thern Miss: The Golden Eagles struggled to score consistently against the bigger Bulldogs. Southern Miss hasnt won a

ATLANTA -- The new-look Atlanta Hawks signed two-time All-Star Elton Brand on Monday, picking up a player who can bolster their depth in the frontcourt and provide veteran leadership in the locker room. The 34-year-old Brand averaged 7.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game last season with the Dallas Mavericks. He played in 72 games, with 18 starts. While clearly not the player he once was, the Hawks intend to use the 6-foot-9 Brand in a backup role behind centre Al Horford and power forward Paul Millsap. "Elton brings a veteran presence both on and off the court and is a welcomed addition to our locker room," general manager Danny Ferry said in a statement. "His ability to play centre or power forward will give our frontcourt a great deal of versatility and we think he will be an outstanding fit to our program." Contract terms werent disclosed. Brand was the No. 1 overall pick by the Chicago Bulls in the 1999 NBA draft. He also has played with the Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia during his 14-year career, with averages of 17.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.8 blocks. He was picked for the All-NBA second team in the 2005-06 season. The Hawks have undergone a massive makeover heading into Ferrys second full season as GM. Last summer, he dealt away starters Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams. Last week, the Hawks were outbid for longtime stalwart Josh Smith, who agreed to a four-year, $54-million contract with the Detroit Pistons. Ferry struck out in his bid to land former Lakers centre Dwight Howard, but the Hawks did acquire forward Paul Millsap with a $19-million, two-year deal and matched Milwaukees $32-million, four-year offer to point guard Jeff Teague, a restricted free agent. The team also re-signed 3-point specialist Kyle Korver, agreed to a deal with free-agent forward DeMarre Carroll, and landed a couple of foreign players in the first round of the draft: point guard Dennis Schroder from Germany and 7-foot centre Lucas Nogueira from Brazil. Matching the deal for Teague is perhaps the most significant move of the off-season. Last season, he posted career highs with 14.6 points and 7.2 assists per game, the latter figure ranking 12th in the league. "He has improved each year of his career and continues to get better," Ferry said. "At 25, hes already been a key contributor on a playoff team and we look forward to seeing him develop into even more of a leader on our team." Derrick Thomas Jersey . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. Jason Spriggs Jersey . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. http://www.prochiefsauthentic.com/ . Hey!" The lower tier of the School End of Queens Park Rangers Loftus Road was packed solid with a very festive-sounding Chelsea choral section in this particular part of South Africa Road London, W12. LeSean McCoy Jersey . DAmigo scored twice in regulation and added the shootout winner as the Toronto Marlies edged the San Antonio Rampage 5-4 in American Hockey League action. Damien Wilson Jersey . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi States Drew Davis -- a walk-on who had played three minutes all season until Monday night -- gave a little fake and a shake before letting a 22-footer fly in the waning minutes of a blowout win over Southern Mississippi.Of course, it splashed through the net. The starters danced and celebrated on the bench for another 3-pointer that found its way home.For the Bulldogs, it was just that kind of night.Mississippi State made a school-record 17 3-pointers on the way to an 86-44 victory in a neutral-site game at the Mississippi Coliseum. The Bulldogs made 17 of 29 (58.6 percent) attempts from behind the arc, burying Southern Miss under an avalanche of offense.Quinndary Weatherspoon led Mississippi State with 16 points. Lamar Peters added 15.Mississippi State coach Ben Howland said the Bulldogs were very good on both ends of the court.I was really pleased with how we played tonight, especially defensively, Howland said. Everything starts and ends with our defense. The unselfishness from our team the way we passed the ball and obviously 17 of 29 from three is really special.Mississippi State (7-3) never trailed and had a comfortable lead for most of the night. The Bulldogs turned a reasonable game into a full-scale blowout early in the second half thanks to a 35-0 run that pushed their advantage to 76-29.That was a first for me, Weatherspoon said.Southern Miss (3-6) shot just 23.1 percent (15 of 65) from the field. The Golden Eagles missed 19 consecutive shots during Mississippi States 35-0 run.Their speed -- they just took us out of everything, Southern MMiss coach Doc Sadler said.ddddddddddddaheem Watts led the Golden Eagles with nine points. The Golden Eagles have lost five straight games and have only one win this season over a Division I opponent.The only thing I know to do is put your head down, grind, work and try to get better on the practice court, Sadler said. Thats what weve got to do.Mississippi State jumped out to a 16-4 lead in the opening minutes and cruised to a 39-25 halftime advantage.BIG PICTURESouthern Miss: The Golden Eagles struggled to score consistently against the bigger Bulldogs. Southern Miss hasnt won a game in nearly a month and this loss was particularly ugly.Mississippi State: The Bulldogs young roster continues to show promise. Xavian Stapletons return from knee surgery -- he scored eight points in 11 minutes on Monday -- gives Mississippi State a deeper rotation.Stapleton hadnt played in a game in 18 months because of two consecutive knee surgeries. The 6-foot-6 guard should be a valuable backup for the Bulldogs as they approach SEC play.TOTAL DOMINATIONMississippi State had a 46-37 advantage in rebounding, an 11-1 advantage in blocked shots and a 9-6 advantage in steals. Freshman Schnider Herard had a career-high 12 rebounds.UP NEXTSouthern Miss plays San Diego State in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic on Thursday.Mississippi State hosts Morehead State on Thursday.-----More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 . ' ' '