Tuesday, March 4
Pensacola, Fla.
5 PM
Southern Miss
11-21,5-13Sun Belt
66
vs
63
(13) Coastal Carolina
10-22,3-15Sun Belt
1
2
F
Coastal Carolina
29
34
63
Southern Miss.
29
37
66
Men's Basketball Advances at Sun Belt Championships with 66-63 Win Over Coastal
3/4/2025 8:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PENSACOLA, Fla. – DeAntoni Gordon played hero as his late jumper helped Southern Miss (11-21, 5-13 Sun Belt) to a 66-63 win over Coastal Carolina (10-22, 3-15 Sun Belt) at the Sun Belt Championships in Pensacola, Fla. The win advances Southern Miss to the second round where it will play ninth-seeded Georgia Southern at the Pensacola Bay Center on Wednesday night.
Southern Miss was led offensively by Alfred Worrell Jr.'s career-high 22 points, which included four three-pointers. Worrell's efforts were felt as he forced a late turnover that helped the Golden Eagles get back into the game.
All-league player Denijay Harris fouled out with 12 points – it was the first time in his career that he fouled out. Neftali Alvarez aided the offensive efforts with nine points, while Jett Montgomery had five.
John Wade III made his presence known on the glass en route to a career-high 10 rebounds. Gordon added eight boards to help the Golden Eagles to 40 team rebounds. Southern Miss tied its season low in turnovers with five, while Coastal Carolina coughed the ball up the ball 10 times.
The win gave Jay Ladner the first postseason win in the Sun Belt era as the Golden Eagles had dropped the previous two matches.
How it Happened
Denijay Harris opened the scoring with a quick floater from the left side to give the Golden Eagles the early edge. DeAntoni Gordon followed Harris' basket with six-straight points to hand Southern Miss a 10-8 lead at the first media timeout.
Alfred Worrell Jr. came off the bench after the first media timeout and took over the offensive came. The junior grabbed an offensive rebound for his first basket, then made it 16-11 with an and-one off a three-pointer.
More importantly, Coastal Carolina was held to zero field goals over a four-minute span that helped the Golden Eagles as they went on an offensive cold streak of their own. Southern Miss went on a 4:27 scoring drought that let the Chanticleers take their first lead of the day at 18-15.
Southern Miss used a Christian Watson trey to tie the game at 27-27 with less than a minute to play, but the Chanticleers made a pair of free throws to regain control. That didn't last long, though, as freshman Jett Montgomery knocked down a jumper at the buzzer to tie the game at 29-29 heading into the half.
Harris started the second half the same way he started the game – with a made bucket. Despite the positive start, Southern Miss went the next 2:35 without points. Coastal Carolina took advantage of the drought en route to grabbing a 37-33 lead at the first media timeout.
The Chanticleers built a 10-point lead off a banked three-pointer, but the Golden Eagles managed to hang around. Worrell hit his third three-pointer of the game to make it 46-40 with 11:39 left on the clock. Southern Miss slowly crept back into the game with a 5-0 run to make to a two-point game, then Montgomery hit a three-pointer off an offensive rebound that made it 52-51. With time ticking down and the Golden Eagles needing momentum, Worrell blocked last-second shot as the shot clock expired that forced free throws on the other end. He knocked down with to make it 610-60 with 1:52 left.
The Golden Eagles got the shot they needed as Gordon knocked down a go-ahead basket from the free throw line that gave Southern Miss the lead for good. Coastal Carolina had a chance to tie it at the free throw line after Christian Watson got called for a foul off a missed rebound as he tried to box out. The Chanticleers, though, couldn't convert and Worrell iced the game with a pair of free throws.
Nuggets and Notes
- Southern Miss starters against Coastal Carolina: #1 DeAntoni Gordon, #7 Christian Watson, #10 Cobie Montgomery, #12 Neftali Alvarez, #13 Denijay Harris
- Denijay Harris scored Southern Miss' first basket on the first offensive trip down the floor
- The first Golden Eagle off the bench was Alfred Worrell Jr.
- Southern Miss won its first postseason game since topping UTSA in the Conference USA Tournament during the 2021-22 season
- Southern Miss' five turnovers is tied for the fewest this season and third fewest under Jay Ladner
- Southern Miss held Coastal Carolina to a 35 percent shooting clip after shooting 50 percent against the Golden Eagles two weeks ago
- Southern Miss moves on to face (9) Georgia Southern in the second round on Wednesday, March 5
- Southern Miss is 1-2 all-time at the Sun Belt Tournament
- Denijay Harris finished in double figures for the 27th time this season and for the 12th consecutive game
- Alfred Worrell Jr. knocked down 3+ three-pointers for the fourth time this season and for the second-straight game
- Worrell Jr. scored a career-high 22 points. His previous high was 20 against Texas State on Jan. 11, 2025
- Worrell Jr. finished with 10+ points for the seventh time this season and for the second time in his last three games
- DeAntoni Gordon reached double figures for the 15th time this season and for the 60th time in his career
- Gordon finished with 10+ points and 8+ rebounds for the first time since Feb. 1 against Georgia Southern
- John Wade III finished with a career-high 10 rebounds
- Jett Montgomery has scored in three-straight games, making it his longest streak since scoring in six-straight games to start the season
Southern Miss was led offensively by Alfred Worrell Jr.'s career-high 22 points, which included four three-pointers. Worrell's efforts were felt as he forced a late turnover that helped the Golden Eagles get back into the game.
