Men's Basketball Succumbs to South Alabama in Sun Belt Quarterfinals

Saturday, March 4

Pensacola, FL

11:30 AM

Southern Miss

25-7,14-4Sun Belt

(8) South Alabama

18-15,9-9Sun Belt

South Alabama

Southern Miss.

Men's Basketball Succumbs to South Alabama in Sun Belt Quarterfinals

3/4/2023 3:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Game Book

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Southern Miss' run in the Sun Belt Tournament came to an end on Saturday as South Alabama (18-15, 9-9 SBC) defeated the top-seeded Golden Eagles (25-7, 14-4 SBC) 78-61 at the Pensacola Bay Center.

Forward Denijay Harris put up 18 points and 12 rebounds to record his second-straight double-double, while going 7-of-12 from the field. The Columbus, Miss. product had eight points and eight rebounds at halftime to help Southern Miss take a one-point lead into the locker room.

Felipe Haase joined Harris with eight points at the break before going on to finish the game with 18. Harris put the Golden Eagles up four early in the second half after intercepting a Jaguar pass and streaking down the court for any easy dunk, but that lead didn't last long.

South Alabama ripped off a 9-0 run to take a five-point advantage. The eighth-seeded Jaguars maintained that lead for the next four minutes until a Harris jumper tied the game. Mo Arnold then six-straight points to swing the lead back in Southern Miss' favor.

However, Owen White answered to give South Alabama the lead for good. The Jaguars went on a 20-2 run to make it an 18-point deficit for Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles could never answer the run and ultimately saw their postseason hopes slip away.

Austin Crowley added 13 points for Southern Miss and DeAndre Pinckney pulled down nine rebounds. Arnold finished with eight points after being inserted back into the starting lineup today.

Southern Miss shot 37.3 percent from the floor for the game and went 4-of-17 from deep. Crowley and Haase each had two three-pointers.

The Golden Eagles earned an automatic berth to the National Invitational Tournament after winning the Sun Belt regular season title last week. They will await their fate on March 12 after the selection show.