University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Saturday, February 24
Hattiesburg, Miss.
6 PM
Southern Miss
16-13,9-7Sun Belt
82
vs
71
Louisiana
17-12,9-7Sun Belt
1
2
F
Louisiana
29
42
71
Southern Miss.
31
51
82
Men's Basketball Picks Up 82-71 Win Over Louisiana on Senior Night
2/24/2024 9:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – It was a storybook ending for six Southern Miss (16-13, 9-7 Sun Belt) seniors on Saturday night as they cruised to an 82-71 win over Louisiana (17-12, 9-7) in the final home game at Reed Green Coliseum this season.
Jay Ladner also made a surprise return to The Greenhouse when he walked onto the floor for the pregame ceremony honoring seniors Austin Crowley, Donovan Ivory, Mo Arnold, Victor Hart, Victor Iwuakor and Tate Ryder. Southern Miss led the game for 38 minutes and only trailed for 50 seconds.
"Ladner is the man who blessed me and my family," said interim head coach Juan Cardona. "It's my job, and our job as a staff to bless him and keep blessing people through the help he gave us. Without him opening the door then I'm not here…It starts and ends with Coach Ladner."
The Ragin' Cajuns scored on their first possession of the game to take an early lead, which wound up being their last lead of the night. Following Kobie Julien's basket, Southern Miss rattled off an 8-0 run that got the 4,845 fans up on their feet.
Then the highlight of the night happened. Making his first career start, Tate Ryder drilled a corner three that set the tone for the rest of the game. Southern Miss went on a 12-4 run over the next three minutes that put the home team up 12. Louisiana responded with some timely shots and a stout defensive stretch to cut the lead to six at the halfway point of the half.
Southern Miss cut into the Ragin' Cajun run when Andre Curbelo scored the first of his 24 points. Iwuakor followed with a free throw and layup to build the lead back to nine. Louisiana stayed around late in the half and ended up cutting the Golden Eagle lead to four on a Themus Fulks jumper at the buzzer. Southern Miss escaped with a 31-29 lead after the first 20 minutes of action.
"The guys who came here for two years just landed the 41st win in two years, plus the tournament and the two games we have left," Cardona said. "There is something to be said about that. There's no way in the regular season that for two years in a row that we have a positive record."
The second half – outside of two-minute stretch – was all Southern Miss. It started the half on 9-0 run and outscored Louisiana 23-8 to open the final frame. The lead pushed to as many as 17 when Hart hit one of his three triples seven minutes into half.
Louisiana slowly started to creep back into the game when Joe Charles hit a three-pointer to cut it to a six-point game and then he another to make it a five-point game a minute later. Despite a putback dunk from Crowley and an alley oop from Hart, the Ragin' Cajuns managed to play through the loud atmosphere.
But when Arnold hit a three-pointer with 3:35 left, it proved to be the dagger. Crowley tacked on to the shot with four-straight points to make it a 13-point game with just over 90 seconds to play. Curbelo ended the game with a free throw that tied his career high in scoring, which was set two games ago.
Following Curbelo's free throws, Cardona subbed Curbelo, Iwuakor and Arnold to much applause from the Southern Miss fans. Iwuakor ended his final home game as a Golden Eagle with 12 points and 11 rebounds to notch his fifth double-double this season. Crowley finished with 18 points and is now three points shy of 1,000 career points as a Golden Eagle.
Hart finished his night with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Arnold added another eight. The Golden Eagles nearly doubled up Louisiana in rebounding, winning the battle 46-29. The Golden Eagles finished the game shooting 52.6 percent from the floor and 46.7 percent from deep.
The Golden Eagles finish the season on a two-game road trip at South Alabama and Louisiana. The first of the stretch comes in Mobile on Wednesday night against the Jaguars. Tip-off from the Mitchell Center is slated for 7 p.m.