All-league player Denijay Harris fouled out with 12 points – it was the first time in his career that he fouled out. Neftali Alvarez aided the offensive efforts with nine points, while Jett Montgomery had five.
John Wade III made his presence known on the glass en route to a career-high 10 rebounds. Gordon added eight boards to help the Golden Eagles to 40 team rebounds. Southern Miss tied its season low in turnovers with five, while Coastal Carolina coughed the ball up the ball 10 times.
The win gave Jay Ladner the first postseason win in the Sun Belt era as the Golden Eagles had dropped the previous two matches.
How it Happened
Denijay Harris opened the scoring with a quick floater from the left side to give the Golden Eagles the early edge. DeAntoni Gordon followed Harris' basket with six-straight points to hand Southern Miss a 10-8 lead at the first media timeout.
Alfred Worrell Jr. came off the bench after the first media timeout and took over the offensive came. The junior grabbed an offensive rebound for his first basket, then made it 16-11 with an and-one off a three-pointer.
More importantly, Coastal Carolina was held to zero field goals over a four-minute span that helped the Golden Eagles as they went on an offensive cold streak of their own. Southern Miss went on a 4:27 scoring drought that let the Chanticleers take their first lead of the day at 18-15.
Southern Miss used a Christian Watson trey to tie the game at 27-27 with less than a minute to play, but the Chanticleers made a pair of free throws to regain control. That didn't last long, though, as freshman Jett Montgomery knocked down a jumper at the buzzer to tie the game at 29-29 heading into the half.
Harris started the second half the same way he started the game – with a made bucket. Despite the positive start, Southern Miss went the next 2:35 without points. Coastal Carolina took advantage of the drought en route to grabbing a 37-33 lead at the first media timeout.
The Chanticleers built a 10-point lead off a banked three-pointer, but the Golden Eagles managed to hang around. Worrell hit his third three-pointer of the game to make it 46-40 with 11:39 left on the clock. Southern Miss slowly crept back into the game with a 5-0 run to make to a two-point game, then Montgomery hit a three-pointer off an offensive rebound that made it 52-51. With time ticking down and the Golden Eagles needing momentum, Worrell blocked last-second shot as the shot clock expired that forced free throws on the other end. He knocked down with to make it 610-60 with 1:52 left.
The Golden Eagles got the shot they needed as Gordon knocked down a go-ahead basket from the free throw line that gave Southern Miss the lead for good. Coastal Carolina had a chance to tie it at the free throw line after Christian Watson got called for a foul off a missed rebound as he tried to box out. The Chanticleers, though, couldn't convert and Worrell iced the game with a pair of free throws.
Nuggets and Notes
- Southern Miss starters against Coastal Carolina: #1 DeAntoni Gordon, #7 Christian Watson, #10 Cobie Montgomery, #12 Neftali Alvarez, #13 Denijay Harris
- Denijay Harris scored Southern Miss' first basket on the first offensive trip down the floor
- The first Golden Eagle off the bench was Alfred Worrell Jr.
- Southern Miss won its first postseason game since topping UTSA in the Conference USA Tournament during the 2021-22 season
- Southern Miss' five turnovers is tied for the fewest this season and third fewest under Jay Ladner
- Southern Miss held Coastal Carolina to a 35 percent shooting clip after shooting 50 percent against the Golden Eagles two weeks ago
- Southern Miss moves on to face (9) Georgia Southern in the second round on Wednesday, March 5
- Southern Miss is 1-2 all-time at the Sun Belt Tournament
- Denijay Harris finished in double figures for the 27th time this season and for the 12th consecutive game
- Alfred Worrell Jr. knocked down 3+ three-pointers for the fourth time this season and for the second-straight game
- Worrell Jr. scored a career-high 22 points. His previous high was 20 against Texas State on Jan. 11, 2025
- Worrell Jr. finished with 10+ points for the seventh time this season and for the second time in his last three games
- DeAntoni Gordon reached double figures for the 15th time this season and for the 60th time in his career
- Gordon finished with 10+ points and 8+ rebounds for the first time since Feb. 1 against Georgia Southern
- John Wade III finished with a career-high 10 rebounds
- Jett Montgomery has scored in three-straight games, making it his longest streak since scoring in six-straight games to start the season
Team Stats
CCU
USM
FG%
.352
.371
3FG%
.231
.240
FT%
.679
.737
RB
41
40
TO
10
4
STL
2
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
8
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
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