Men's Basketball Opens Sun Belt Play at Reed Green Coliseum Against Marshall

Game 12: Southern Miss (4-7, 0-0 Sun Belt) vs. Marshall (7-5, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Saturday, December 21 at 2 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
Reed Green Coliseum (8,095)
Media Central

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- There's a palpable buzz around Hattiesburg as Southern Miss (4-7, 0-0 Sun Belt) is set to open Sun Belt play against Marshall (7-5, 0-0 Sun Belt) on Saturday afternoon. Maybe it's the storied rivalry that dates back to the Conference USA days, or it might just be the fact that newly named head football coach Charles Huff will address the crowd at halftime. Either way, the contest at Reed Green Coliseum will tipoff at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

Lee Roberts (PxP) and Larry Boyd (Color) will be on 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 John Cox on the call.

Who's Taking the Floor
Southern Miss Golden Eagles (4-7, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Head Coach: Jay Ladner | 6^th season at Southern Miss (69-96) | 10th season overall (145-184)

Marshall Thundering Herd (7-5, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Head Coach: Corny Jackson | 1^st season at Marshall (7-5) | 1^st season overall (7-5)

About Marshall
- Marshall heads to Hattiesburg riding a two-game winning streak after picking up wins over Ohio and West Virginia Wesleyan
- Four Herd players are averaging double-digit points with Mikal Dawson leading the way at 12.9 points per contest. Other players averaging 10+ points per game includes Obinna Anochili-Killen (11.8), Nate Martin (11.0) and Dezayne Mingo (10.2)
- Mingo leads the Sun Belt in assists at 56 and is averaging 5.1 per game. He dished out a career-high 10 assists against Virginia Wesleyan
- The Herd averages 78.3 points per game and just over 8.0 three-pointers per game
- Marshall is led by first-year head coach Corny Jackson, a 2001 Marshall graduate

History with the Thundering Herd
- Saturday is the 29^th meeting between the former Conference USA foes and is the third since both joined the Sun Belt in 2022
- Marshall leads the all-time series, 17-11, and have won the last five meetings
- Southern Miss is 8-2 against the Thundering Herd at home
- The last Southern Miss win was on March 14, 2019 at the C-USA Tournament

The 20-20 Club
- WOAH! That was a lot of rebounds for Denijay Harris. The Columbus, Miss. Product became the fourth player in program history to record a 20-point, 20-rebound game when he did so against Alabama State
- It was the first 20-20 game since Mike Coleman had 38 points and 26 rebounds against Milwaukee on Feb. 13, 1975
- Harris' 20 rebounds were the most by a Golden Eagle since Joe Dawson pulled down 20 rebounds against Missouri Western on Nov. 29, 1978

ALL-TIME 20-20 LIST
Pts. Rebs. PLAYER (DATE)
24 32 Wendell Ladner (2/08/70)
23 31 Wendell Ladner (1/27/70)
27 30 Wendell Ladner (12/7/68)
35 29 Wendell Ladner (1/27/68)
26 28 Wendell Ladner (1/29/68)
29 27 Wendell Ladner (1/7/70)
38 26 Mike Coleman (2/13/75)
21 25 Wendell Ladner (1/19/70)
29 25 Wendell Ladner (1/20/69)
20 25 Wendell Ladner (2/20/68)
34 24 Wendell Ladner (1/30/69)
30 24 Wendell Ladner (2/03/68)
30 22 Wendell Ladner (2/17/69)
31 21 Tom Yachinich (12/07/70)
25 21 Wendell Ladner (1/27/69)
36 20 Wendell Ladner (12/29/67)
20 20 Denijay Harris (12/05/24)

Thriller at The Greenhouse
- Southern Miss and Milwaukee played an instant classic in a 66-65 win on Nov. 30
- The Golden Eagles trailed by as many as 11 and were down four with less than a minute to play
- Harris made a clutch three-pointer with 40 seconds left with then gave Alvarez the game-winning play with 3.6 seconds left
- Watson set a screen for the Puerto Rican, who then get to the left side of the hoop for a wide-open layup

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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Men's Basketball Opens Sun Belt Play at Reed Green Coliseum Against Marshall

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Players Mentioned

Trey Alfonso

Brewer Carruth

Andre Curbelo

DeAntoni Gordon

Denijay Harris

Jett Montgomery

Christian Reid

John Wade III

Christian Watson

Alfred Worrell Jr.