Game Notes
- Tate Rdyer made his first career start in his final game at Reed Green Coliseum
- Andre Curbelo tied his career high in scoring with 24 points
- Southern Miss outrebounded Louisiana 46-29
- Victor Iwuakor (12p-11r) picked up his fifth double-double this season
Jay Ladner also made a surprise return to The Greenhouse when he walked onto the floor for the pregame ceremony honoring seniors Austin Crowley, Donovan Ivory, Mo Arnold, Victor Hart, Victor Iwuakor and Tate Ryder. Southern Miss led the game for 38 minutes and only trailed for 50 seconds.
"Ladner is the man who blessed me and my family," said interim head coach Juan Cardona. "It's my job, and our job as a staff to bless him and keep blessing people through the help he gave us. Without him opening the door then I'm not here…It starts and ends with Coach Ladner."
The Ragin' Cajuns scored on their first possession of the game to take an early lead, which wound up being their last lead of the night. Following Kobie Julien's basket, Southern Miss rattled off an 8-0 run that got the 4,845 fans up on their feet.
Then the highlight of the night happened. Making his first career start, Tate Ryder drilled a corner three that set the tone for the rest of the game. Southern Miss went on a 12-4 run over the next three minutes that put the home team up 12. Louisiana responded with some timely shots and a stout defensive stretch to cut the lead to six at the halfway point of the half.
Southern Miss cut into the Ragin' Cajun run when Andre Curbelo scored the first of his 24 points. Iwuakor followed with a free throw and layup to build the lead back to nine. Louisiana stayed around late in the half and ended up cutting the Golden Eagle lead to four on a Themus Fulks jumper at the buzzer. Southern Miss escaped with a 31-29 lead after the first 20 minutes of action.
"The guys who came here for two years just landed the 41st win in two years, plus the tournament and the two games we have left," Cardona said. "There is something to be said about that. There's no way in the regular season that for two years in a row that we have a positive record."
The second half – outside of two-minute stretch – was all Southern Miss. It started the half on 9-0 run and outscored Louisiana 23-8 to open the final frame. The lead pushed to as many as 17 when Hart hit one of his three triples seven minutes into half.
Louisiana slowly started to creep back into the game when Joe Charles hit a three-pointer to cut it to a six-point game and then he another to make it a five-point game a minute later. Despite a putback dunk from Crowley and an alley oop from Hart, the Ragin' Cajuns managed to play through the loud atmosphere.
But when Arnold hit a three-pointer with 3:35 left, it proved to be the dagger. Crowley tacked on to the shot with four-straight points to make it a 13-point game with just over 90 seconds to play. Curbelo ended the game with a free throw that tied his career high in scoring, which was set two games ago.
Following Curbelo's free throws, Cardona subbed Curbelo, Iwuakor and Arnold to much applause from the Southern Miss fans. Iwuakor ended his final home game as a Golden Eagle with 12 points and 11 rebounds to notch his fifth double-double this season. Crowley finished with 18 points and is now three points shy of 1,000 career points as a Golden Eagle.
Hart finished his night with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Arnold added another eight. The Golden Eagles nearly doubled up Louisiana in rebounding, winning the battle 46-29. The Golden Eagles finished the game shooting 52.6 percent from the floor and 46.7 percent from deep.
The Golden Eagles finish the season on a two-game road trip at South Alabama and Louisiana. The first of the stretch comes in Mobile on Wednesday night against the Jaguars. Tip-off from the Mitchell Center is slated for 7 p.m.
Game Notes
- Tate Rdyer made his first career start in his final game at Reed Green Coliseum
- Andre Curbelo tied his career high in scoring with 24 points
- Southern Miss outrebounded Louisiana 46-29
- Victor Iwuakor (12p-11r) picked up his fifth double-double this season
Team Stats
LA
USM
FG%
.394
.526
3FG%
.240
.467
FT%
.722
.625
RB
29
46
TO
9
16
STL
11
7
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
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