Saturday, February 15
Monroe, LA
2 PM
Southern Miss
10-17,5-9Sun Belt
74
at
81
ULM
7-20,3-11Sun Belt
1
2
F
Southern Miss.
45
29
74
ULM
39
42
81
Southern Miss Falls at ULM on Saturday Afternoon
2/15/2025 5:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MONROE, La. – Southern Miss (10-17, 5-9 Sun Belt) blew a 10-point lead in the second half as ULM (7-20, 3-11 Sun Belt) stormed back to win 81-74 on Saturday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
Denijay Harris recorded his 14th double-double of the season as he went for 24 points and 13 rebounds. Harris went 9-for-13 from the floor as he matched Jalen Bolden's 24 points for the Warhawks. The Golden Eagles also got a solid performance from Neftali Alvarez, as the Puerto Rican scored 19 points and dished out six assists.
Southern Miss spread the ball around with 21 assists on 29 made baskets. The Golden Eagles shot 58.1 percent from the floor in the first on 18 made field goals – they only scored 11 in the second half.
The Golden Eagles finally return to Reed Green Coliseum on Thursday night to host Coastal Carolina. Tip-off will be at 7:30 p.m. and follow the Lady Eagles' 5 p.m. game. Southern Miss will then play its remaining three regular season games at home.
How it Happened
The Southern Miss offense showed both sides in Monroe – the good and the bad. Over the first nine minutes of the game, Southern Miss didn't miss consecutive shots. The Golden Eagles were 8-for-13 from field before stringing together three misses starting at the 11:06 mark.
The Golden Eagles were ahead 19-16 at its last made basket and then answered the three-straight misses with back-to-back makes. The score at that point was 23-19 in favor of the Golden Eagles. Andre Curbelo and Neftali Alvarez made consecutive three-pointers with 6:14 and 5:42 to play in the opening half, which put Southern Miss ahead 31-24.
After a Denijay Harris missed jumper, Southern Miss made its final five shots of the second half. Jett Montgomery checked in with four seconds left in the half for a baseline play off a whistle. Watson caught the in-bounds pass and fed Montgomery as the freshman drained a three-pointer with no time on the clock while fading to his right.
Southern Miss' offense came out firing in the first four minutes of the second half as it pushed its lead to 10 with 16:06 to play in the game. However, after Alvarez made consecutive layups, the Golden Eagles missed their next eight shot attempts over an eight-minute span.
ULM used a 17-2 run to take a 62-57 lead before Southern Miss made its next shot. Alvarez and Watson combined for a 5-0 to tie the game at 62-all with just under eight minutes to play.
The Warhawks answered with a 6-0 run that quieted the Golden Eagle offense. ULM halted another Southern Miss run to hold onto the six-point lead before Alvarez cut it to a four-point game. Then, Alfred Worrell Jr. drained a three-pointer in front of Southern Miss' bench to make it 75-74 in favor of ULM with 2:18 to play.
Unfortunately, that was the final points for the Golden Eagles. The Warhawks made six free throws down the stretch to hold on for a much-needed Sun Belt win. Southern Miss missed its final four shot attempts.
Digging into the Numbers
- ULM shot 52.7 percent from the floor against the Golden Eagles but only made three three-pointers
- Southern Miss shot 48.3 percent for the game after shooting 58.1 percent in the first half
- Denijay Harris and Neftali Alvarez each made nine field goals and shot a combined 18-for-31 from the field
- Southern Miss had 20+ assists for the third time this season. It had 25 assists two games ago at Ball State
Nuggets and Notes
- Southern Miss starters at ULM: #7 Christian Watson, #11 Andre Curbelo, #12 Neftali Alvarez, #13 Denijay Harris, #15 Christian Reid
- Southern Miss leads the all-time series 27-18 after the ULM win
- The Golden Eagles dished out 20+ assists for the third time this season. They had 25 at Ball State and 23 against Loyola New Orleans
- Southern Miss shot 48.3 percent from the floor marking the fourth time in the last five games it's shot at least 45 percent
- ULM outshot Southern Miss 27-12 from the free throw line
- Freshman Christian Reid made his first career start. He is the second freshman to start a game this season after Brewer Carruth started at Old Dominion
- Denijay Harris recorded his 14th double-double of the season after finishing with 24 points and 13 rebounds
- Harris scored 20+ points for the seventh time this season and second time in the last three games
- Neftali Alvarez scored 10+ points for the 13th time this season and for the second consecutive game
- Alvarez's nine made field goals were a season best, topping his eight against Lamar and UAB
- Alvarez's six assists are the most he's had in Sun Belt action this season
- Andre Curbelo dished out 5+ assists for the 10th time this season. He has at least five assists in four of the last five games
Denijay Harris recorded his 14th double-double of the season as he went for 24 points and 13 rebounds. Harris went 9-for-13 from the floor as he matched Jalen Bolden's 24 points for the Warhawks. The Golden Eagles also got a solid performance from Neftali Alvarez, as the Puerto Rican scored 19 points and dished out six assists.
