Thursday, November 25
Missoula, Mont.
6:00 PM
Southern Miss
-42,00 CUSA
56
vs
55
UC San Diego
4-2,0-0Big West
1
2
F
UC San Diego
30
25
55
Southern Miss.
21
35
56
Golden Eagles Gobble Up UC San Diego on Thanksgiving Night
11/25/2021 9:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MISSOULA, Mont. --Â The Southern Miss men's basketball team moved to 2-0 at the Zootown Classic after a 56-55 come-from-behind win against UC San Diego at Dahlberg Arena on Thanksgiving night. Following Rashad Bolden's career night on Wednesday, sophomore Walyn Napper had one of his own as he went for a career-high 12 points and seven assists.
"That was a hard-fought win for us, and it was good to win it like that," said head coach Jay Ladner. "I wish we would have been able to knock down those two free throws we had on that last one-and-one, but we got the ball to the person that we wanted to get it to on the foul.
"We said this could be a defining moment for our season during halftime. We were down nine, but not playing poorly. It looked like a big time Division I basketball game out there tonight."Â
The Golden Eagles struggled from the floor early, missing their first nine shots. Napper scored the first Southern Miss points after nearly five minutes ticked off the clock without a Southern Miss bucket. The Tritons caught fire from three-point land to extend their lead to 15-6 after making three-of-four from the deep in 90 seconds. The Golden Eagles answered with a scoring stretch of their own that included a pair of baskets from freshman Jaron Pierre, Jr. and a dunk from junior DeAndre Pinckney. Junior Tyler Stevenson followed with a jumper in the point to cut the UC San Diego advantage to two points. The Tritons answered with a pair of layups, but Southern Miss punched right back with back-to-back scored from Napper.
As quickly as they caught fire, the Golden Eagles cooled off as they missed seven consecutive shots heading into the half with UC San Diego leading, 30-23. Napper finished with eight of his 12 points in the first half and only dished out one assist. The Golden Eagles failed to hit any of their seven first-half three-point attempts and went 10-of-33 from the floor.
Southern Miss continued to claw back early in the second half with Pierre and Napper drilling a pair of jumpers to cut the deficit to two. Napper stopped a Triton run two minutes later with another jumper and Stevenson outmuscled a UC San Diego defender in the paint to give Southern Miss its first lead of the game. The Tritons quickly regained the lead, but it never got larger than five points from that point forward.
Junior Isaih Moore kept the game close with a put-back dunk to keep the UC San Diego lead at two points. Junior Tae Hardy, who came off the bench for the second game in as many nights, made two free throws with 1:43 left in the game to give Southern Miss a one-point lead and what would ultimately account for the game-winning shot. Moore notched his third double-double this season after finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Golden Eagles nearly lost the lead on the next possession after Toni Rocak grabbed an offensive rebound, but Pierre flew in out of nowhere to steal the ball. Although the Golden Eagles couldn't capitalize on the steal, it kept the Tritons' leading scorer from taking the ball up to the rim. Rocak would get another chance after Hardy missed a free throw with six seconds left. Rocak caught a pass in front of his bench with time expiring, but the final buzzer sounded just as he was getting ready to pull the trigger.
Southern Miss escaped heartbreak to win its third-straight game. With the Golden Eagles shooting 39.7 percent from the floor, it marked just the fourth time they have won under Ladner despite shooting less than 40 percent. Stevenson recorded his 10th double-double as a Golden Eagle with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Pierre added 13 points and Southern Miss' only three-pointer that came with 9:57 left in the game.
The Golden Eagles limited themselves to only 10 turnovers and forced 11 on the defensive end. The Southern Miss bench outscored UC San Diego's 31-8.
Ladner and the Golden Eagles end their stay at the Zootown Classic on Friday, Nov. 25 against Montana. Tip is set for 8:30 p.m. CT and will be streamed on ESPN+.
Game Notes
- Sophomore Walyn Napper set a pair of career marks with 12 points and seven assists.
- Jay Ladner went with the same lineup for only the second time this season. Ladner brought the same five out the first two games of the season and then started the same five from Wednesday's 80-66 win over UNCW.
- Tyler Stevenson had 13points and 11rebounds to secure the 10th double-double as a Golden Eagle.
- Isaih Moore had10points and 10rebounds to secure his third double-double of the season. Moore was the first Golden Eagle to record a double-double in back-to-back games since Tyler Stevenson on Jan. 23, 2021.
