Golden Eagles Return Home to Host Georgia State Thursday Night

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Twenty-six days. That's how many days it will have been since Southern Miss hosted a men's basketball game at Reed Green Coliseum when it tips off against Georgia State (6-6, 1-0 Sun Belt) on Thursday night at 7 p.m. The Golden Eagles (6-7, 0-1 Sun Belt) welcome the Panthers to the Hub City in the second week of Sun Belt Conference action and do it on Military Appreciation Night.

All military members and immediate family get free admission to the game when presenting a valid military ID at the box office.

Game 14: Southern Miss (6-7, 0-1 Sun Belt) vs. Georgia State (6-6, 1-0 Sun Belt)
Thursday, January 4 at 7 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
Reed Green Coliseum (8,095)

Southern Miss is coming off loss to then-winless Georgia Southern last Saturday to open league play. The Golden Eagles, though, saw Andre Curbelo go for 18 points, seven rebounds and four steals – it was his best outing as a Golden Eagle to date. Inside Hanner Fieldhouse, Georgia Southern scorched the nets as it went 15-for-28 from deep and erased an early deficit to claim the win in Statesboro, Ga. Austin Crowley and Donovan Ivory joined Curbelo in double-digit scoring with 15 and 10 points, respectively.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Lee Roberts and Larry Boyd 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
- Curbelo led the Golden Eagles in points (18), rebounds (7) and steals (4) in the conference opener in Statesboro
- 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 48th 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

SCOUTING GEORGIA STATE
- The Panthers head to Hattiesburg coming off a 91-90 win against Arkansas State on Saturday
- Dwon Odom had a season-high 24 points in the win and hit the deciding free throws with 7.8 seconds left to secure the win
- Georgia State leads the Sun Belt and ranks No. 10 in Division I free throw percentage at .785
- Three of the Panthers' top four scorers are transfers – Lucas Taylor (14.2), Toneari lane (12.1) and Dwon Odom (11.5)
- The Panthers are the winningest team in the state of Georgia since the 2011-12 season with a 240-152 record

THE SERIES HISTORY
- The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series, 8-5, dating back to 1954
- Southern Miss and Georgia State met for the first time last season since the two played a non-conference series for four-straight seaons
- Southern Miss took the 2023 meeting via a 79-71 score in Atlanta
- The Golden Eagles are 5-2 in Hattiesburg against Georgia State

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.

Golden Eagles Return Home to Host Georgia State Thursday Night

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Players Mentioned

Nico Aguirre

Mo Arnold

Austin Crowley

Andre Curbelo

Felipe Haase

Victor Hart

Donovan Ivory

Victor Iwuakor

Tegra Izay

Tyler Morman

Marcelo Perez

DeAndre Pinckney

Lieb Yat