Men's Basketball Upended by Louisiana on Senior Night

Saturday, February 22

Hattiesburg, Miss.

7 PM

Southern Miss

10-19,5-11Sun Belt

Louisiana

11-18,8-8Sun Belt

Louisiana

Southern Miss.

Men's Basketball Upended by Louisiana on Senior Night

2/22/2025 10:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Game Book Postgame Notes

Hattiesburg, Miss. – Denijay Harris finished with his 16^th double-double of the season on Saturday night against Louisiana (11-18, 8-8 Sun Belt), but Southern Miss (10-19, 5-11 Sun Belt) fell 62-60 to the Cajuns at Reed Green Coliseum.

Harris' 12-point, 17-rebound performance moved him into a tie for the seventh-most double-doubles in a single season at Southern Miss. It was his third consecutive double-double after previously recording one against ULM and Coastal Carolina.

Neftali Alvarez led Southern Miss in scoring on senior night, as the Puerto Rican finished with 14 points in front of a large contingency of family and friends. Fellow senior DeAntoni Gordon added 10 points and six rebounds, while Christian Watson poured in 11 points.

The Golden Eagles opened the game with a Cobie Montgomery three-pointer as the redshirt senior has now made a triple in 24 of the last 25 games. Montgomery finished with eight points in 27 minutes of playing time.

Southern Miss held the Cajuns to a 37 percent shooting clip, but Louisiana drained nine three-pointers. On the flip side, the Golden Eagles shot the ball at a 45 percent clip and only made three three-pointers.

Reed Green Coliseum will play host to the final two regular season games next week as Southern Miss welcomes South Alabama and Troy. The week starts against the Jaguars on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. – the game will follow the women's basketball game scheduled for 5 p.m.

How it Happened
Cobie Montgomery scored the first points of the night has he extended his three-pointer streak to 24 of the last 25 games. The Golden Eagles forced the Ragin' Cajuns to an 18.2 percent shooting over the first four-and-a-half-minutes as they started 2-for-11. Meanwhile, Southern Miss got timely baskets from Denijay Harris and DeAntoni Gordon to take a two-point edge into the first media timeout.

The two teams then went the next six minutes with just one field goal apiece. Jeffery Armstrong busted the scoring drought with a corner three-pointer by the Cajun bench that momentarily gave Southern Miss the lead. Chancellor White and Kyran Ratliff had an answer to the Armstrong trey as the two rattled off a three-pointer and a dunk to flip it to a five-point Cajun advantage.

Louisiana led for the next five minutes before Neftali Alvarez started a 6-0 Golden Eagle run that turned into a 23-20 lead for the home team. The advantage stuck until Kentrell Garnett and Michael Thomas drained back-to-back three-pointer in the final sixty seconds to make it 28-25 at halftime.

The second half turned into a thriller with six lead changes and three ties. Southern Miss didn't waste any time responding as Alvarez got the lead back within two minutes of playing time. However, that didn't last long with the Cajuns quickly ripping off a 7-2 run to build up a five-point lead.

Trailing 42-37, Christian Watson converted an and-one that sparked a 7-0 run. The run ended with a massive alley-oop from John Wade III and Gordon that gave the Golden Eagles a 44-42 lead with 9:31 to play. Southern Miss coughed up the lead shortly after but regained it on the next possession to hold steady.

Louisiana made its final move on a corner three-pointer from Garnett. That gave the Cajuns the lead and helped them turn it into a six-point advantage of a Brandon Hardy triple with 1:49 to go. The Golden Eagles made one last comeback attempt as Harris and Watson combined to cut it to a one-point game.

Wright had a chance to ice the game at the free throw line with seven seconds left but only made the frontend of the two freebies. Watson grabbed the rebound and pushed to ball ahead to Alvarez as the point guard drove to the rim with the clock ticking closer to zero. Alvarez's heroic attempt fell short on a contested layup that left the Golden Eagle bench stunned.

Digging into the Numbers
- Southern Miss shot above 45 percent for the 15^th time this season as it finished with a 45.5 shooting percentage
- Louisiana was held to a 37.7 percent shooting clip, well below its season average of 40.4 percent
- The Golden Eagles won the rebounding battle, 36-34. Louisiana won the offensive board battle, 14-6
- Southern Miss went 17-23 from the free throw line after going 25-42 last game

Nuggets and Notes
- Southern Miss starters against Louisiana: #1 DeAntoni Gordon, Christian Watson, #10 Cobie Montgomery, #12 Neftali Alvarez, #13 Denijay Harris
- Southern Miss won the opening tip for the 12^th time this season
- Southern Miss shot above 45 percent for the 15^th time this season but moved to 8-7 when doing so
- Southern Miss won the rebounding battle for the 17^th time this season
- Cobie Montgomery made his first start since Jan. 29 against Arkansas State. He has now started 19 of the 29 games he has appeared in this season
- Denijay Harris picked up his 16^th double-double of the season and is tied for the seventh-most in a single season in program history
- DeAntoni Gordon finished in double figures for the 60^th time in his career and the 14^th time this season
- Neftali Alvarez scored 14 points to finish in double figures for the 59^th time in his career and 15^th time this season. He has scored 10+ plus in four-straight games