Men's Basketball Continues Road Stint at South Alabama

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss (4-3, 0-0 CUSA) men's basketball team continues its five-game road stint at South Alabama (6-2, 0-0 Sun Belt) on Wednesday, Dec. 1. Tip at the Mitchell Center is set for 7 p.m. Streaming will be available on Watch ESPN.

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The Need to Know
Southern Miss is coming off a week-long road trip to Missoula, Mont. for the Zootown Classic where they played three games in three days. The Golden Eagles beat UNC Wilmington and UC San Diego before falling to Montana on Friday night. Juniors Tyler Stevenson and Isaih Moore had monster weeks en route to being named to the Zootown Classic All-Tournament Team. Moore went for 13 points and 11 rebounds in the 80-66 win against UNCW and followed with a 10-point, 10-rebound performance in a one-point win against UC San Diego. The Columbia, S.C. native had 17 points and four rebounds in the loss to Montana. Stevenson was just as impressive, going for 15 points and five rebounds in the opening win. He followed with back-to-back double-doubles against the Tritons and Grizzlies. The Mississippi native went for 13 points and 11 rebounds on Thanksgiving Day before exploding for 21 points and 11 rebounds against Montana.

Freshman Rashad Bolden was named the C-USA Freshman of the Week on Monday after his record-tying performance against UNCW. The St. Andrews product went for 29 points to tie the programs single-game points total by a freshman. Bolden's 91.6 shooting percentage was the fourth-best in program history. He followed that monster performance with a respectable seven points against Montana. Newcomer Walyn Napper had a breakout performance against UC San Diego, dropping 12 points and dishing out seven assists -- both were a career-high. Over the three games, Napper accumulated 20 assists and now ranks fifth in C-USA with 4.71 assists per game.

Scouting the Jaguars
South Alabama has won its last five games heading into Wednesday's contest. Southern Miss' future Sun Belt rival narrowly took down Alabama before that stretch and is undefeated at the Mitchell Center. The Jaguars are led by LSU transfer Charles Manning and Texas A&M transfer Jay Jay Chandler. Manning is averaging 17.8 points per game and 3.5 assists per game. Chandler, a 6-foot-4 guard, has averaged 14.5 points and 4.5 rebounds through eight games. Both Chandler and Manning have reached double-digit three-pointers made, compared to Southern Miss' one.

The Jaguars boast five Power 5 transfers and a Memphis transfer. In the post, Moore has an inch on both of South Alabama's 6-foot-9 forwards, although each have 25 pounds on the South Carolina native. Manning had a game-high 20 points in the Jaguars' 69-66 win against Texas A&M Commerce on Monday night. Kayo Goncalves, Diante Smith, and Chandler all finished in double figures. Goncalves made three of his 13 three-point attempts to go along with Smith's three field goals from beyond the arc.

Game Notes
- Southern Miss leads the all-time series, 26-19, and owns a 12-10 record in games played at South Alabama. South Alabama took the 2020 meeting, 76-75. The Golden Eagles are looking for their first win against the Jaguars since 2018.
- Freshman Rashad Bolden was named the C-USA Freshman of the Week on Monday, Nov. 29. Bolden tied the single-game points record for a freshman and posted the fourth-highest single-game shooting percentage against UNCW.
- Junior Tyler Stevenson has posted three double-doubles in his last four games, including a 21-point, 11-rebound performance against Montana on Friday night.
- Southern Miss and South Alabama have each played William Carey this season. Southern Miss beat the Crusaders, 81-67, and South Alabama beat the Hattiesburg foe, 96-53.
- Jay Ladner has gone with the same starting five for three consecutive games. Those five are Denijay Harris, Rashad Bolden, Mo Arnold, Isaih Moore, and Tyler Stevenson.
- Junior Isaih Moore has scored in double figures in all seven games this season, including a 17-point performance against Montana last time out.
- Junior Walyn Napper has dished out at least five assists in each of the last four games, including seven in each of the last two games.

Men's Basketball Continues Road Stint at South Alabama

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Players Mentioned

Mo Arnold

Rashad Bolden

Denijay Harris

Isaih Moore

Walyn Napper

Tyler Stevenson