MBB: Golden Eagles Open Basketball Travelers Invitational Sunday Night Against Montana State

BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Southern Miss men's basketball kicks off the Basketball Travelers Invitational on Sunday night against Montana State at Worthington Arena. The Golden Eagles will then play Abilene Christian Monday night in Bozeman, Mont. to continue the multi-team event. The Golden Eagles take on the Bobcats tomorrow night at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

Game 5: Southern Miss (2-2, 0-0 Sun Belt) at Montana State (1-4, 0-0 Big Sky)
Sunday, November 24 at 7 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
Worthington Arena (6,772)

Game 6: Southern Miss (2-2, 0-0 Sun Belt) vs. Abilene Christian (3-2, 0-0 WAC)
Monday, November 25 at 8 p.m. CT
TV: None | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
Worthington Arena (6,772)

Ian Laird (PxP) and Quaird Ash (Color) will be on the ESPN+ call. Fans can listen on the Southern Miss Radio Network, Southern Miss Game Day App, or their local Southern Miss Network affiliate to hear Chris Harris on the call.

The Opening Tip
- Southern Miss, Montana State and Abilene Christian are all looking to pick up wins after dropping their recent games last week
- The Golden Eagles lead the Sun Belt in assists per game (17.0), blocks per game (6.3), and scoring offense (85.3)
- Sunday's game against Montana State is the third meeting between the two, while Southern Miss and Abilene Christian meet for the first time on Monday night
- Southern Miss is the only Sun Belt team with five players averaging 10+ points per game through the first week of the season: Alvarez (13.3), Gordon (10.5), Watson (11.8), Curbelo (13.0), Harris (13.0)
- Southern Miss is 28-3 at Reed Green Coliseum since the start of '22-23 season and 2-0 this season after beating the Wolf Pack last week
- Southern Miss returns six players that saw action last season, while only Cobie Montgomery and Tegra Izay saw limited starts
- Neftali Alvarez — sat out last season due to injury — and Harris are both back in the Black & Gold this season. Harris suited up for Arkansas last season after playing a key role in the '22-23 Sun Belt regular season title
- Eight players will suit up for the Golden Eagles this season that ever never donned the Golden Eagle logo. That list included Alfred Worrell Jr., DeAntoni Gordon, Brewer Carruth, Jett Montgomery, Christian Watson, John Wade III, Christian Reid, and Lieb Yat

About the Bobcats
- Montana State is coming off a 72-69 loss at Northwestern after trading the lead 13 times
- The Bobcats return to Worthington Arena after playing four of their first five games on the road
- The projected starting rotation for Montana State has played 102 combined games and nine players on the team have at least four years of college basketball experience
- Brandon Walker leads the Bobcats in scoring at 13.6 points per game in 18 minutes of action per contest
- Max Agbonkpolo and Jabe Mullins are both scoring 10+ points per game and Agbonkpolo leads Montana State with 5.2 boards per game

About the Wildcats
- Before dropping its last game against Kennesaw State, Abilene Christian topped Sun Belt foe Texas State, 72-60
- The Wildcats' game against Southern Miss is the second game of a six-game road trip
- The Wildcats are averaging 41.4 rebounds per game and are No. 19 in the country in rebounding margin at +11.8
- Quion Williams leads the team in scoring at 15.0 points per game, while Leonardo Bettiol (13.0) and Hunter Jack Madden (11.6) are also scoring in double figures

History with the Bobcats
- Sunday's game is the third all-time meeting between the two teams
- It's the first meeting since Nov. 21, 2009, where Southern Miss won 66-62 in Bozeman
- The first meeting was a 68-60 win for the Golden Eagles in Hattiesburg on Jan. 24, 2009

History with the Wildcats
- This is the first meeting between Southern Miss and Abilene Christian

The historic offensive outburst
- Southern Miss averaged 88.3 points per game over the first three games for a total of 265 points
- It's the second-highest scoring average over the first three games in the last 25 seasons
- Southern Miss averaged 88.7 points per game to start the 2018-19 season with scoring totals of 111, 74 and 81
- The current offensive output is No. 36 in the country and the best in the Sun Belt

Dipping into the Portal
- The Golden Eagles once again loaded up on veteran talent in the transfer portal after adding four players with Division I experience
- The four additions are DeAntoni Gordon (Little Rock), Christian Watson (Miami), John Wade III (Stanislaus State) and Denijay Harris (Arkansas)
- Gordon brings the beefiest resume after earning All-OVC honors at Little Rock while leading the Trojans in nearly every category at some point during his three-year career. Gordon played his first season of college basketball at Wichita State
- Watson and Harris have both played on the biggest stages during their careers at Miami (Fla.) and Arkansas, respectively. Watson was a member of the Hurricanes' 2022-23 Final Four team and logged minutes in NCAA Tournament
- Wade III had a stop at Cal State Northridge during the 2022-23 season but played at Stanislaus State last season. While at CSUN, Wade III played in only 10 games
- Ladner added Alfred Worrell Jr. comes to Southern Miss after playing JUCO ball at John A. Logan college

The Youngsters are Back
- Brewer Carruth, Jett Montgomery, and Christian Reid are the first freshman Ladner has signed since the 2021-22 season
- Current senior Trey Alfonso was the last freshman Southern Miss had
- Carruth prepped at Parklane Academy in McComb, while Reid played at Mater Lakes Academy. Montgomery enjoyed a standout career at Independence High School, but is no stranger to Southern Miss has his father, Mark, was a standout wide receiver for the Golden Eagles

Season Openers
- Since the 2000-01 season, Southern Miss has won 20 season openers
- The Golden Eagles are 5-1 in season openers under Ladner and have won their last four: Bowling Green, William Carey (2x) and Vanderbilt

Preseason Accolades
- Redshirt senior Andre Curbelo was tabbed Preseason Third Team All-Sun Belt by the league's coaches
- Curbelo appeared in 12 games last season while waiting for a NCAA waiver and later battling injuries
- He recorded the second triple-double in program history when he had 12 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds against Georgia State last season
- Southern Miss was picked to finish fifth in the preseason league poll

60 Years at Reed Green Coliseum
- The 2024-25 season marks the 60th season of Golden Eagle basketball at Reed Green Coliseum
- Southern Miss officially moved into The Greenhouse ahead of the 1965-66 season and played Alabama on Dec. 11 in the arena's dedication game
- The Golde Eagles are 522-239 on their home court and have had three undefeated seasons at Reed Green Coliseum

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.

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MBB: Golden Eagles Open Basketball Travelers Invitational Sunday Night Against Montana State

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Players Mentioned

Trey Alfonso

Neftali Alvarez

Brewer Carruth

Andre Curbelo

DeAntoni Gordon

Denijay Harris

Tegra Izay

Cobie Montgomery

Jett Montgomery

Christian Reid

John Wade III

Christian Watson

Alfred Worrell Jr.

Lieb Yat

University of Southern Mississippi Athletics