Monday, December 18
Beaumont, TX
7 PM
Southern Miss
6-5,0-0Sun Belt
82
at
79
Lamar
5-6,0-0Southland
1
2
F
Southern Miss.
38
44
82
Lamar University
35
44
79
Southern Miss Outlasts Lamar with Late Mo Arnold Dagger
12/18/2023 10:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BEAUMONT, Texas – It was a game of storylines for Southern Miss in Monday's 82-79 win at Lamar (5-6, 0-0 Southland). Austin Crowley netted his 1,000th collegiate point on a night where Andre Curbelo made his Golden Eagle (6-5, 0-0 Sun Belt) debut. Then, Mo Arnold played hero down the stretch with a clutch three-pointer in crunch time.
Crowley achieved the feat on a 22-point night that saw the West Point native hit four three-pointers. Meanwhile, Curbelo scored 13 points and dished out six assists in his first appearance since getting cleared by the NCAA.
Southern Miss found itself in a back-and-forth game early on in Beaumont after the Cardinals tied the game at 18-all halfway through the opening frame. Moments before the Valentin Catt bucket at the 10:13 mark, Curbelo scored his first Southern Miss points on a nifty move in the paint.
Crowley's historic bucket put Southern Miss up six with 6:15 left in the half. Arnold then hit one of his three three-pointers moments later that halted a brief Lamar rally that put the home team within two. The Cardinals hit a 5-0 run after Arnold's basket to tie the game at 33-33, but Arnold came up huge again with his second triple of the night. Adam Hamilton answered a Crowley layup right before halftime to cut Lamar's deficit to three at the break.
The Crowley show continued into the second half as he quickly gave Southern Miss an eight-point lead after a step-back jumper across from the Golden Eagle bench. The basket resulted in the senior yelling "I am the one" – and he certainly backed it up. Curbelo then gave Southern Miss its largest lead of the night after he finished an acrobatic three-on-one play under the hoop.
Up 13 after that highlight reel play from Curbelo, Lamar put its foot on the gas in an attempt to mount a comeback. The Cardinals' pressure paid off Jakevion Buckley cut the Southern Miss lead to six with 8:22 to play. Errol White then made it a two-point game before Terry Anderson converted an and-one to tie the game at 67-all. Lamar took the lead on three separate occasions after that point and saw its bried one-point lead vanish after Curbelo found Arnold in the corner for a three-pointer with 25 seconds on the clock.
Crowley created a turnover on the ensuing possession that forced Lamar to foul Curbelo. The transfer guard hit his second free throw to put Southern Miss up three, but Adam Hamilton immediately answered with a dunk that made it a one-point game with 12 seconds on the clock.
Fortunately, Southern Miss went 4-for-4 after Hamilton's slam that sealed the road win. In total, the Golden Eagle made seven free throws on nine attempts over the final four minutes of the game. Southern Miss shot 46.8 percent in the win and dished out 18 assists, which was the second-highest output of the season.
Curbelo and Arnold led the way with six dimes each. Arnold poured in a season-high 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the floor. Tegra Izay (9) and Victor Iwuakor (8) combined for 17 rebounds to help Southern Miss win the rebounding battle 41-36. Izay added nine points on the night and Iwuakor finished with seven.
Cobie Montgomery contributed with six of Southern Miss' 23 bench points. The Golden Eagles connected on 10 three-pointers at a 37 percent clip.
Southern Miss returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 23 against Ole Miss at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.
Game Notes
- Junior guard Andre Curbelo made his Southern Miss debut after sitting out the first 10 games due to NCAA transfer rules
- The Golden Eagles dished out 18+ assists for the second time this season
- Austin Crowley finished as Southern Miss' leading scorer for the fourth time this season
- Crowley scored his 1,000th career collegiate point on his third three-pointer of the game
- Southern Miss' 17 turnovers were a season high
- Mo Arnold finished with a season-high 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting
Crowley achieved the feat on a 22-point night that saw the West Point native hit four three-pointers. Meanwhile, Curbelo scored 13 points and dished out six assists in his first appearance since getting cleared by the NCAA.
𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 #𝗟𝗮𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 💛
— Southern Miss MBB (@SouthernMissMBB) December 19, 2023
Congrats to @TheRealAC5 on reaching 1,000 collegiate points. pic.twitter.com/pHLUvY3ksL
Southern Miss found itself in a back-and-forth game early on in Beaumont after the Cardinals tied the game at 18-all halfway through the opening frame. Moments before the Valentin Catt bucket at the 10:13 mark, Curbelo scored his first Southern Miss points on a nifty move in the paint.
Crowley's historic bucket put Southern Miss up six with 6:15 left in the half. Arnold then hit one of his three three-pointers moments later that halted a brief Lamar rally that put the home team within two. The Cardinals hit a 5-0 run after Arnold's basket to tie the game at 33-33, but Arnold came up huge again with his second triple of the night. Adam Hamilton answered a Crowley layup right before halftime to cut Lamar's deficit to three at the break.
The Crowley show continued into the second half as he quickly gave Southern Miss an eight-point lead after a step-back jumper across from the Golden Eagle bench. The basket resulted in the senior yelling "I am the one" – and he certainly backed it up. Curbelo then gave Southern Miss its largest lead of the night after he finished an acrobatic three-on-one play under the hoop.
A 🐶 @MoArnold4 | #SMTTT pic.twitter.com/iXnvHXQWTS
— Southern Miss MBB (@SouthernMissMBB) December 19, 2023
Up 13 after that highlight reel play from Curbelo, Lamar put its foot on the gas in an attempt to mount a comeback. The Cardinals' pressure paid off Jakevion Buckley cut the Southern Miss lead to six with 8:22 to play. Errol White then made it a two-point game before Terry Anderson converted an and-one to tie the game at 67-all. Lamar took the lead on three separate occasions after that point and saw its bried one-point lead vanish after Curbelo found Arnold in the corner for a three-pointer with 25 seconds on the clock.
Crowley created a turnover on the ensuing possession that forced Lamar to foul Curbelo. The transfer guard hit his second free throw to put Southern Miss up three, but Adam Hamilton immediately answered with a dunk that made it a one-point game with 12 seconds on the clock.
A 🐶 @MoArnold4 | #SMTTT pic.twitter.com/iXnvHXQWTS
— Southern Miss MBB (@SouthernMissMBB) December 19, 2023
Fortunately, Southern Miss went 4-for-4 after Hamilton's slam that sealed the road win. In total, the Golden Eagle made seven free throws on nine attempts over the final four minutes of the game. Southern Miss shot 46.8 percent in the win and dished out 18 assists, which was the second-highest output of the season.
Curbelo and Arnold led the way with six dimes each. Arnold poured in a season-high 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the floor. Tegra Izay (9) and Victor Iwuakor (8) combined for 17 rebounds to help Southern Miss win the rebounding battle 41-36. Izay added nine points on the night and Iwuakor finished with seven.
Cobie Montgomery contributed with six of Southern Miss' 23 bench points. The Golden Eagles connected on 10 three-pointers at a 37 percent clip.
Southern Miss returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 23 against Ole Miss at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.
Game Notes
- Junior guard Andre Curbelo made his Southern Miss debut after sitting out the first 10 games due to NCAA transfer rules
- The Golden Eagles dished out 18+ assists for the second time this season
- Austin Crowley finished as Southern Miss' leading scorer for the fourth time this season
- Crowley scored his 1,000th career collegiate point on his third three-pointer of the game
- Southern Miss' 17 turnovers were a season high
- Mo Arnold finished with a season-high 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting
Team Stats
USM
Lamar
FG%
.468
.456
3FG%
.370
.273
FT%
.636
.733
RB
41
36
TO
17
13
STL
5
8
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
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