Southern Miss Falls on Last-Second, Overtime Shot in Heartbreaking Season Finale

Saturday, March 7

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

5 p.m. CT

Southern Miss

-922,513 CUSA

Middle Tennessee

-823,414 CUSA

OT 1

Southern Miss.

Middle Tennessee

Southern Miss Falls on Last-Second, Overtime Shot in Heartbreaking Season Finale

3/7/2020 9:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats (PDF)

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss Men's Basketball team fought against all odds this season, and Middle Tennessee's Antonio Green swished a three-pointer with four seconds left to sink the Golden Eagles in a 65-62 overtime loss Saturday that was each team's finale.

Middle Tennessee (8-23, 4-14 C-USA) had the ball with 28 seconds left and a one-point lead, but Artur Konontsuk picked a pass and was fouled on a layup that would have given Southern Miss the lead. He went 1-for-2 at the line, and the Blue Raiders set up for their eventual game-winning shot.

"We had all kinds of opportunities, and it's unfortunate we lost like that," head coach Jay Ladner said. "In the timeout, we talked about the two guys that could take the final shot, and we were just a little late in contesting it, and that's been a microcosm of our season. We could have easily thrown the towel in tonight, but we got into great rhythm offensively early. I'm proud of our fight, but we have to make a few plays."

The Golden Eagles had taken a four-point lead with 2:39 left in overtime on a LaDavius Draine trey, but it would be their last field goal of the night.

Southern Miss' largest deficit was 50-44 with 7:04 left, but Tyler Stevenson scored in the paint and Konontsuk scored on a left-handed, fastbreak layup to tip the scales again. Stevenson and the Blue Raiders' C.J. Jones traded baskets with 1:35 and 1:09, respectively, before Leonard Harper-Baker made a shot underneath and drew a foul with 37 seconds left to help send it to overtime.

The Golden Eagles (9-22, 5-13) led 29-22 at the break, their fewest points allowed in any half this season. The Blue Raiders held their visitors to just one field goal over the first eight minutes in a foul-filled early going to climb back.

All three games with Middle Tennessee featured Southern Miss' best defensive showings in field-goal percentage. The Blue Raiders shot just 34.4 percent on the night after also going for 35.1 and 36.8 in previous matchups. The Golden Eagles also forced 20 turnovers, their most since the opener against Delta State.

"You would think at some point, we would get a break," Ladner said. "You have to make your breaks too, but I hate it for our guys. When you really step back and wipe the crushed emotion out of it, we missed so many shots under the basket. It's been that way all year, and Gabe Watson had a great game and while everyone else gave great effort, we struggled in other areas. Gabe drove the ball and made took good jumpers when they were there. He propelled us to be in a winning situation."

Sophomore Gabe Watson led the way with 24 points, his fifth 20-point game this season. All of them have been on the road (Texas Tech, Louisiana Tech, UTEP, UAB).

NOTABLE
-Southern Miss had won five of its last six overtime games going into the night (defeated Charlotte, 74-68, on Feb. 1).
-Bill Muse Jr. and Jerrod Rigby earned their first-career starts in their collegiate finale.
-Rigby and Clay Weatherspoon were also honored with scholarships at the team's morning shootaround.
-Gabe Watson and Leonard Harper-Baker played the full 45 minutes, the second time two Golden Eagles have done it this season (Watson and LaDavius Draine versus Charlotte).
-Watson entered the night with a league-leading 37.4 minutes per game in C-USA play.
-Harper-Baker (10 points, 12 rebounds) earned the 11th double-double of his two-year career and seventh of the season in his final game.
-Draine notched his 178th-career three-pointer, finishing his junior year just 16 away from tying Casey Fisher (1984-88) for No. 2 all-time at the school.