University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Monday, November 25
Bozeman, Mont.
8 PM
Southern Miss
74
vs
82
Abilene Christian
Men's Basketball Falls 82-74 to Abilene Christian at Basketball Travelers Invitational
11/25/2024 11:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bozeman, Mont. – A valiant comeback attempt from Southern Miss (2-4, 0-0 Sun Belt) came up short on Monday night as it lost 82-74 to Abilene Christian (4-2, 0-0 WAC) at the Basketball Travelers Invitational in Bozeman, Mont.
The Golden Eagles fought back from a 13-point deficit late in the second half and cut the Wildcats' lead to five on three separate occasions down the stretch. To Abilene Christian's credit, it went 31-40 from the charity stripe and made eight freebies over the final four minutes.
Abilene Christian led for 37:28 after it took the lead 90 seconds into the ballgame and ran with it. Neftali Alvarez and Christian Watson had given the Golden Eagles an early edge before that point, but it was the final time they were in front.
The Wildcats built their first half advantage to as many as 12 when Quion Williams made a free throw with 4:21 left in the opening frame. Southern Miss weathered that storm thanks to Alvarez and a Jett Montgomery three-pointer, but another stretch of four free throws and a made deep ball from Abilene Christian made it a nine-point game at the break.
Williams put the Wildcats back up by 12 early in the second half and then came Cobie Montgomery bursting into the fold. The redshirt senior finished off a four-point play that swung the momentum to the Golden Eagles and made it a seven-point game. However, Abilene Christian answered with another offensive spurt to go back ahead by 13 – that was its largest lead of the night.
On cue, the three-headed duo of Alvarez, Montgomery and Denijay Harris ripped off an 11-4 run that made it a six-point game with 5:12 to play. Alvarez then got the Golden Eagles within five with less than four minutes on the game clock.
Unfortunately, that was the closest they would get before Abilene Christian held on for the win. The Golden Eagles hit nine three-pointers in the game as they shot 56.3 percent from deep. On the floor, Southern Miss shot 46.9 percent, while the Wildcats shot 51.1 percent.
Southern Miss outscored Abilene Christian in the second half, 34-33. The Wildcats grabbed 12 offensive rebounds and benefited from 37 bench points. The loss was the third-straight for Southern Miss as they get ready to return to Reed Green Coliseum.
Alvarez finished with 21 points, tying his season high from the UAB game. Harris added 16 points, while Cobie Montgomery scored 13. DeAntoni Gordon scored nine points before fouling out and Watson had eight.
The Golden Eagles will face Milwaukee on Saturday, Nov. 30. Tip-off from The Greenhouse is slated for 1 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
Game Notes
- Southern Miss used a new starting five: Cobie Montgomery, Lieb Yat, Neftali Alvarez, Christian Watson, Denijay Harris
- The loss gave Southern Miss a 0-2 record at the Basketball Travelers Invitational
- Christian Watson scored Southern Miss' first points of the game on a turnaround jumper
- DeAntoni Gordon was the first Golden Eagle off the bench as he came in for Yat
- Gordon fouled out for the second time this season
- Southern Miss' 19 made free throws were a season high as a team
Player Notes
- Yat's start was the first of his Southern Miss career
- Montgomery started his second game of the season and first since Southern Miss' game at UAB
- Montgomery hit three-plus three-pointers for the second time this season
- Jose Benitez appeared in his fourth consecutive game
- Jett Montgomery has made at least one three-pointer in every game he's played this season
- Jeffery Armstrong finished with a season-high three points
- Harris has now scored 10+ points in five games this season
- Cobie Montgomery's 13 points put him in double figures for the second time this season
- Jett Montgomery played a career-high 19 minutes
- Watson's three-pointer with 5:09 left in the game gave him at least one made triple in every game this season
- Alvarez scored 20+ points for the second time this season and ninth time in his career
- Harris made a career-high two three-pointers on three attempts
- Watson's two three-pointers tied his career high
The Golden Eagles fought back from a 13-point deficit late in the second half and cut the Wildcats' lead to five on three separate occasions down the stretch. To Abilene Christian's credit, it went 31-40 from the charity stripe and made eight freebies over the final four minutes.
Abilene Christian led for 37:28 after it took the lead 90 seconds into the ballgame and ran with it. Neftali Alvarez and Christian Watson had given the Golden Eagles an early edge before that point, but it was the final time they were in front.
The Wildcats built their first half advantage to as many as 12 when Quion Williams made a free throw with 4:21 left in the opening frame. Southern Miss weathered that storm thanks to Alvarez and a Jett Montgomery three-pointer, but another stretch of four free throws and a made deep ball from Abilene Christian made it a nine-point game at the break.
Williams put the Wildcats back up by 12 early in the second half and then came Cobie Montgomery bursting into the fold. The redshirt senior finished off a four-point play that swung the momentum to the Golden Eagles and made it a seven-point game. However, Abilene Christian answered with another offensive spurt to go back ahead by 13 – that was its largest lead of the night.
On cue, the three-headed duo of Alvarez, Montgomery and Denijay Harris ripped off an 11-4 run that made it a six-point game with 5:12 to play. Alvarez then got the Golden Eagles within five with less than four minutes on the game clock.
Unfortunately, that was the closest they would get before Abilene Christian held on for the win. The Golden Eagles hit nine three-pointers in the game as they shot 56.3 percent from deep. On the floor, Southern Miss shot 46.9 percent, while the Wildcats shot 51.1 percent.
Southern Miss outscored Abilene Christian in the second half, 34-33. The Wildcats grabbed 12 offensive rebounds and benefited from 37 bench points. The loss was the third-straight for Southern Miss as they get ready to return to Reed Green Coliseum.
Alvarez finished with 21 points, tying his season high from the UAB game. Harris added 16 points, while Cobie Montgomery scored 13. DeAntoni Gordon scored nine points before fouling out and Watson had eight.
The Golden Eagles will face Milwaukee on Saturday, Nov. 30. Tip-off from The Greenhouse is slated for 1 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
Game Notes
- Southern Miss used a new starting five: Cobie Montgomery, Lieb Yat, Neftali Alvarez, Christian Watson, Denijay Harris
- The loss gave Southern Miss a 0-2 record at the Basketball Travelers Invitational
- Christian Watson scored Southern Miss' first points of the game on a turnaround jumper
- DeAntoni Gordon was the first Golden Eagle off the bench as he came in for Yat
- Gordon fouled out for the second time this season
- Southern Miss' 19 made free throws were a season high as a team
Player Notes
- Yat's start was the first of his Southern Miss career
- Montgomery started his second game of the season and first since Southern Miss' game at UAB
- Montgomery hit three-plus three-pointers for the second time this season
- Jose Benitez appeared in his fourth consecutive game
- Jett Montgomery has made at least one three-pointer in every game he's played this season
- Jeffery Armstrong finished with a season-high three points
- Harris has now scored 10+ points in five games this season
- Cobie Montgomery's 13 points put him in double figures for the second time this season
- Jett Montgomery played a career-high 19 minutes
- Watson's three-pointer with 5:09 left in the game gave him at least one made triple in every game this season
- Alvarez scored 20+ points for the second time this season and ninth time in his career
- Harris made a career-high two three-pointers on three attempts
- Watson's two three-pointers tied his career high
Players Mentioned
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