Wednesday, February 5
Boone, N.C.
5:30 PM
Southern Miss
10-14,5-7Sun Belt
58
at
60
App State
14-9,8-4Sun Belt
1
2
F
Southern Miss.
28
30
58
App State
31
29
60
Men's Basketball Falls in Dramatic Fashion at App State
2/5/2025 9:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BOONE, N.C. – App State (14-9, 8-4 Sun Belt) scored on a buzzer-beating dunk on Wednesday night to pick up a 60-58 win over Southern Miss (10-14, 5-7 Sun Belt) in Boone, N.C.
Andre Curbelo led all Golden Eagles with 16 points, while Denijay Harris picked up his 12th double-double of the season after going for 15 points and 12 rebounds. Southern Miss limited itself to five turnovers – it's the fewest on the season and tied for the third fewest under Jay Ladner.
Curbelo added seven assists to bring his total to 14 over the last two games. Cobie Montgomery and Alfred Worrell Jr. had both of Southern Miss' two three-pointers as it struggled from three-point land. Meanwhile, App State went 5-for-22 from deep.
The Golden Eagles travel to Ball State on Saturday afternoon as they take on the Cardinals in the MAC-SBC Challenge. Southern Miss opened the season with a win over Bowling Green in the first game of the Challenge. Tip-off from Muncie, Ind., is slated for 1 p.m. CST.
How it Happened
Southern Miss started the scoring with a statement as Denijay Harris scored the first points of the game off a breakaway dunk 40 seconds into the opening half. The Golden Eagles then extended their lead to four after DeAntoni Gordon scored on back-to-back layups.
Southern Miss then went on a six-minute drought of no made field goals, but App State went on a similar stretch as it went one-for-eight to start the game. CJ Huntley flipped the lead to the Mountaineers' side as he went on a solo 7-0 run to put them up by four.
Just as App State did, though, Southern Miss went on a 7-0 run of its own to regain the lead. It went up three after Cobie Montgomery extended his made three-pointer streak to 20 consecutive games. Shortly after Neftali Alvarez scored on a pretty layup, Myles Tate scored on an and-one as he went to the floor.
Tate's three-point play put App State in the lead with 3:38 to play in the half. Andre Curbelo tied the game at 28-28 with just under two minutes to play before Tate scored another three-point play to give the Mountaineers a three-point lead heading into the break.
The second half became the Andre Curbelo show for Southern Miss as he scored 10 of his 16 points in the final 20 minutes. His first points in the second half came with Southern Miss trailing by seven at the 13:00 mark – App State's largest lead was seven.
Alfred Worrell Jr. and Curbelo combined for the next 11 Golden Eagle points as they slowly cut into the deficit. Gordon got Southern Miss within one point two different times down the stretch, but his jumper with 4:57 left sparked a 6-0 run. Neftali Alvarez and Curbelo followed with back-to-back baskets to give Southern Miss a three-point advantage with 2:20 left.
App State cut the lead back to one on a Jalil Beaubrun tip-in basket, but Harris did the same thing he did to start the game – he hammered home a dunk to make it 58-55 with 57 seconds on the clock.
Dior Conners tied the game with a corner three-pointer before the Golden Eagles got one final look at a game-winning shot. Curbelo heaved up a layup that got rebounded by Gordon, who failed to tip-in the ball. CJ Huntley then got the ball under Southern Miss' hoop with 0.2 seconds left on the clock and delivered the game-winning dunk.
Trey Alfonso checked in for a hail marry attempt with 0.2 seconds on the clock, but the last-second effort fell short. The Golden Eagles and Mountaineers traded leads seven times throughout the game and two times in the second half.
Digging into the Numbers
- Southern Miss only turned the ball over five times and forced 12 App State turnovers. It was tied for the largest differential along with when South Dakota State turned the ball over seven times
- Denijay Harris had his 12th double-double of the season to move closer to the top-10 for double-doubles in a season
- Southern Miss and App State each had 39 rebounds, while the Golden Eagles had nine offensive rebounds
Nuggets and Notes
- Southern Miss starters at App State: #1 DeAntoni Gordon, #7 Christian Watson, #11 Andre Curbelo, #12 Neftali Alvarez, #13 Denijay Harris
- Southern Miss scored the first points of the game as Harris slammed home a breakaway dunk at 19:20 of the opening half
- Southern Miss' five turnovers is the fewest on the season and tied for the third fewest under Jay Ladner
- The Golden Eagles moved to 1-10 on the road this season
- Southern Miss is 3-1 in the all-time series against App State
- Southern Miss' two three-pointers is tied for the fewest in a game this season
Andre Curbelo led all Golden Eagles with 16 points, while Denijay Harris picked up his 12th double-double of the season after going for 15 points and 12 rebounds. Southern Miss limited itself to five turnovers – it's the fewest on the season and tied for the third fewest under Jay Ladner.
