it snowballed from there.”
