MBB: Southern Miss and Alabama State Set for Thursday Afternoon Matinee

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss (3-4, 0-0 Sun Belt) continues its short homestand on Thursday afternoon when it hosts Alabama State (3-5, 0-0 SWAC) at 2:30 p.m. inside Reed Green Coliseum. The Golden Eagles are 3-0 at home this season and 29-3 in Hattiesburg since the start of the 2022-23 season.

Promotions
- Jurado Hinton makes his return to The Greenhouse as the Hardwood Hero. Hinton will get honored in the first half with an on-court recognition
- Free Walk-On's will be available to all students while supplies last
- All fans with a ticket to the MHSAA Football State Championships can get into the men's game for free with proof of purchase

Game 8: Southern Miss (3-4, 0-0 Sun Belt) vs. Alabama State (3-5, 0-0 SWAC)
Thursday, December 5 at 2:30 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
Reed Green Coliseum (8,095)

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

The Opening Tip
- Southern Miss is coming off a last-second, 66-65 win over Milwaukee last Saturday. Neftali Alvarez scored with 3.6 seconds left to secure the win
- Denijay Harris scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed eight boards in the win. Jett Montgomery also set a new career mark in scoring with 13 points
- Southern Miss is 29-3 at Reed Green Coliseum since the start of '22-23 season and 3-0 this season
- The Golden Eagles and Alabama State are set to meet for the fourth time and first since 2008
- Harris leads the team in scoring at 14.3 points per game, while Alvarez (12.7) and Watson (10.6) are both averaging double figures
- Harris is one of two Sun Belt players averaging at least 14 points and seven rebounds a game this season
- The Golden Eagles are 3-0 this season when keeping opponents below 69 points
- Both Jeffery Armstrong and Harris have seen action in 100 collegiate basketball games
- Southern Miss returns six players that saw action last season, while only Cobie Montgomery and Tegra Izay saw limited starts
- Neftali Alvarez — sat out last season due to injury — and Harris are both back in the Black & Gold this season. Harris suited up for Arkansas last season after playing a key role in the '22-23 Sun Belt regular season title
- Eight players will suit up for the Golden Eagles this season that ever never donned the Golden Eagle logo. That list included Alfred Worrell Jr., DeAntoni Gordon, Brewer Carruth, Jett Montgomery, Christian Watson, John Wade III, Christian Reid, and Lieb Yat

About the Hornets
- Alabama State is coming off a 101-72 loss at SMU on Tuesday night. The Hornets made 13 three-pointers in the loss
- Amarr Knox leads Alabama State in scoring at 15.5 points per game and is coming off a 17-point performance against SMU
- CJ Hines and TJ Madlock are both averaging double-digits in scoring at 14.4 and 12.5 points per game, respectively
- Tony Madlock is 24-47 in his third season at the helm
- Madlock's team is 3-5 heading into the Thursday contest and are 2-3 in the last five games
- Alabama State's 9.9 three-pointers per game is No. 48 in the country and their 9.9 turnovers per game is No. 33

History with the Hornets
- Southern Miss leads the all-time series 3-0 and are 3-0 in Hattiesburg
- The first meeting was an 80-43 win for Southern Miss on Nov. 18, 2006
- The last meeting was on Nov. 18, 2008, when Southern Miss won 74-61

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.

Follow @SouthernMissMBB on X, Instagram and Facebook to get the latest Golden Eagle news.

MBB: Southern Miss and Alabama State Set for Thursday Afternoon Matinee

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Players Mentioned

Trey Alfonso

Neftali Alvarez

Jeffery Armstrong

Brewer Carruth

Andre Curbelo

DeAntoni Gordon

Denijay Harris

Tegra Izay

Cobie Montgomery

Jett Montgomery

Christian Reid

John Wade III

Christian Watson

Alfred Worrell Jr.

Lieb Yat