Golden Eagles Travel to Georgia Southern to Open Sun Belt Play

Southern Miss Golden Eagles guard Mo Arnold (3) takes a shot in a game between the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and the Ole Miss Rebels at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. December 23, 2023. (Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com)

Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com

Golden Eagles Travel to Georgia Southern to Open Sun Belt Play

12/29/2023 3:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Southern Miss men's basketball team ends its four-game road trip at Georgia Southern (0-12, 0-0 Sun Belt) on Saturday afternoon as it opens Sun Belt Conference play in Statesboro, Ga. The Golden Eagles (6-6, 0-0 Sun Belt) and Eagles tip-off from Hanner Fieldhouse at 2 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

Game 13: Southern Miss (6-6, 0-0 Sun Belt) vs. Georgia Southern (0-12, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Saturday, December 30 at 2 p.m. CT
TV: None | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
Hanner Fieldhouse (4,325)

The Golden Eagles headed into the Christmas break sporting a 6-6 record through 12 non-conference games. They'll play one more against a MAC opponent in the MAC-SBC Challenge on Feb. 10. Southern Miss picked up wins over William Carey, Xavier (La.), Milwaukee, UAB, Northwestern State and Lamar in that stretch. Southern Miss is coming off a 17-point loss to No. 25 Ole Miss on Dec. 23 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Cobie Montgomery went for 15 points on a career-high three made triples.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Daniel Waugh, Jared Denk and Ainsley Clifford on the call. 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
- Andre Curbelo, Victor Hart, Victor Iwuakor and Montgomery all scored in double figures against Ole Miss
- Hart picked up the third double-double of his career with 13 points and 11 rebounds against the Rebels
- Post players Tegra Izay (9) and Victor Iwuakor (8) combined for 17 rebounds and 16 points against Lamar
- Izay hauled in a career-high 14 rebounds in 30 minutes of action against McNeese
- Iwuakor led all Golden Eagles against Northwestern State with a career-high 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor. Montgomery went for a career-high 17 points
- Southern Miss' 35 bench points were the most in a single game against a Division I opponent this season
- Southern Miss' 53.8 percent shooting from the floor against Northwestern State was the best this season and marked the second consecutive game where it shot over 50 percent from the floor
- Ivory enjoyed a 32-point outburst in a road win at Milwaukee, while Hart helped the Golden Eagles to a win at UAB with a 26-point performance
- 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
- 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
- Departed Golden Eagles Felipe Haase, Marcelo Perez, Tyler Morman, DeAndre Pinckney and Nico Aguirre all signed professional contracts, while Haase signed the largest European rookie contract of any undrafted player
- Tegra Izay and Lieb 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 GEORGIA STATE
- Georgia Southern opens conference play in search of its first win this season – its 0-12 overall heading into Saturday
- The Eagles are paced by Tyren Moore's 12.0 points per game. The guard had 14 points in the last meeting against Southern Miss
- Center Carlos Curry played with Crowley at Ole Miss during the 2019-20 season
- Moore has dropped 30 points in back-to-back home games for the Eagles and went 4-for-5 from deep during that sretch
- First-year head coach Charlie Henry was most recently an assistant coach at Alabama under Nate Oats

SERIES HISTORY
- Saturday marks the 13^th meeting between the two programs and second-straight year they meet as conference foes
- The Golden Eagles are 1-3 in games played in Statesboro, while its lone win was a 74-69 decision in 1961
- Southern Miss has won the last three meetings, including a 73-62 win at Reed Green Coliseum last season

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.