Southern Miss Set for Three Games at Zootown Classic in Montana

MISSOULA, Mont. -- After a 2,107-mile journey, the Southern Miss men's basketball team arrived on Monday night in Missoula, Mont. for the Zootown Classic. The four-team event on the Montana campus starts on Wednesday evening when the Golden Eagles square off against UNC Wilmington. Tip at Dahlberg Arena is set for 6 p.m. CT.

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Zootown Schedule
Wednesday, Nov. 24 | Southern Miss vs. UNC Wilmington, 6 p.m. CT
Thursday, Nov. 25 | Southern Miss vs. UC San Diego, 6 p.m. CT
Friday, Nov. 26 | Southern Miss vs. Montana, 8:30 p.m. CT

Southern Miss Need to Know
The Golden Eagles enter Wednesday's contest days removed from beating Lamar, 82-75, at Reed Green Coliseum. Junior Tae Hardy led the Golden Eagles with a game-high 23 points and junior Tyler Stevenson added his ninth double-double as a Golden Eagle, recording 11 points and 12 rebounds. Five Southern Miss players scored in double figures for the first time since the 2019 season. Freshman Rashad Bolden saw his first career start come against Lamar, while head coach Jay Ladner also slid Mo Arnold and DeAndre Pinckney into the starting lineup. Hardy and Stevenson also started for the Golden Eagles.

The Golden Eagles' Thursday game will mark the third time in program history that they have played on Thanksgiving Day. Then-No. 13 Seton Hall handed Southern Miss a loss on Thanksgiving in 2019 at the Battle 4 Atlantis in Nassau, Bahamas. Southern Miss won its 2011 Thanksgiving Day game against UC Riverside, 78-67, at the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage. UC San Diego and Southern Miss have met two other times, both were Golden Eagle wins coming during the 1975 and 1978 season. They will play Montana and UNC Wilmington for the first time in program history.

Quick Look at UNC Wilmington
- UNC Wilmington is 3-2 on the season and beat Delaware State on Saturday evening before heading to Missoula for a nine-day road trip.
- The Seahawks have six guys averaging at least 6.8 points per game and are led by Jaylen Sims' 10.6 points per game. Sims also leads the Seahawks at 7.0 rebounds per game and 30.6 minutes per game.
- UNC Wilmington averages 9.8 turnovers per game, good for 18th in Division I.
- Head coach Takayo Siddle is in second season at the helm of UNC Wilmington after spending time at NC State and UNC Wilmington as an assistant coach.

Quick Look at UC San Diego
- UC San Diego heads to Missoula undefeated at a 4-0 mark. The Tritons ran past Pac-12 power Cal, 80-67. All four wins have been by double digits.
- Senior forward Toni Rocak was named the Big West Player of the Week on No. 15 after posting 27 points and eight boards in the win over Cal. He's averaging 18.0 points per game this season.
- The Tritons average nearly 10 three-pointers per game at 9.8. That ranks them 38th nationally.
- Eric Olen is in his ninth season leading the program and owns a 169-66 all-time record.
- UC San Diego is in its second year of transitioning from Division II to Division I. It went 30-1 during the 2019-20 season before it prematurely ended due to COVID.

Quick Look at Montana
- The hosts come into the Zootown Classic with a 2-2 record and 2-0 record at Dahlberg Arena. The two wins came by an average of 34.0 points.
- The Grizzlies rank 20th nationally in turnovers per game at 10.0 and own a 1.48 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- Montana has used the same starting five in all four games, going with three sophomores, a junior transfer and a senior.
- Josh Bannan, Brandon Whitney, and Derrick Carter-Hollinger are all averaging double figures in scoring. Bannan leads the bunch with 13.5 points per game.
- The Zootown Classic is the first tournament Montana has hosted since the 2009-10 season when it hosted the Karl Tyler Chevrolet Tournament.

The Southern Miss vs. Montana game will be streamed on ESPN+. All other games can be caught by tuning into the Southern Miss radio broadcast using the Game Day App or turning the dial to 104.5 in the Hattiesburg area.

Follow at @SouthernMissMBB on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for updates throughout the week.

Southern Miss Set for Three Games at Zootown Classic in Montana

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Players Mentioned

Mo Arnold

Rashad Bolden

Tae Hardy

DeAndre Pinckney

Tyler Stevenson