Tournament play in Pensacola has not been successful for Southern Miss basketball since joining the Sun Belt in 2022. But after overcoming inconsistent offensive play for a strong finish Tuesday evening, the black and gold got their first win of the Sun Belt conference tournament in a 66-63 victory over Coastal Carolina.
Jay Ladner’s Golden Eagles (11-21, 5-13) snapped an eight-game losing streak at the perfect time, downing a Coastal Carolina (10-22, 3-15) team that had beaten them two weeks prior to Tuesday’s affair.
Scoring summary
Southern Miss controlled the lead for the first fourteen minutes of the ballgame, highlighted by 8 points from DeAntoni Gordon on four mid-range jump shots. The Chanticleers then began to use their height advantage with 12 first half points from 6’9 center Colin Granger, building a slim three-point advantage. In the final seconds of the first half, the game was knotted up at 29-29 after a buzzer-beating basket from Golden Eagles’ true freshman Jett Montgomery.
In the second half, Granger and 7’2 center Noah Amenhauser took control of the offensive interior for the Chanticleers, but Southern Miss slowly worked their way back into the lead by knocking down a trio of 3-point baskets across a six minute span. At the 8:24 mark, the Golden Eagles clung to a 52-51 lead.
With 54 seconds left in the game, Gordon knocked down an 18-foot jumper to give the Golden Eagles their first lead since the start of the second half. Alongside Gordon’s clutch bucket, Alfred Worrell, Jr. would pace Ladner’s group with a career-high 22 points, including six consecutive free throws that put the game on ice.
The win advances Southern Miss to the second round, where they will play ninth-seeded Georgia Southern at the Pensacola Bay Center on Wednesday evening.
What the coach said
While the win gave Jay Ladner his first postseason victory in the Sun Belt era, the head coach was more enthusiastic about how the team never quit.
“I’m really proud of our guys. It’s been a rough season, but they and the coaches have not quit and are always focused on this tournament throughout the season,” the sixth-year head coach Ladner said. “Our team has been improving fast over the past few weeks, and we have become tighter both off and on the floor. They have a lot of pride about themselves and have never quit despite losing one or two possession games.”
Numbers never lie
Southern Miss was led offensively by Worrell Jr.’s career-high 22 points, which included four three-pointers. Worrell’s defensive efforts were also felt as he forced a late turnover that helped the Golden Eagles get back into the game.
All-league forward Denijay Harris fouled out for the first time in his career with 3:47 left in the game. Harris still finished with 12 points — the 12th straight double-figure game for the graduate senior and 27th total this season.
Neftali Alvarez aided the offensive efforts with nine points, while Jett Montgomery had five.
John Wade III made his presence known on the glass with 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 10 times.
End of an era
On the women’s side of the tournament, the Georgia Southern Lady Eagles (15-17, 6-12 Sun Belt) used a 26-point day from Leah Johnson to overpower Southern Miss (10-21, 5-13 Sun Belt) Tuesday by a score of 70-59.
The game was 21-year head coach Joye Lee-McNelis’ last as leader of the Lady Eagles. The loss also marked the end of Melyia Grayson’s illustrious career.
McNelis ends her career as the second-winningest head coach in school history, while Grayson finished with the sixth-most points in program history and the program record for total games played.
Next up
The Southern Miss men advance to take on the Georgia Southern Eagles in the second round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at the Pensacola Bay Center Wednesday at 5 p.m. The game will be aired on ESPN+.
