University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Historic Season Comes to an End for Southern Miss in NIT Opener at UAB
3/14/2023 10:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Southern Miss' (25-8, 14-4 Sun Belt) historic season came to an end in the First Round of the National Invitational Tournament on Tuesday night against UAB at Bartow Arena. The Golden Eagles fell 88-60 to the Blazers (26-9, 14-6 C-USA).
Felipe Haase scored the first field goal of the game for Southern Miss, but it didn't come until the 15:46 mark of the first half. Thankfully, the Golden Eagle defense kept a high-scoring Blazers team at bay for the time being.
A DeAndre Pinckney flush started an 8-0 run for the Golden Eagles that erased a three-point UAB advantage. Southern Miss' lead then hit five when Nico Aguirre drained his first three-pointer in over two months to force a timeout by the fourth-seeded Blazers.
Jordan Walker helped UAB to a 7-0 run of its own after draining three free throws after being fouled by Haase outside the arc. That gave the Blazers a four-point lead before Haase and Pinkney teamed up to tie the game at 26-all with 5:29 left in the half. UAB, though, ripped off an 11-0 run to reach its largest lead of the night up to that point.
However, that's when the Golden Eagles turned on the jets. Austin Crowley – who finished with 13 points – drained a contested three-pointer that preceded a SportsCenter Top-10 dunk from Donovan Ivory. The Kaukauna, Wisc. native picked up an outlet pass and ran from half court to posterize a Blazer. That came after Denijay Harris had a Top-10 put-back dunk of his own earlier in the half.
Ivory's dunk cut it to six and then Pinckney unleashed back-to-back dunks to make it a four-point game after Trey Jemison scored following Ivory's slam. With two seconds left and UAB up six, Crowley heaved up a three-pointer that was closer to half court than the top of the arc. Fortunately, the shot fell of made it 41-38 in favor of UAB at the half. Southern Miss shot 48.4 percent from the floor in the half and Crowley's last-second three was the fourth of the half for the road team.
Out of halftime, Haase and Pinckney hit back-to-back threes to give Southern Miss a 44-41 lead. Despite the early signs of momentum, that was the final time the Golden Eagles would hold the lead. After Haase's three, UAB went of a 25-7 run over a 10-minute span that put the Blazers up 14 with 8:53 to go.
They continued to push their lead with a Ty Brewer dunk and Eric Gaines and-one, which effectively put the game out of reach for Southern Miss. The UAB lead peaked at 28 – the final score – with 25 seconds left when Efrem Johnson hit the Blazers' seventh three-pointer of the night.
The Golden Eagles struggled taking care of the ball as they finished with 24 turnovers. That mark was their most since finishing with 25 at UNLV before the Christmas break. The Blazers scored 30 points off turnovers and held the Golden Eagles to a 23.3 shooting percentage over the final 20 minutes.
Aguirre played 20-plus minutes for only the second time this season and finished with a career-high 13 points to go along with three triples – also a career best. Pinckney, who played his final game as a Golden Eagle, had 15 points and three steals.
Ivory came off the bench to provide six points and Harris also finished with six. Haase ended his collegiate career with seven points and seven assists.
The Golden Eagles finish their historic season with 25 wins, 14 Sun Belt wins, the best home record in program history, and a Sun Belt Regular Season Championship. All in all, Southern Miss had one of the best turnarounds in NCAA history.
Follow @SouthernMissMBB on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for updates.
Felipe Haase scored the first field goal of the game for Southern Miss, but it didn't come until the 15:46 mark of the first half. Thankfully, the Golden Eagle defense kept a high-scoring Blazers team at bay for the time being.
A DeAndre Pinckney flush started an 8-0 run for the Golden Eagles that erased a three-point UAB advantage. Southern Miss' lead then hit five when Nico Aguirre drained his first three-pointer in over two months to force a timeout by the fourth-seeded Blazers.
Jordan Walker helped UAB to a 7-0 run of its own after draining three free throws after being fouled by Haase outside the arc. That gave the Blazers a four-point lead before Haase and Pinkney teamed up to tie the game at 26-all with 5:29 left in the half. UAB, though, ripped off an 11-0 run to reach its largest lead of the night up to that point.
However, that's when the Golden Eagles turned on the jets. Austin Crowley – who finished with 13 points – drained a contested three-pointer that preceded a SportsCenter Top-10 dunk from Donovan Ivory. The Kaukauna, Wisc. native picked up an outlet pass and ran from half court to posterize a Blazer. That came after Denijay Harris had a Top-10 put-back dunk of his own earlier in the half.
Ivory's dunk cut it to six and then Pinckney unleashed back-to-back dunks to make it a four-point game after Trey Jemison scored following Ivory's slam. With two seconds left and UAB up six, Crowley heaved up a three-pointer that was closer to half court than the top of the arc. Fortunately, the shot fell of made it 41-38 in favor of UAB at the half. Southern Miss shot 48.4 percent from the floor in the half and Crowley's last-second three was the fourth of the half for the road team.
Out of halftime, Haase and Pinckney hit back-to-back threes to give Southern Miss a 44-41 lead. Despite the early signs of momentum, that was the final time the Golden Eagles would hold the lead. After Haase's three, UAB went of a 25-7 run over a 10-minute span that put the Blazers up 14 with 8:53 to go.
They continued to push their lead with a Ty Brewer dunk and Eric Gaines and-one, which effectively put the game out of reach for Southern Miss. The UAB lead peaked at 28 – the final score – with 25 seconds left when Efrem Johnson hit the Blazers' seventh three-pointer of the night.
The Golden Eagles struggled taking care of the ball as they finished with 24 turnovers. That mark was their most since finishing with 25 at UNLV before the Christmas break. The Blazers scored 30 points off turnovers and held the Golden Eagles to a 23.3 shooting percentage over the final 20 minutes.
Aguirre played 20-plus minutes for only the second time this season and finished with a career-high 13 points to go along with three triples – also a career best. Pinckney, who played his final game as a Golden Eagle, had 15 points and three steals.
Ivory came off the bench to provide six points and Harris also finished with six. Haase ended his collegiate career with seven points and seven assists.
The Golden Eagles finish their historic season with 25 wins, 14 Sun Belt wins, the best home record in program history, and a Sun Belt Regular Season Championship. All in all, Southern Miss had one of the best turnarounds in NCAA history.
Follow @SouthernMissMBB on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for updates.
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