Men's Basketball Claws Back for 105-102 OT Win at New Orleans

Tuesday, October 22

New Orleans, LA

7 PM

Southern Miss

105

102

New Orleans (EXHIBITION)

Men's Basketball Claws Back for 105-102 OT Win at New Orleans

10/22/2024 10:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

NEW ORLEANS, La. – There was no shortage of offense for Southern Miss in its 105-102 overtime win against New Orleans on Tuesday night. The Golden Eagles rallied from an eight-point deficit with 6:51 to play to secure the exhibition win.

Denijay Harris produced a 30-point, 15-rebound night in his return to the Southern Miss lineup and drained the game-tying three-pointer with one second left on the clock. The shot tied the game at 90-all and sent the game to overtime after Southern Miss trailed by as many as eight down the stretch.

Despite scoring 105 points, the Golden Eagles got off to a slow start and trailed 10-5 at the first media timeout. The scoring started to heat up when Harris and Alfred Worrell Jr. made a pair of nifty plays to cut into the New Orleans lead and make it 20-18. Harris converted a nice euro step, while Worrell nailed a three-pointer.

Harris then tied it at 20 just a couple seconds later. The Privateers inched ahead again until freshman Jett Montgomery drilled consecutive three-pointer attempts to make it 39-38. The freshman then benefited from a steal that Andre Curbelo forced and took it the length of the floor to tie the game at 46-all with just under a minute to play. Neftali Alvarez then tied it up again at 48-all with nine seconds left in the half.

Alvarez's basket took the two teams into the break knotted after 20 minutes of play. Worrell Jr. led all scorers in the first half with 12 points, while Harris had nine points and eight rebounds in the opening frame.

The second half turned into a shootout as both teams continued to trade makes. The Golden Eagles and Privateers were tied 15 times and exchanged leads 10 times. The tides started to turn with New Orleans up eight and 49 seconds left in the game.

Harris made a tip-in layup for an and-one, then he hit a three-pointer to put Southern Miss within three. The Privateers added one point back to their lead with a free throw, but Curbelo made a layup to put the deficit at two. Once again, New Orleans added a point with a free throw, but this time it missed the backend of the shot. That's when DeAntoni Gordon grabbed a defensive rebound and found Harris for a contested triple to tie the game.

New Orleans went up 97-94 in overtime and that was the last time they held an advantage. Harris made another layup and then Gordon scored his first points of the game when he connected on a pair of free throws that pushed the Southern Miss lead to three. Harris then extended it to five before New Orleans ultimately cut the final score to 105-102.

Curbelo finished with 24 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Worrell Jr. finished with 20 points and went 11-for-11 from the charity stripe. As a team, Southern Miss went 35-for-42 from the free throw line. Jett Montgomery also finished in double figures with 10 points.

Southern Miss returns to action next Monday when it hosts Jackson State in its final tune-up before the regular season starts on Nov. 4. Single game and season tickets are available via SouthernMissTickets.com, calling 1-800-844-TICK or visiting the Pat Ferlise Ticket Office during normal business hours.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE SINGLE GAME TICKETS
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE SEASON TICKETS

Follow @SouthernMissMBB on X, Instagram and Facebook to get the latest Golden Eagle news.