Harris Goes for Career-High 22 Points in Win at Arkansas State

Saturday, January 14

Jonesboro, AR

2 PM

Southern Miss

15-4,4-2Sun Belt

Arkansas State

9-10,1-5Sun Belt

Southern Miss.

Arkansas St.

Harris Goes for Career-High 22 Points in Win at Arkansas State

1/14/2023 5:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Game Book

JONESBORO, Ark. – Denijay Harris dropped a career-high 22 points on Saturday afternoon as the Southern Miss (15-4, 4-2 SBC) men's basketball team blew past Arkansas State (9-10, 1-5 SBC) 74-57. It was the 15^th win of the season and its fourth in Sun Belt Conference play.

Arkansas State jumped to an early five-point lead before DeAndre Pinckney opened the Southern Miss scoring. The Red Wolves then had a front row seat to the Mo Arnold and Harris show. Arnold hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to two, then Harris threw down an emphatic dunk to tie the game at nine-all in the blink of an eye.

The Columbus, Miss. product then scored the next seven points in a 90-second span to give the Golden Eagles a five-point advantage. When Arkansas state answered the Harris run, Arnold drained back-to-back three-pointers to put the Golden Eagles ahead by six.

Arnold's three triples were a season-high and one shy of his career best. Meanwhile, Harris was chasing is career-high before the under-eight media timeout even occurred. Harris had 11 points with eight minutes left in the opening half and needed only three to tie his previous career high.

After that under-eight media timeout, Arkansas State got back-to-back buckets from Avery Felts and Julian Lual to make it a one-point game. Thankfully, Austin Crowley and Felipe Haase decided to team up for a 6-0 run to give Southern Miss a seven-point lead – it was the largest of the day at that point.

Pinckney's three-pointer at the 2:52 mark was the only points for Southern Miss over the final five minutes of the half. Arkansas State was able to answer and tie the game at 33-33 when the buzzer went off.

Both teams shot 42 percent from the floor, and both connected on four three-pointers. The Golden Eagles coughed the ball up nine times in the first 20 minutes before going on to limiting that number to six in the second half.

The final 20 minutes was all Southern Miss. The Black and Gold outscored Arkansas State 23-3 over the first seven minutes of the half and showed that they men business when Harris finished a contested and-one to make it a seven-point game right off the bat.

Harris then set his new career-high in points on a thunderous dunk to put Southern Miss up by 21. Crowley (14) and Harris (11) combined for 25 of Southern Miss' 41 points in the second half. Nico Aguirre connected on his first three-pointer since Dec. 4, which started an 11-0 run. Another 8-0 run two minutes later put the Golden Eagles ahead by 25, their largest lead of the day.

Pinckney added seven points in the second half to finish with 12. Crowley went for 18 points and has now scored in double figures in each of the last 10 games. Haase finished with 10 points and a team-high eight boards to match Harris' eight rebounds. Pinckney finished with a career-high five assists.

Southern Miss shot a flaming hot 54 percent from the floor in the second half and finished the game at a 47.4 percent clip. The Golden Eagles connected on seven three-pointers. They also pulled down 40 rebounds to Arkansas State's 28.

Up Next
Southern Miss will open a four-game homestand on Thursday, Jan. 19 against South Alabama. The game will tip at 7 p.m. inside Reed Green Coliseum.

Game Notes
- Denijay Harris finished with a career-high 22 points, surpassing his previous career best of 14. He went 10-of-15 from the floor
- Mo Arnold hit a season-high three three-pointers. All three came in the first half
- DeAndre Pinckney finished with a career-high five assists
- Austin Crowley has now scored 10-plus points in each of his last ten games after finishing with 18 today
- Southern Miss moved to 5-4 on the road this season and 2-2 in Sun Belt road games
- The Golden Eagle defense held Arkansas State to eight points below its season average (65.8)