University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Thursday, December 29
Reed Green Coliseum
7 PM
Southern Miss
12-2,1-0Sun Belt
64
vs
60
Troy
8-6,0-1Sun Belt
1
2
F
Troy
23
37
60
Southern Miss.
26
38
64
Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com
Southern Miss Picks Up First Sun Belt Victory After Downing Troy
12/29/2022 10:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – A stout defensive effort guided the Southern Miss men's basketball team to a 64-60 win over Troy (8-6, 0-1 SBC) in the Sun Belt Conference opener on Thursday night in Hattiesburg. The Golden Eagles (12-2, 1-0 SBC) had four of their five starters finish in double figures as Austin Crowley led the way with 17.
A raucous Reed Green Coliseum crowd ignited an early 10-0 run for the Golden Eagles to help break them to an 11-5 lead four minutes into the game. However, Troy took it right back to Southern Miss and quickly regained control to silence the 3,265 people at Reed Green Coliseum.
Four more lead changes took place before halftime until a Marcelo Perez free throw put Southern Miss up for good with the break looming. Denijay Harris, who finished with 12 points in his first start since Nov. 23, pushed the lead to three moments later to put the Coliseum crowd back on their feet. Felipe Haase added a quick bucket, but Troy ultimately answered back to make it a three-point game at the break.
A jumper from Haase opened the second half in Southern Miss' favor and then back-to-back Golden Eagle baskets gave the home team a nine-point lead. The quick burst forced Troy to take a timeout, though it didn't help as the lead was upped to 12 after Crowley knocked down a pair of free throws.
It wasn't all sweet as Troy mounted a comeback thanks to a 10-2 run that made it a three-point ballgame with 8:07 remaining in the Sun Belt debut for Southern Miss. After not hitting a three-pointer all game, Haase finally splashed one in for Southern Miss that halted the Trojan momentum.
With 4:54 left, Haase nailed a three-pointer with his back to the Southern Miss bench that got nearly every Golden Eagle off their feet. The significance? The Chilean was fouled and went on to convert the and-one to make it a 12-point advantage for the home team.
The Trojans quickly put the four-point play behind them and sliced it to 58-55 after a Kieffer Punter triple. A cat-and-mouse game followed with Troy following Southern Miss on nearly every possession down the stretch.
Over the final minute, Southern Miss made seven free throws send the Trojans packing. Haase put a stamp on his 16-point night with a free throw that put Southern Miss ahead by five with 15 ticks left on the clock.
DeAndre Pinckney finished with 10 points, while nine of those came in the first half before he battled foul trouble the rest of the game. Crowley finished with a team-high 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
Arnold recorded six of Southern Miss' 12 assists and Crowley had five of its 11 steals. The Golden Eagle defense forced 16 turnovers. They also limited the Trojans to a 34.5 percent shooting clip.
Haase finished with a team-high eight boards, while four different Golden Eagles had six rebounds to their name. Southern Miss' shooting woes from beyond the arc continued as it finished 2-of-16. On the flipside, Troy finished with eight three-pointers.
Up Next
Southern Miss will host App State on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. The New Year's Eve contest will be the third meeting between the two programs.
Game Notes
- Denijay Harris picked up his first start since Nov. 23 after missing time due to injury
- The Golden Eagles are 4-0 when Harris is in the starting lineup
- The 64-60 win was the first-ever Sun Belt Conference win for Southern Miss
- Four of Southern Miss five starters finished in double figures – Harris (12), DeAndre Pinckney (10), Austin Crowley (17), Felipe Haase (16)
A raucous Reed Green Coliseum crowd ignited an early 10-0 run for the Golden Eagles to help break them to an 11-5 lead four minutes into the game. However, Troy took it right back to Southern Miss and quickly regained control to silence the 3,265 people at Reed Green Coliseum.
Four more lead changes took place before halftime until a Marcelo Perez free throw put Southern Miss up for good with the break looming. Denijay Harris, who finished with 12 points in his first start since Nov. 23, pushed the lead to three moments later to put the Coliseum crowd back on their feet. Felipe Haase added a quick bucket, but Troy ultimately answered back to make it a three-point game at the break.
TOO LITTLE. Y'ALL ARE TOO LITTLE.
— Southern Miss MBB (@SouthernMissMBB) December 30, 2022
Denijay is into double figures 👏 pic.twitter.com/bwNcb0rBIz
A jumper from Haase opened the second half in Southern Miss' favor and then back-to-back Golden Eagle baskets gave the home team a nine-point lead. The quick burst forced Troy to take a timeout, though it didn't help as the lead was upped to 12 after Crowley knocked down a pair of free throws.
It wasn't all sweet as Troy mounted a comeback thanks to a 10-2 run that made it a three-point ballgame with 8:07 remaining in the Sun Belt debut for Southern Miss. After not hitting a three-pointer all game, Haase finally splashed one in for Southern Miss that halted the Trojan momentum.
With 4:54 left, Haase nailed a three-pointer with his back to the Southern Miss bench that got nearly every Golden Eagle off their feet. The significance? The Chilean was fouled and went on to convert the and-one to make it a 12-point advantage for the home team.
TRIPLE + 1 🤫@FelipeHaase13 | #SMTTT pic.twitter.com/mQnV9fymFv
— Southern Miss MBB (@SouthernMissMBB) December 30, 2022
The Trojans quickly put the four-point play behind them and sliced it to 58-55 after a Kieffer Punter triple. A cat-and-mouse game followed with Troy following Southern Miss on nearly every possession down the stretch.
Over the final minute, Southern Miss made seven free throws send the Trojans packing. Haase put a stamp on his 16-point night with a free throw that put Southern Miss ahead by five with 15 ticks left on the clock.
DeAndre Pinckney finished with 10 points, while nine of those came in the first half before he battled foul trouble the rest of the game. Crowley finished with a team-high 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
Arnold recorded six of Southern Miss' 12 assists and Crowley had five of its 11 steals. The Golden Eagle defense forced 16 turnovers. They also limited the Trojans to a 34.5 percent shooting clip.
Haase finished with a team-high eight boards, while four different Golden Eagles had six rebounds to their name. Southern Miss' shooting woes from beyond the arc continued as it finished 2-of-16. On the flipside, Troy finished with eight three-pointers.
Up Next
Southern Miss will host App State on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. The New Year's Eve contest will be the third meeting between the two programs.
Game Notes
- Denijay Harris picked up his first start since Nov. 23 after missing time due to injury
- The Golden Eagles are 4-0 when Harris is in the starting lineup
- The 64-60 win was the first-ever Sun Belt Conference win for Southern Miss
- Four of Southern Miss five starters finished in double figures – Harris (12), DeAndre Pinckney (10), Austin Crowley (17), Felipe Haase (16)
Team Stats
TROY
USM
FG%
.345
.407
3FG%
.276
.125
FT%
.800
.737
RB
36
40
TO
16
13
STL
6
11
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballF
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