Southern Miss spread the ball around with 21 assists on 29 made baskets. The Golden Eagles shot 58.1 percent from the floor in the first on 18 made field goals – they only scored 11 in the second half.
The Golden Eagles finally return to Reed Green Coliseum on Thursday night to host Coastal Carolina. Tip-off will be at 7:30 p.m. and follow the Lady Eagles' 5 p.m. game. Southern Miss will then play its remaining three regular season games at home.
How it Happened
The Southern Miss offense showed both sides in Monroe – the good and the bad. Over the first nine minutes of the game, Southern Miss didn't miss consecutive shots. The Golden Eagles were 8-for-13 from field before stringing together three misses starting at the 11:06 mark.
The Golden Eagles were ahead 19-16 at its last made basket and then answered the three-straight misses with back-to-back makes. The score at that point was 23-19 in favor of the Golden Eagles. Andre Curbelo and Neftali Alvarez made consecutive three-pointers with 6:14 and 5:42 to play in the opening half, which put Southern Miss ahead 31-24.
After a Denijay Harris missed jumper, Southern Miss made its final five shots of the second half. Jett Montgomery checked in with four seconds left in the half for a baseline play off a whistle. Watson caught the in-bounds pass and fed Montgomery as the freshman drained a three-pointer with no time on the clock while fading to his right.
Southern Miss' offense came out firing in the first four minutes of the second half as it pushed its lead to 10 with 16:06 to play in the game. However, after Alvarez made consecutive layups, the Golden Eagles missed their next eight shot attempts over an eight-minute span.
ULM used a 17-2 run to take a 62-57 lead before Southern Miss made its next shot. Alvarez and Watson combined for a 5-0 to tie the game at 62-all with just under eight minutes to play.
The Warhawks answered with a 6-0 run that quieted the Golden Eagle offense. ULM halted another Southern Miss run to hold onto the six-point lead before Alvarez cut it to a four-point game. Then, Alfred Worrell Jr. drained a three-pointer in front of Southern Miss' bench to make it 75-74 in favor of ULM with 2:18 to play.
Unfortunately, that was the final points for the Golden Eagles. The Warhawks made six free throws down the stretch to hold on for a much-needed Sun Belt win. Southern Miss missed its final four shot attempts.
Digging into the Numbers
- ULM shot 52.7 percent from the floor against the Golden Eagles but only made three three-pointers
- Southern Miss shot 48.3 percent for the game after shooting 58.1 percent in the first half
- Denijay Harris and Neftali Alvarez each made nine field goals and shot a combined 18-for-31 from the field
- Southern Miss had 20+ assists for the third time this season. It had 25 assists two games ago at Ball State
Nuggets and Notes
- Southern Miss starters at ULM: #7 Christian Watson, #11 Andre Curbelo, #12 Neftali Alvarez, #13 Denijay Harris, #15 Christian Reid
- Southern Miss leads the all-time series 27-18 after the ULM win
- The Golden Eagles dished out 20+ assists for the third time this season. They had 25 at Ball State and 23 against Loyola New Orleans
- Southern Miss shot 48.3 percent from the floor marking the fourth time in the last five games it's shot at least 45 percent
- ULM outshot Southern Miss 27-12 from the free throw line
- Freshman Christian Reid made his first career start. He is the second freshman to start a game this season after Brewer Carruth started at Old Dominion
- Denijay Harris recorded his 14th double-double of the season after finishing with 24 points and 13 rebounds
- Harris scored 20+ points for the seventh time this season and second time in the last three games
- Neftali Alvarez scored 10+ points for the 13th time this season and for the second consecutive game
- Alvarez's nine made field goals were a season best, topping his eight against Lamar and UAB
- Alvarez's six assists are the most he's had in Sun Belt action this season
- Andre Curbelo dished out 5+ assists for the 10th time this season. He has at least five assists in four of the last five games
Team Stats
USM
ULM
FG%
.483
.527
3FG%
.261
.231
FT%
.833
.741
RB
26
32
TO
14
13
STL
8
12
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
19
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballSouthern Miss-Alabama State Highlights - 12/05/24
Friday, December 06
MBB: Southern Miss vs. Loyola New Orleans Highlights
Wednesday, November 13
Postgame Highlights - Southern Miss vs. Xavier (La.)
Wednesday, March 06
La Familia Special Edition
Thursday, January 11