Monday, November 4
Hattiesburg, Miss.
7 PM
Southern Miss
1-0,0-0Sun Belt
77
vs
68
Bowling Green
0-1,0-0MAC
1
2
F
Bowling Green
33
35
68
Southern Miss.
43
34
77
MBB: Golden Eagles Stand Firm in 77-68 Season-Opening Win Over Bowling Green
11/4/2024 10:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Jay Ladner stated postgame that he wanted his starters to eat today. They certainly did just that as all five scored in double figures to help Southern Miss (1-0, 0-0 Sun Belt) to a 77-68 season-opening win over Bowling Green (0-1, 0-0 MAC) on Monday night.
The Golden Eagles picked up the MAC-SBC Challenge win in front of 3,436 at Reed Green Coliseum and trailed only once in the contest. DeAnonti Gordon scored the first points of the season for Southern Miss before Bowling Green hit a three to take their only lead of the game.
The advantage lasted not but just a minute as Christian Watson and Neftali Alvarez combined for a pair of quick baskets to put the Golden Eagles back in front. Though holding the lead, Bowling Green stuck within five for much of the opening half and weathered a flurry of attempted Southern Miss runs. The Golden Eagles struck gold on a run late in the second half when Andre Curbelo and Alvarez went on a 6-0 run to put Southern Miss up six.
That six-point lead stuck into halftime as the Golden Eagles took a 43-33 lead into the locker room. Out of the break, Alvarez knocked down a pair of free throws to five Southern Miss a 12-point lead – the largest lead of the night at the time.
Bowling Green answered quickly to tame the Coliseum faithful and cut the lead to two just over five minutes into the half. An 11-2 run certainly helped the Golden Eagles after that as they went back ahead by 11. From there, the Falcons managed to scrape together another rally and made it a five-point game with roughly 90 seconds left on the clock.
Harris would go on to finish Ladner's "starters ate" statement as he drained clutch free throws to become the fifth starter in double figures. Ultimately, a spurt of scoring after Harris' free throws put the dagger in Bowling Green and gave the Golden Eagles their fifth season-opening win under Ladner.
Watson led all players with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. Curbelo added 16 points and dished out eight assists to go along with five rebounds. Alvarez and Gordon finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Harris was the final starter to reach that mark and had 11 points on a tough shooting night.
Bowling Green connected on 10 three-pointers, which helped it stick around. What doomed the Falcons was their 13 turnovers that came at timely points in the game. Southern Miss also finished with 10 blocks in a game for the first time since doing so against ULM last season.
The win moved Southern Miss to 52-28 all-time in season openers and 44-6 at The Greenhouse in openers.
Game Notes
- Southern Miss started DeAntoni Gordon, Andre Curbelo, Neftali Alvarez, Andre Curbelo and Denijay Harris
- Gordon scored the first points of the season with a layup at the 17:19 mark of the first half
- Southern Miss had all five starters score in double figures: Watson (17), Curbelo (16), Alvarez (14), Gordon (13), Harris (11). It was the first time Southern Miss did that since Feb. 10 against Louisiana the last season
- Southern Miss had 10 team blocks for the first time since Jan. 11, 2024
- Alfred Worrell had two points in his Division I debut
- Cobie Montgomery was the first Golden Eagle off the bench
The Golden Eagles picked up the MAC-SBC Challenge win in front of 3,436 at Reed Green Coliseum and trailed only once in the contest. DeAnonti Gordon scored the first points of the season for Southern Miss before Bowling Green hit a three to take their only lead of the game.
The advantage lasted not but just a minute as Christian Watson and Neftali Alvarez combined for a pair of quick baskets to put the Golden Eagles back in front. Though holding the lead, Bowling Green stuck within five for much of the opening half and weathered a flurry of attempted Southern Miss runs. The Golden Eagles struck gold on a run late in the second half when Andre Curbelo and Alvarez went on a 6-0 run to put Southern Miss up six.
That six-point lead stuck into halftime as the Golden Eagles took a 43-33 lead into the locker room. Out of the break, Alvarez knocked down a pair of free throws to five Southern Miss a 12-point lead – the largest lead of the night at the time.
Bowling Green answered quickly to tame the Coliseum faithful and cut the lead to two just over five minutes into the half. An 11-2 run certainly helped the Golden Eagles after that as they went back ahead by 11. From there, the Falcons managed to scrape together another rally and made it a five-point game with roughly 90 seconds left on the clock.
Harris would go on to finish Ladner's "starters ate" statement as he drained clutch free throws to become the fifth starter in double figures. Ultimately, a spurt of scoring after Harris' free throws put the dagger in Bowling Green and gave the Golden Eagles their fifth season-opening win under Ladner.
Watson led all players with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. Curbelo added 16 points and dished out eight assists to go along with five rebounds. Alvarez and Gordon finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Harris was the final starter to reach that mark and had 11 points on a tough shooting night.
Bowling Green connected on 10 three-pointers, which helped it stick around. What doomed the Falcons was their 13 turnovers that came at timely points in the game. Southern Miss also finished with 10 blocks in a game for the first time since doing so against ULM last season.
The win moved Southern Miss to 52-28 all-time in season openers and 44-6 at The Greenhouse in openers.
Game Notes
- Southern Miss started DeAntoni Gordon, Andre Curbelo, Neftali Alvarez, Andre Curbelo and Denijay Harris
- Gordon scored the first points of the season with a layup at the 17:19 mark of the first half
- Southern Miss had all five starters score in double figures: Watson (17), Curbelo (16), Alvarez (14), Gordon (13), Harris (11). It was the first time Southern Miss did that since Feb. 10 against Louisiana the last season
- Southern Miss had 10 team blocks for the first time since Jan. 11, 2024
- Alfred Worrell had two points in his Division I debut
- Cobie Montgomery was the first Golden Eagle off the bench
Team Stats
BGSU
USM
FG%
.409
.492
3FG%
.357
.227
FT%
.500
.857
RB
36
37
TO
13
13
STL
8
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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