Golden Eagles Host New Year's Eve Battle Against App State

Saturday, December 31

Reed Green Coliseum

2 PM

Southern Miss

Appalachian State

Tickets

Southern Miss Golden Eagles guard Mo Arnold (3) takes a three point shot in a game between the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and the Troy Trojans. December 29, 2022 (Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com)

Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com

Golden Eagles Host New Year's Eve Battle Against App State

12/30/2022 4:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Southern Miss men's basketball team welcomes App State (7-7, 0-1 SBC) to Hattiesburg on Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. New Year's Eve battle at Reed Green Coliseum. It's the final home game for the Golden Eagles (12-2, 1-0 SBC) before they embark on a four-game road trip over the next two weeks.

How to Follow
- Stream the game on ESPN+ at 2 p.m., with Will Kollmeyer and Larry Boyd on the call
- John Cox will carry the game on the Southern Miss Learfield Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and the Gameday App
- Follow @SouthernMissMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates

Golden Eagle Nuggets
- The Golden Eagles' 12 wins are the most under Jay Ladner in a single season since he started in 2018
- Their 12 wins are the second-most before New Year's Day and trail only the 13 wins the 2011-12 team recorded before the holiday
- Southern Miss picked up its first-ever Sun Belt win on Thursday night as it downed Troy, 64-60.
- The defensive battle featured 16 forced turnovers by Juan Cardona's defense and five blocks, including three from Felipe Haase
- Austin Crowley had a team-high 17 points and Haase added another 16 in the win over the Trojans. Denijay Harris (12) and DeAndre Pinckney (10) also finished in double figures for Southern Miss
- Pinckney is coming off a 23-point, 13-rebound game at UNLV last Thursday. Both were career bests
- Arnold finished the McNeese game with a career-high eight assists to go along with his 14 points and seven rebounds
- As of Friday, Southern Miss ranks 26th in scoring defense (60.6), 13th in scoring margin (17.4), 20th in steals per game (9.7), 12th in turnover margin (5.4) and 25th in turnovers forced per game (17.4)
- Southern Miss had a record-breaking day in the steals department against Lamar on Dec. 10 as its 21 steals was the fourth most in a single game in program history
- Three days later it set a program record for three-point attempts when it tried 42 at Lamar on Dec. 13
- Haase (7.3) and Pinckney (7.1) each average seven rebounds per contest and Haase's102 lead the team
- Ladner went with the starting lineup of Denijay Harris, Arnold, Crowley, Pinckney and Haase against Troy. It was the fourth time he's used it this season and they are 4-0 when that unit starts

Scouting the Mountaineers
- App State dropped its conference opener at Marshall on Thursday night, falling to the Thundering Herd, 53-79
- Tyree Boykin led all scorers with 20 points last game, his second 20-point performance of the season
- Justin Abson and CJ Huntley have combined for at least five blocks in five games this season (Charlotte, Furman, Kennesaw State, N.C. Central, Warren Wilson). Abson has the 20th-most blocks of anyone in the country with 31
- The Mountaineers average 29.8 bench points per game, the 22nd-highest mark in the nation (third in the SBC)
- Gregory continues to lead the squad, pacing the team in points (11.6), assists (48) and steals (21)

Series History
- This is the third meeting between the two schools
- Southern Miss took both the 1990 and 1991 games

Up Next
- The Golden Eagles head to Louisiana on Thursday, Jan. 5 for a 7 p.m. tipoff in Lafayette