Monday, December 30
Hattiesburg, Miss.
7 PM
Southern Miss
6-7,1-0Sun Belt
80
vs
70
William Carey
0-2
1
2
F
William Carey
31
39
70
Southern Miss.
35
45
80
Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com
Harris' Career Night Propels Men's Basketball to Crosstown Win Over William Carey
12/30/2024 10:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Once again, Denijay Harris played himself into the Southern Miss (6-7, 1-0 Sun Belt) record books in its 80-70 win over William Carey (11-4, 4-2 SSAC) on Monday night at Reed Green Coliseum.
The graduate forward became the fourth player in school history to record a 30-point, 20-rebound game. Harris finished the game with 32 points and 23 rebounds – both were a career best. The last Golden Eagle to record a 30-point, 20-rebound game was Mike Coleman on Feb. 13, 1975, when he had 38 points and 26 rebounds.
Harris' night not only was one for the history books, but it also helped the Golden Eagles avoid a loss to the crosstown school. William Carey started the game by scoring the first four points and held Southern Miss without a field goal for the first three-and-a-half minutes.
The Crusaders led by as many as six over the first 10 minutes of the game and were largely paced by Hattiesburg native Dylan Brumfield, who had nine of their first 14 points. Southern Miss' offense finally got going when Harris started a 10-0 run that turned the game to a five-point Golden Eagle lead.
Southern Miss managed to hold onto a lead the rest of the first half, though, William Carey hung around and went into the locker room only trailing 35-31. Harris and Brumfield matched each other with 13 points each in the first half, while Harris also had nine rebounds.
The second half did not start in favor of the Golden Eagles as William Carey used a 6-0 run to retake the lead three minutes into the half. The two schools traded leads eight times in the final half, including when the Crusaders were up three with 11:01 to play.
With William Carey in front, Harris took over right on cue with the Golden Eagles looking to extend their home record to 32-4 since the start of the 2022-23 season. A pair of free throws from the Columbus native ignited a 11-2 run over three minutes that put Southern Miss ahead by six.
Over the course of six minutes, Harris and Neftali Alvarez combined for 17 points. The two flipped it from a three-point deficit to a 10-point lead with 5:35 left on the clock. Andre Curbelo – after missing the last seven games – added three points over the tail end of the second half helped keep the Golden Eagles in front.
Cobie Montgomery sealed the win and gave Southern Miss its largest lead of the night when he hammered home a dunk with just under 60 seconds to play. The win extended Southern Miss' winning streak against William Carey to six and made the all-time series 16-2.
Alvarez added 14 points and Christian Watson finished with 10. Curbelo had a productive return with eight points, five assists and five steals. Southern Miss shot 50 percent in the second half and finished with a 46.2 percent clip from the floor.
The Golden Eagles hauled in 49 rebounds, 15 of which were offensive. Harris' performance was his second this season with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. He also became the first Golden Eagle since Victor Iwuakor last season to have at least 30 points and 10 rebounds.
The Golden Eagles return to Sun Belt action on Thursday, Jan. 2, when they take on James Madison in Harrisonburg, Va. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+. They then travel to Old Dominion on Saturday, Jan. 4, in Norfolk, Va.
Follow @SouthernMissMBB on X, Instagram and Facebook for the latest updates from the program.
The graduate forward became the fourth player in school history to record a 30-point, 20-rebound game. Harris finished the game with 32 points and 23 rebounds – both were a career best. The last Golden Eagle to record a 30-point, 20-rebound game was Mike Coleman on Feb. 13, 1975, when he had 38 points and 26 rebounds.
Harris' night not only was one for the history books, but it also helped the Golden Eagles avoid a loss to the crosstown school. William Carey started the game by scoring the first four points and held Southern Miss without a field goal for the first three-and-a-half minutes.
The Crusaders led by as many as six over the first 10 minutes of the game and were largely paced by Hattiesburg native Dylan Brumfield, who had nine of their first 14 points. Southern Miss' offense finally got going when Harris started a 10-0 run that turned the game to a five-point Golden Eagle lead.
Southern Miss managed to hold onto a lead the rest of the first half, though, William Carey hung around and went into the locker room only trailing 35-31. Harris and Brumfield matched each other with 13 points each in the first half, while Harris also had nine rebounds.
The second half did not start in favor of the Golden Eagles as William Carey used a 6-0 run to retake the lead three minutes into the half. The two schools traded leads eight times in the final half, including when the Crusaders were up three with 11:01 to play.
With William Carey in front, Harris took over right on cue with the Golden Eagles looking to extend their home record to 32-4 since the start of the 2022-23 season. A pair of free throws from the Columbus native ignited a 11-2 run over three minutes that put Southern Miss ahead by six.
Over the course of six minutes, Harris and Neftali Alvarez combined for 17 points. The two flipped it from a three-point deficit to a 10-point lead with 5:35 left on the clock. Andre Curbelo – after missing the last seven games – added three points over the tail end of the second half helped keep the Golden Eagles in front.
Cobie Montgomery sealed the win and gave Southern Miss its largest lead of the night when he hammered home a dunk with just under 60 seconds to play. The win extended Southern Miss' winning streak against William Carey to six and made the all-time series 16-2.
Alvarez added 14 points and Christian Watson finished with 10. Curbelo had a productive return with eight points, five assists and five steals. Southern Miss shot 50 percent in the second half and finished with a 46.2 percent clip from the floor.
The Golden Eagles hauled in 49 rebounds, 15 of which were offensive. Harris' performance was his second this season with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. He also became the first Golden Eagle since Victor Iwuakor last season to have at least 30 points and 10 rebounds.
The Golden Eagles return to Sun Belt action on Thursday, Jan. 2, when they take on James Madison in Harrisonburg, Va. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+. They then travel to Old Dominion on Saturday, Jan. 4, in Norfolk, Va.
Follow @SouthernMissMBB on X, Instagram and Facebook for the latest updates from the program.
Team Stats
WC
USM
FG%
.403
.462
3FG%
.214
.235
FT%
.857
.640
RB
33
49
TO
12
13
STL
10
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
32
FGM
13
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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