Saturday, February 8
Muncie, IN
1 p.m.
Southern Miss
10-15,5-7Sun Belt
76
at
77
Ball State
11-12,4-6MAC
1
2
F
Southern Miss.
37
39
76
Ball St.
35
42
77
Men's Basketball Falls 77-76 at Ball State in MAC-SBC Challenge
2/8/2025 4:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Muncie, Ind. – The Southern Miss (10-15, 5-7 Sun Belt) men's basketball team had its comeback hopes fall short on Saturday in its 77-76 loss at Ball State (11-12, 4-6 MAC). Despite the loss, Denijay Harris picked up his 12th double-double of the season.
Three other Golden Eagles finished in double figures as Christian Watson poured in 13 points after going scoreless against App State. DeAntoni Gordon added 14 points and Cobie Montgomery finished with 10, including a trio of three-pointers.
Montgomery's made three-pointer streak was extended to 21 games after he made his first attempt of the game. Alfred Worrell Jr. hit a pair of triples, while Watson and Neftali Alvarez each had one.
The Golden Eagles – led by Andre Curbelo's 12 assists – dished out 25 dimes as a team. The mark is the second most by a Jay Ladner Southern Miss team and the most against a Division I opponent under the sixth-year head coach.
Southern Miss travels to Arkansas State and ULM next week to play its final two road games of the regular season. The Golden Eagles start the final road swing in Jonesboro on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
How it Happened
DeAntoni Gordon scored the first points of the game once again as he gave the Golden Eagles a quick offensive start inside Worthen Arena. Christian Watson followed Gordon's basket with a contested dunk to get the Golden Eagle bench involved early with some cheering.
Ball State and Southern Miss went into the first three media timeouts at a one-point score – all were in favor of the Golden Eagles. Denijay Harris scored three consecutive field goals as he helped Southern Miss to an 8-2 run that put the road team ahead 29-24 after a fastbreak dunk.
Southern Miss' lead grew to six after Watson converted his third field goal of the game. The Cardinals, though, managed to string together consecutive baskets to make it 34-32 with 2:56 to play in the opening half. Watson finished another layup two minutes later to give the Golden Eagles a five-point lead with just over 60 seconds to play in the half.
Ball State scored the final points of the half as Ethan Brittain-Watts drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer from just inside the halfcourt line. Despite the points, Southern Miss took a 37-35 lead into halftime.
Just like the first half, Gordon started the scoring for both teams. The Golden Eagles went the next 4:20 without a field goal after Gordon's basket, while Ball State went on an 8-1 run to take a 45-42 lead at the under-16 media timeout. The run that the Cardinals went on turned into a 19-5 run over seven minutes and gave them a 56-46 lead halfway through the half.
Southern Miss followed the Ball State spurt with an 8-2 run of its own, which made it 58-54 after a Gordon jumper. Each time the Golden Eagles got within striking distance, Mickey Pearson Jr. had an answer. Pearson drained a three-pointer after Gordon's basket and then made another trey after Harris cut the deficit to three with five minutes left on the clock.
Harris made it a three-point game again, but then Ball State went on a 10-3 run to take an 11-point lead with 1:56 left. Cobie Montgomery started a comeback attempt with his third three-pointer of the game, which made it 74-66. Southern Miss rattled off a 10-2 run to make it 76-73 with two seconds on the clock.
Needing a last-minute miracle, Southern Miss fouled Joey Hart with the same amount of time left on the clock. Hart missed the first and made the second – essentially icing the game. Alfred Worrell Jr. tried to create contact as he drained a three-pointer, but the shot landed clean, and the Golden Eagles lost by one.
Digging into the Numbers
- Southern Miss shot 49.1 percent from the floor and 25 percent from deep
- It was the best shooting percentage since the Golden Eagles shot 54 percent against ULM in early January
- Southern Miss lost the rebound battle for the first time in the last three games after getting outrebouned 40-31
- Denijay Harris had all six offensive boards for the Golden Eagles
- Southern Miss' 16 turnovers in the last two games is the fewest in a two-game stretch this season
Nuggets and Notes
- Southern Miss starters at Ball State: #1 DeAntoni Gordon, #7 Christian Watson, #11 Andre Curbelo, #12 Neftali Alvarez, #13 Denijay Harris
- Southern Miss had 15+ assists for the first time since dishing out 18 at Texas State on Jan. 18. They have 11 games this season with at least 15 assists
- The 25 assists by Southern Miss were a season high and the second most by a Jay Ladner team. It's the most assists against a Division I team under Ladner
- Southern Miss leads the all-time series 2-1 after today's loss
- Cobie Montgomery extended his made three-pointer streak to 21 consecutive games after going 3-for-5 against the Cardinals
- Montgomery eclipsed 3+ three-pointers for the 10th time this season
- Christian Watson produced his best game since scoring 16 points against Old Dominion on Jan. 4. Today, Watson finished with 13 points
- Denijay Harris finished with 10+ rebounds for the 14th time this season and for the eighth time in the last 10 games
- Harris' 23 points put him in double digits for the 21st time this season and for the fifth-straight game
- Harris got his 13th double-double of the season after finishing with 23 points and 13 rebounds
- Andre Curbelo's 12 assists today tied his career high, which he set against Georgia State last season
- DeAntoni Gordon has scored 10+ in each of the last four games after having 14 tonight
Three other Golden Eagles finished in double figures as Christian Watson poured in 13 points after going scoreless against App State. DeAntoni Gordon added 14 points and Cobie Montgomery finished with 10, including a trio of three-pointers.