Curbelo added seven assists to bring his total to 14 over the last two games. Cobie Montgomery and Alfred Worrell Jr. had both of Southern Miss' two three-pointers as it struggled from three-point land. Meanwhile, App State went 5-for-22 from deep.
The Golden Eagles travel to Ball State on Saturday afternoon as they take on the Cardinals in the MAC-SBC Challenge. Southern Miss opened the season with a win over Bowling Green in the first game of the Challenge. Tip-off from Muncie, Ind., is slated for 1 p.m. CST.
How it Happened
Southern Miss started the scoring with a statement as Denijay Harris scored the first points of the game off a breakaway dunk 40 seconds into the opening half. The Golden Eagles then extended their lead to four after DeAntoni Gordon scored on back-to-back layups.
Southern Miss then went on a six-minute drought of no made field goals, but App State went on a similar stretch as it went one-for-eight to start the game. CJ Huntley flipped the lead to the Mountaineers' side as he went on a solo 7-0 run to put them up by four.
Just as App State did, though, Southern Miss went on a 7-0 run of its own to regain the lead. It went up three after Cobie Montgomery extended his made three-pointer streak to 20 consecutive games. Shortly after Neftali Alvarez scored on a pretty layup, Myles Tate scored on an and-one as he went to the floor.
Tate's three-point play put App State in the lead with 3:38 to play in the half. Andre Curbelo tied the game at 28-28 with just under two minutes to play before Tate scored another three-point play to give the Mountaineers a three-point lead heading into the break.
The second half became the Andre Curbelo show for Southern Miss as he scored 10 of his 16 points in the final 20 minutes. His first points in the second half came with Southern Miss trailing by seven at the 13:00 mark – App State's largest lead was seven.
Alfred Worrell Jr. and Curbelo combined for the next 11 Golden Eagle points as they slowly cut into the deficit. Gordon got Southern Miss within one point two different times down the stretch, but his jumper with 4:57 left sparked a 6-0 run. Neftali Alvarez and Curbelo followed with back-to-back baskets to give Southern Miss a three-point advantage with 2:20 left.
App State cut the lead back to one on a Jalil Beaubrun tip-in basket, but Harris did the same thing he did to start the game – he hammered home a dunk to make it 58-55 with 57 seconds on the clock.
Dior Conners tied the game with a corner three-pointer before the Golden Eagles got one final look at a game-winning shot. Curbelo heaved up a layup that got rebounded by Gordon, who failed to tip-in the ball. CJ Huntley then got the ball under Southern Miss' hoop with 0.2 seconds left on the clock and delivered the game-winning dunk.
Trey Alfonso checked in for a hail marry attempt with 0.2 seconds on the clock, but the last-second effort fell short. The Golden Eagles and Mountaineers traded leads seven times throughout the game and two times in the second half.
Digging into the Numbers
- Southern Miss only turned the ball over five times and forced 12 App State turnovers. It was tied for the largest differential along with when South Dakota State turned the ball over seven times
- Denijay Harris had his 12th double-double of the season to move closer to the top-10 for double-doubles in a season
- Southern Miss and App State each had 39 rebounds, while the Golden Eagles had nine offensive rebounds
Nuggets and Notes
- Southern Miss starters at App State: #1 DeAntoni Gordon, #7 Christian Watson, #11 Andre Curbelo, #12 Neftali Alvarez, #13 Denijay Harris
- Southern Miss scored the first points of the game as Harris slammed home a breakaway dunk at 19:20 of the opening half
- Southern Miss' five turnovers is the fewest on the season and tied for the third fewest under Jay Ladner
- The Golden Eagles moved to 1-10 on the road this season
- Southern Miss is 3-1 in the all-time series against App State
- Southern Miss' two three-pointers is tied for the fewest in a game this season
Team Stats
USM
APP
FG%
.365
.442
3FG%
.118
.227
FT%
.714
.474
RB
39
39
TO
5
12
STL
8
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
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