Southern Miss
5-4,0-0Sun Belt
Northwestern State
1-8,0-0Southland
Men's Basketball Grinds Out An 83-74 Home Win Over Northwestern State
12/9/2023 5:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Victor Iwuakor and Cobie Montgomery powered Southern Miss to an 83-74 win over Northwestern State (1-8, 0-0 Southland) on Saturday at Reed Green Coliseum – both Iwuakor and Montgomery enjoyed career performances. The Golden Eagles (5-4, 0-0 Sun Belt) finished the game with five scorers in double figures for the first time in nearly a year.
"I've said it a million times that it's hard to win Division I games and if this is called an ugly win count me in on that ugly every time," said head coach Jay Ladner. "I think we are still finding ourselves. It's just going to take this team a little longer to get where we need to get."
𝟮-𝟬 𝗜𝗡 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥
— Southern Miss MBB (@SouthernMissMBB) December 9, 2023
Instant highlights from this afternoon 📹 pic.twitter.com/56OCpBV6Gi
What made the production from the two even more impressive was the fact that they both came off the bench. Iwuakor and Montgomery subbed into the game for the first time when Southern Miss held a six-point lead – Montgomery hit a jumper on the ensuing possession to set the tone for his afternoon.
The Golden Eagles then pushed ahead by 13 when Iwuakor took a pass from Mo Arnold and drained a jumper with 6:51 left in the first half. The Demons inched their way back into the game and cut the home teams lead to six when Justin Wilson silenced the Greenhouse crowd with a dunk. That quietness quickly vanished when Arnold fed Donovan Ivory for an alley-oop that reenergized the crowd and put Southern Miss up 11. Montgomery pushed the lead to 12 with a free throw, but Northwestern State made it an 11-point game at the half.
Victor Hart only had two points in the opening 20 minutes, but made his presence known with a career-high four assists – his previous game high was three. The Golden Eagles also benefited from nine assists on 13 made field goals in the half.
As the second half started, Northwestern State came out of the locker room with one thing on its mind – score and score quick. It did just that as the Demons exploded for a 15-0 run that game them a 43-41 lead less than five minutes into the second half. Much of their scoring over the final 20 minutes came from Cliff Davis, who went 7-of-14 from deep for the game.
The two teams traded blows as Northwestern State pushed its lead to three with 14:06 on the clock. As the Golden Eagles tensed up, Montgomery rose to occasion as the redshirt junior flipped the script and gave Southern Miss a five-point lead two minutes after trailing by three.
The Golden Eagles hovered around a two-point lead for the next three minutes before the Demons used a Braelon Bush layup to tie the game at 57-57. From there, Iwuakor and Montgomery hammered home back-to-back dunks that pushed the momentum back to the Black and Gold. That sparked a 6-0 run that pushed the lead back to 11 and forced the Demons into panic mode.
Southern Miss was able to hold off a late rally from the hands of Davis as Ivory drained a pair of free throws to seal the nine-point win. Austin Crowley chipped in with 10 points and seven assists to lead all ball handlers in the assist column. Ivory finished with 13 points and five rebounds – the senior drew eight fouls over his 32 minutes of playing time.
Hart ended his afternoon with 17 points and 12 rebounds to pick up his second career double-double and his second consecutive double-double at home. Iwuakor finished with a career-high 18 points, while Montgomery dropped a career-high 17 points.
The Golden Eagles finished the game with a 49.2 percent shooting clip from the floor and shot 60 percent in the second half. Northwestern State hung around thanks to 11 three-pointers, including eight in the second half. Southern Miss grabbed 40 rebounds and 17 of which were of the offensive variety.
Southern Miss starts a four-game road swing next Wednesday as it travels to McNeese. Tip-off from Lake Charles, La. Is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
Game Notes
- Victor Hart dished out a career-high 5 assists, while four of those came in the first half
- Victor Iwuakor finished with a career-high 18 points and Cobie Montgomery had a career-high 17 points
- Southern Miss finished with five players on double figures for the first time since Dec. 18, 2022
- Hart finished with a career-high 12 rebounds
- Southern Miss has scored 80+ points in three-straight games
