Men's Basketball Travels to Ball State for Round Two of MAC-SBC Challenge

Game 25: Southern Miss (10-14, 5-7 Sun Belt) at Ball State (10-12, 4-6 MAC)
Saturday, February 8 at 1 p.m. CST
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
Worthen Arena (11,500)
Media Central

MUNCIE, Ind. — Southern Miss (10-14, 5-7 Sun Belt) arrived in Muncie on Thursday afternoon in preparation for its showdown against Ball State (10-12, 4-6 MAC) Saturday in the MAC-SBC Challenge. Tip-off from Worthen Arena is slated for 1 p.m. CST on ESPN+.

Mick Tidrow (PxP) and David Eha (Analyst) will be on 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.

Who's Taking the Floor
Southern Miss Golden Eagles (10-14, 5-7 Sun Belt)
Head Coach: Jay Ladner | 6^th season at Southern Miss (75-103) | 10th season overall (151-191)

Ball State Cardinals (10-12, 4-6 Sun Belt)
Head Coach: Michael Lewis | 3^rd season at Ball State (45-40) | 3^rd season overall (45-40)

About Ball State
- Ball State heads into the game riding a 10-12 record and are 2-3 in its last five outings
- The Cardinals lost 71-66 to Georgia State in the opening round of the MAC-SBC Challenge to open the season
- Payton Sparks averaged 23.0 points and 15.5 rebounds in two games last week to earn a Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week honor and increase his season averages to 12.8 points and a team-best 8.1 rebounds per game. In MAC play, Sparks is second on the team with 15.9 points per game while averaging a team-high 10.7 rebounds per game average
- Jermahri Hill leads Ball State in scoring at 16.3 points per game, while Sparks (12.8) and Mickey Pearson Jr. (11.8) are both averaging 10+ points per game

History with the Cardinals
- Southern Miss leads the all-time series, 2-0, and hold a 1-0 advantage in Muncie
- Southern Miss won the last meeting, 95-85 in Muncie on Dec. 3, 1997
- The Golden Eagles also won 71-58 on Dec. 20, 1976, in Hattiesburg

Milestone Win for Ladner
- Jay Ladner won his 150^th game Jan. 25 at Louisiana. The win was his 74^th at Southern Miss, while the rest of his collegiate wins were at Southeastern Louisiana
- The Golden Eagles also picked up a rare road win in Lafayette in his milestone victory

Sniper Alert
- Cobie Montgomery has made a three-pointer in 20-straight games dating back to Nov. 24 at Montana State
- In that stretch, the Kentucky native has made three-plus three-pointers in nine games
- Montgomery made a career-best six treys against Alabama State on Dec. 5, 2024

Harris Goes Crazy...Again
- The Columbus kid did it again. Denijay Harris recorded his third-straight double-double in Southern Miss' win over William Carey on Dec. 30
- Harris' 32-point, 23-rebound performance was the first 30/20 game in college basketball this season and the eighth in Southern Miss history. He joined the likes of former Golden Eagle players Wendell Ladner, Mike Coleman, and Tom Yachinich as the only Southern Miss players with a 30/20 game
- His 23 rebounds were the second-most in a single college basketball game this season at the conclusion of the game

The 20-20 Club
- WOAH! That was a lot of rebounds for Denijay Harris. The Columbus, Miss. Product became the fourth player in program history to record a 20-point, 20-rebound game when he did so against Alabama State
- It was the first 20-20 game since Mike Coleman had 38 points and 26 rebounds against Milwaukee on Feb. 13, 1975
- Harris' 20 rebounds were the most by a Golden Eagle since Joe Dawson pulled down 20 rebounds against Missouri Western on Nov. 29, 1978

ALL-TIME 20-20 LIST (* Denotes 30/20 game)
Pts. Rebs. PLAYER (DATE)
24 32 Wendell Ladner (2/08/70)
23 31 Wendell Ladner (1/27/70)
27 30 Wendell Ladner (12/7/68)
*35 29 Wendell Ladner (1/27/68)
26 28 Wendell Ladner (1/29/68)
29 27 Wendell Ladner (1/7/70)
*38 26 Mike Coleman (2/13/75)
21 25 Wendell Ladner (1/19/70)
29 25 Wendell Ladner (1/20/69)
20 25 Wendell Ladner (2/20/68)
*34 24 Wendell Ladner (1/30/69)
*30 24 Wendell Ladner (2/03/68)
*30 22 Wendell Ladner (2/17/69)
*31 21 Tom Yachinich (12/07/70)
25 21 Wendell Ladner (1/27/69)
*36 20 Wendell Ladner (12/29/67)
20 20 Denijay Harris (12/05/24)
32 23 Denijay Harris (12/30/24)

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.

Men's Basketball Travels to Ball State for Round Two of MAC-SBC Challenge

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Players Mentioned

Trey Alfonso

Brewer Carruth

Andre Curbelo

DeAntoni Gordon

Denijay Harris

Cobie Montgomery

Jett Montgomery

Christian Reid

John Wade III

Christian Watson

Alfred Worrell Jr.