Saturday, November 30
Hattiesburg, Miss.
1 PM
Southern Miss
3-4,0-0Sun Belt
66
vs
65
Milwaukee
5-4,0-0Horizon
1
2
F
Milwaukee
32
33
65
Southern Miss.
31
35
66
MBB: Alvarez's Late Basket Stuns Milwaukee as Golden Eagles win 66-65
11/30/2024 4:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Neftali Alvarez's late-game heroics helped Southern Miss (3-4, 0-0 Sun Belt) to a 66-65 win over Milwaukee (5-4, 0-0 Horizon) on Saturday afternoon. The win moved the Golden Eagles to 29-3 at Reed Green Coliseum over the last three seasons.
Southern Miss was only in the lead for 1:12, but the final four seconds were the only seconds that mattered after Alvarez's game-winning layup. The Golden Eagles also got a massive three-pointer from Denijay Harris with 40 seconds left that brought the deficit to one, then Jeffery Armstrong grabbed a rebound that setup the final seconds of the game.
Before all that could happen, though, Southern Miss had to claw back from an 11-point deficit at one point. To get to that point, the Panthers used a 10-0 run to pull ahead by double digits just over five minutes into the game. The Golden Eagles managed to weather the storm and hung around before making a move before the under-four media timeout.
Alfred Worrell Jr., DeAntoni Gordon and Cobie Montgomery nailed three three-pointers to help Southern Miss to a 9-2 run. The deep-ball barrage brought it to a tie game after Montgomery drilled a trey with 4:29 to go in the half.
Jett Montgomery then answered a Milwaukee run as he hit a three-pointer that started a 7-0 run for the Golden Eagles. Gordon put Southern Miss ahead by two with 69 seconds left in the half, but the Panthers scored late to take a 32-31 lead into the half. Montgomery's three-pointer gave him at least one made deep ball in every game this season.
Milwaukee kept up the momentum to open the second half as Darius Duffy slammed home a dunk and Themus Fulks went on 7-0 run by himself. Then Harris took over for Southern Miss. The Arkansas transfer – with a Jett Montgomery jumper in the middle – went on a scoring spurt that pulled Southern Miss within four with 12:25 left.
The Golden Eagles then got a 6-0 run from the other Montgomery – Cobie – and Christian Reid, which tied the game at 52-all with 6:48 left on the clock. That's when it looked like Milwaukee was about to answer and runaway with the game. The Panthers quickly pulled back ahead by as many as six with 3:52 left.
Jett Montgomery answered yet again as the freshman pulled up from about 24-feet out and drilled a three-pointer to make it a three-point game. Again, the Panthers answered, but so did Harris. That's when the late-game antics kicked in.
The unsung hero of Alvarez's game-winner was Christian Watson, who set a screen that allowed the point guard a clear lane to the hoop as the clock ticked down. Watson then helped Jeffery Armstrong on defense as Harris came racing in on the backside to disrupt the shot.
Alvarez had the game-winner, but Harris finished with a career-high 24 points and eight rebounds to lead Southern Miss in both categories. Jett Montgomery also set a new career best in scoring with 13 points.
Cobie Montgomery added 10 points, while Alvarez finished with eight. Gordon pulled down seven rebounds and scored six points. The Golden Eagles tied their season high in offensive rebounds with 13.
Despite the win, Southern Miss shot 39.7 percent from the floor compared to Milwaukee's 50 percent clip. However, the Golden Eagles shot it 43.5 percent from deep on 10-for-23 shooting.
UP NEXT
Southern Miss hosts Alabama State on Thursday, Dec. 5, at Reed Green Coliseum. Tip-off will be at 2:30 p.m. or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Southern Miss women's basketball game.
🧅🧅🧅@ayalaneftali3 | #SMTTT pic.twitter.com/dOHMC0eqj4
— Southern Miss MBB (@SouthernMissMBB) November 30, 2024
Southern Miss was only in the lead for 1:12, but the final four seconds were the only seconds that mattered after Alvarez's game-winning layup. The Golden Eagles also got a massive three-pointer from Denijay Harris with 40 seconds left that brought the deficit to one, then Jeffery Armstrong grabbed a rebound that setup the final seconds of the game.
Before all that could happen, though, Southern Miss had to claw back from an 11-point deficit at one point. To get to that point, the Panthers used a 10-0 run to pull ahead by double digits just over five minutes into the game. The Golden Eagles managed to weather the storm and hung around before making a move before the under-four media timeout.
Alfred Worrell Jr., DeAntoni Gordon and Cobie Montgomery nailed three three-pointers to help Southern Miss to a 9-2 run. The deep-ball barrage brought it to a tie game after Montgomery drilled a trey with 4:29 to go in the half.
Jett Montgomery then answered a Milwaukee run as he hit a three-pointer that started a 7-0 run for the Golden Eagles. Gordon put Southern Miss ahead by two with 69 seconds left in the half, but the Panthers scored late to take a 32-31 lead into the half. Montgomery's three-pointer gave him at least one made deep ball in every game this season.
Milwaukee kept up the momentum to open the second half as Darius Duffy slammed home a dunk and Themus Fulks went on 7-0 run by himself. Then Harris took over for Southern Miss. The Arkansas transfer – with a Jett Montgomery jumper in the middle – went on a scoring spurt that pulled Southern Miss within four with 12:25 left.
The Golden Eagles then got a 6-0 run from the other Montgomery – Cobie – and Christian Reid, which tied the game at 52-all with 6:48 left on the clock. That's when it looked like Milwaukee was about to answer and runaway with the game. The Panthers quickly pulled back ahead by as many as six with 3:52 left.
Jett Montgomery answered yet again as the freshman pulled up from about 24-feet out and drilled a three-pointer to make it a three-point game. Again, the Panthers answered, but so did Harris. That's when the late-game antics kicked in.
Nails 🎯
— Southern Miss MBB (@SouthernMissMBB) November 30, 2024
Career-high 24 points for Denijay. Golden Eagles trail by 1 pic.twitter.com/zDjh4dJTB9
The unsung hero of Alvarez's game-winner was Christian Watson, who set a screen that allowed the point guard a clear lane to the hoop as the clock ticked down. Watson then helped Jeffery Armstrong on defense as Harris came racing in on the backside to disrupt the shot.
Alvarez had the game-winner, but Harris finished with a career-high 24 points and eight rebounds to lead Southern Miss in both categories. Jett Montgomery also set a new career best in scoring with 13 points.
Cobie Montgomery added 10 points, while Alvarez finished with eight. Gordon pulled down seven rebounds and scored six points. The Golden Eagles tied their season high in offensive rebounds with 13.
Despite the win, Southern Miss shot 39.7 percent from the floor compared to Milwaukee's 50 percent clip. However, the Golden Eagles shot it 43.5 percent from deep on 10-for-23 shooting.
UP NEXT
Southern Miss hosts Alabama State on Thursday, Dec. 5, at Reed Green Coliseum. Tip-off will be at 2:30 p.m. or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Southern Miss women's basketball game.
Team Stats
MKE
USM
FG%
.500
.397
3FG%
.188
.435
FT%
.471
.833
RB
38
30
TO
17
12
STL
6
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
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