Golden Eagles Host South Dakota State in Thanksgiving Appetizer

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss men's basketball returns to Hattiesburg on Wednesday night to host South Dakota State on the eve of Thanksgiving Day. The 7 p.m. tip-off marks the first meeting between the Golden Eagles (2-3, 0-0 Sun Belt) and Jackrabbits (1-4, 0-0 Summit). Fans can purchase $6 tickets at the door.

Game 6: Southern Miss (2-3, 0-0 Sun Belt) vs. South Dakota State (1-4, 0-0 Summit)
Wednesday, November 22 at 7 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
Reed Green Coliseum (8,095)

The Golden Eagles are coming off back-to-back losses at the Jacksonville Classic in Jacksonville, Fla. They fell 67-65 to Utah Valley on Sunday before dropping 74-67 decision to Cal State Fullerton on Monday. Both Victor Hart and Tegra Izay had career performances in the loss to the Titans.
The game will feature Lee Roberts and Larry Boyd on ESPN+. Fans can listen on the Southern Miss Radio Network, Southern Miss Game Day App, or their local Southern Miss Network affiliate to hear John Cox on the call.

KEY GOLDEN EAGLE STORYLINES
- Hart scored a career-high 23 points in Monday's lost to Cal State Fullerton. Izay -- who went for 11 points and 10 rebounds -- notched his first career double-double
- Hart led all Golden Eagles with 18 points in the tournament opening loss to Utah Valley. He went 9-of-13 from the floor in that game -- the most field goals he has made in a single game
- Austin Crowley paced the Golden Eagles with 17 points after opening the season with a 19-point performance against William Carey
- Senior guard Mo Arnold has taken over as the floor general for the Golden Eagles -- he's averaging 7.0ppg, 7.5rpg and 4.5apg
- The 42 points scored by William Carey were the fewest under Jay Ladner and marked the 48^th time Southern Miss has held an opponent under 50 points since joining the Division I ranks
- Crowley (19), Donovan Ivory (13) and Victor Hart (12) all scored in double figures, while Crowley added 10 boards to pick up the first double-double of his career against the Crusaders
- Last season, Southern Miss racked up 25 wins for the fourth time in program history
- Crowley's breakout junior season included Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year, First Team All-Sun Belt, First Team All-NABC District 23, Lou Henson All-American, Lou Henson Player of the Year Finalist, and Howell Trophy Finalist
- The Golden Eagles lost Felipe Haase, Marcelo Perez, Tyler Morman, DeAndre Pinckney and Nico Aguirre to graduation. Denijay Harris (Arkansas) and GianFranco Grafals (Nova Southeastern) opted for the transfer portal
- Haase, Perez, Morman, Pinckney and Aguirre all signed professional contracts, while Haase signed the largest European rookie contract of any undrafted player
- Southern Miss hit big in the portal for the second consecutive season after landing Victor Iwuakor (UNLV/Oklahoma), Andre Curbelo (St. John's/Illinois), Ladner (Loyola New Orleans), Hall (Wallace State/Delta State), Lieb Yat (Seminole State College), Jose Benitez (Francis Marion) and Tegra Izay (Harcum/La Salle)
- Izay and Yat are the first 7-footers to don the Black and Gold since 7-foot-1 big man Gustavo Lino played for Southern Miss in 2009
- Juan Cardona was promoted to Associate Head Coach over the summer after producing one of the top defenses in college basketball
- Southern Miss' 18-win turnaround from the 2021-22 to 2022-23 was the second-best in NCAA Division I history. Iowa State owns the top spot at +22 in 2021-22

BREAKING DOWN SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
- The Jackrabbits have lost three consecutive games to fall to 1-4 on the season
- They dropped a pair of two-point games to UCF and George Mason at the Jacksonville Classic after losing 91-68 at Kansas State on Nov. 13
- Guard Zeke Mayo leads South Dakota State in scoring (20.2), rebounds (7.80) and assists (3.6)
- South Dakota State opened the season with an 81-75 loss to Akron at home -- Southern Miss also lost to Akron
- Mayo scored 22 points against George Mason to push home over the 1,000-point mark in his collegiate career
- Head coach Eric Henderson has guided the Jackrabbits to an 88-39 mark since taking over the program in 2019
- Henderson took the Jackrabbits to the NCAA Tournament during the 2022 season

SERIES HISTORY
- First meeting between the two schools

Follow @SouthernMissMBB on Facebook, Instagram and X for updates. Season tickets are available for the 2023-24 season -- Fans can purchase tickets at SouthernMissTickets.com, by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425) or visit the Pat Ferlise Ticket Office on campus weekdays during normal business hours.

Golden Eagles Host South Dakota State in Thanksgiving Appetizer

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Players Mentioned

Nico Aguirre

Mo Arnold

Jose Benitez

Austin Crowley

Andre Curbelo

GianFranco Grafals

Felipe Haase

Denijay Harris

Victor Hart

Donovan Ivory

Victor Iwuakor

Tegra Izay

Tyler Morman

Marcelo Perez

DeAndre Pinckney

Lieb Yat