Montgomery's made three-pointer streak was extended to 21 games after he made his first attempt of the game. Alfred Worrell Jr. hit a pair of triples, while Watson and Neftali Alvarez each had one.
The Golden Eagles – led by Andre Curbelo's 12 assists – dished out 25 dimes as a team. The mark is the second most by a Jay Ladner Southern Miss team and the most against a Division I opponent under the sixth-year head coach.
Southern Miss travels to Arkansas State and ULM next week to play its final two road games of the regular season. The Golden Eagles start the final road swing in Jonesboro on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
How it Happened
DeAntoni Gordon scored the first points of the game once again as he gave the Golden Eagles a quick offensive start inside Worthen Arena. Christian Watson followed Gordon's basket with a contested dunk to get the Golden Eagle bench involved early with some cheering.
Ball State and Southern Miss went into the first three media timeouts at a one-point score – all were in favor of the Golden Eagles. Denijay Harris scored three consecutive field goals as he helped Southern Miss to an 8-2 run that put the road team ahead 29-24 after a fastbreak dunk.
Southern Miss' lead grew to six after Watson converted his third field goal of the game. The Cardinals, though, managed to string together consecutive baskets to make it 34-32 with 2:56 to play in the opening half. Watson finished another layup two minutes later to give the Golden Eagles a five-point lead with just over 60 seconds to play in the half.
Ball State scored the final points of the half as Ethan Brittain-Watts drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer from just inside the halfcourt line. Despite the points, Southern Miss took a 37-35 lead into halftime.
Just like the first half, Gordon started the scoring for both teams. The Golden Eagles went the next 4:20 without a field goal after Gordon's basket, while Ball State went on an 8-1 run to take a 45-42 lead at the under-16 media timeout. The run that the Cardinals went on turned into a 19-5 run over seven minutes and gave them a 56-46 lead halfway through the half.
Southern Miss followed the Ball State spurt with an 8-2 run of its own, which made it 58-54 after a Gordon jumper. Each time the Golden Eagles got within striking distance, Mickey Pearson Jr. had an answer. Pearson drained a three-pointer after Gordon's basket and then made another trey after Harris cut the deficit to three with five minutes left on the clock.
Harris made it a three-point game again, but then Ball State went on a 10-3 run to take an 11-point lead with 1:56 left. Cobie Montgomery started a comeback attempt with his third three-pointer of the game, which made it 74-66. Southern Miss rattled off a 10-2 run to make it 76-73 with two seconds on the clock.
Needing a last-minute miracle, Southern Miss fouled Joey Hart with the same amount of time left on the clock. Hart missed the first and made the second – essentially icing the game. Alfred Worrell Jr. tried to create contact as he drained a three-pointer, but the shot landed clean, and the Golden Eagles lost by one.
Digging into the Numbers
- Southern Miss shot 49.1 percent from the floor and 25 percent from deep
- It was the best shooting percentage since the Golden Eagles shot 54 percent against ULM in early January
- Southern Miss lost the rebound battle for the first time in the last three games after getting outrebouned 40-31
- Denijay Harris had all six offensive boards for the Golden Eagles
- Southern Miss' 16 turnovers in the last two games is the fewest in a two-game stretch this season
Nuggets and Notes
- Southern Miss starters at Ball State: #1 DeAntoni Gordon, #7 Christian Watson, #11 Andre Curbelo, #12 Neftali Alvarez, #13 Denijay Harris
- Southern Miss had 15+ assists for the first time since dishing out 18 at Texas State on Jan. 18. They have 11 games this season with at least 15 assists
- The 25 assists by Southern Miss were a season high and the second most by a Jay Ladner team. It's the most assists against a Division I team under Ladner
- Southern Miss leads the all-time series 2-1 after today's loss
- Cobie Montgomery extended his made three-pointer streak to 21 consecutive games after going 3-for-5 against the Cardinals
- Montgomery eclipsed 3+ three-pointers for the 10th time this season
- Christian Watson produced his best game since scoring 16 points against Old Dominion on Jan. 4. Today, Watson finished with 13 points
- Denijay Harris finished with 10+ rebounds for the 14th time this season and for the eighth time in the last 10 games
- Harris' 23 points put him in double digits for the 21st time this season and for the fifth-straight game
- Harris got his 13th double-double of the season after finishing with 23 points and 13 rebounds
- Andre Curbelo's 12 assists today tied his career high, which he set against Georgia State last season
- DeAntoni Gordon has scored 10+ in each of the last four games after having 14 tonight
Team Stats
USM
BSU
FG%
.491
.446
3FG%
.350
.381
FT%
.652
.733
RB
31
40
TO
11
11
STL
9
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ 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