- Southern Miss led for just 2:29 and took its first lead when Stevenson banked in a layup with 10:51 left in the game.
- Moore and Stevenson were the first Southern Miss pair to record a double-double since Stevenson and DeAndre Pinckney against UTEP on Jan. 1, 2021.
"That was a hard-fought win for us, and it was good to win it like that," said head coach Jay Ladner. "I wish we would have been able to knock down those two free throws we had on that last one-and-one, but we got the ball to the person that we wanted to get it to on the foul.
"We said this could be a defining moment for our season during halftime. We were down nine, but not playing poorly. It looked like a big time Division I basketball game out there tonight."Â
The Golden Eagles struggled from the floor early, missing their first nine shots. Napper scored the first Southern Miss points after nearly five minutes ticked off the clock without a Southern Miss bucket. The Tritons caught fire from three-point land to extend their lead to 15-6 after making three-of-four from the deep in 90 seconds. The Golden Eagles answered with a scoring stretch of their own that included a pair of baskets from freshman Jaron Pierre, Jr. and a dunk from junior DeAndre Pinckney. Junior Tyler Stevenson followed with a jumper in the point to cut the UC San Diego advantage to two points. The Tritons answered with a pair of layups, but Southern Miss punched right back with back-to-back scored from Napper.
As quickly as they caught fire, the Golden Eagles cooled off as they missed seven consecutive shots heading into the half with UC San Diego leading, 30-23. Napper finished with eight of his 12 points in the first half and only dished out one assist. The Golden Eagles failed to hit any of their seven first-half three-point attempts and went 10-of-33 from the floor.
Southern Miss continued to claw back early in the second half with Pierre and Napper drilling a pair of jumpers to cut the deficit to two. Napper stopped a Triton run two minutes later with another jumper and Stevenson outmuscled a UC San Diego defender in the paint to give Southern Miss its first lead of the game. The Tritons quickly regained the lead, but it never got larger than five points from that point forward.
Junior Isaih Moore kept the game close with a put-back dunk to keep the UC San Diego lead at two points. Junior Tae Hardy, who came off the bench for the second game in as many nights, made two free throws with 1:43 left in the game to give Southern Miss a one-point lead and what would ultimately account for the game-winning shot. Moore notched his third double-double this season after finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Golden Eagles nearly lost the lead on the next possession after Toni Rocak grabbed an offensive rebound, but Pierre flew in out of nowhere to steal the ball. Although the Golden Eagles couldn't capitalize on the steal, it kept the Tritons' leading scorer from taking the ball up to the rim. Rocak would get another chance after Hardy missed a free throw with six seconds left. Rocak caught a pass in front of his bench with time expiring, but the final buzzer sounded just as he was getting ready to pull the trigger.
Southern Miss escaped heartbreak to win its third-straight game. With the Golden Eagles shooting 39.7 percent from the floor, it marked just the fourth time they have won under Ladner despite shooting less than 40 percent. Stevenson recorded his 10th double-double as a Golden Eagle with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Pierre added 13 points and Southern Miss' only three-pointer that came with 9:57 left in the game.
The Golden Eagles limited themselves to only 10 turnovers and forced 11 on the defensive end. The Southern Miss bench outscored UC San Diego's 31-8.
Ladner and the Golden Eagles end their stay at the Zootown Classic on Friday, Nov. 25 against Montana. Tip is set for 8:30 p.m. CT and will be streamed on ESPN+.
Game Notes
- Sophomore Walyn Napper set a pair of career marks with 12 points and seven assists.
- Jay Ladner went with the same lineup for only the second time this season. Ladner brought the same five out the first two games of the season and then started the same five from Wednesday's 80-66 win over UNCW.
- Tyler Stevenson had 13points and 11rebounds to secure the 10th double-double as a Golden Eagle.
- Isaih Moore had10points and 10rebounds to secure his third double-double of the season. Moore was the first Golden Eagle to record a double-double in back-to-back games since Tyler Stevenson on Jan. 23, 2021.
- Southern Miss led for just 2:29 and took its first lead when Stevenson banked in a layup with 10:51 left in the game.
- Moore and Stevenson were the first Southern Miss pair to record a double-double since Stevenson and DeAndre Pinckney against UTEP on Jan. 1, 2021.
Team Stats
UCSD
USM
FG%
.370
.397
3FG%
.250
.100
FT%
.533
.714
RB
34
43
TO
11
10
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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