The Sun Belt Tournament has not been nice to the Southern Miss men’s basketball team since joining the league. For the second year in a row, the Golden Eagles dropped the opening game of the tournament, falling to Texas State 75-59 on Thursday night in Pensacola, Fla.
Even with a mostly healthy team and head coach Jay Ladner back on the sidelines after missing eight games due to a heart attack on Feb. 6, Southern Miss (16-16, 9-9 Sun Belt) lost any energy to get past Texas State (16-17, 7-11), which held them to a mere 23 points in the first half.
How it happened
The Golden Eagles started strong, exchanging leads with the Bobcats for the first eight minutes of play. After a jumper from point guard Andre Curbelo to give Southern Miss a 16-14 lead with 11:53 left, this would be the last time Southern Miss would have any kind of lead.
Coming off a timeout, Texas State exploded for an 18-7 run to end the half with a comfortable 32-23 advantage. As soon as halftime was over, the Bobcats didn’t stop there, immediately adding a 10-0 run to extend their lead to 19 and never looking back.
What the coaches said
“No accomplishing what you set out to do, but I am very proud of this team. I have never been a part of a team with this many challenges,” Southern Miss head coach Jay Ladner said. “We have a great league and great coaching in our conference. There just is not a big difference between the top and the bottom, and I think our league deserves national prominence.”
“I’m thankful to God for this opportunity. Great game. We tried to establish points in the paint while rebounding and switching the defense,” Texas State head coach Dylan Johnson said. “I was certainly happy about the way we were locked in. Give the players credit; I feel like we are figuring it out.”
Numbers don’t lie
The Golden Eagles were led by Victor Hart’s 20 points and nine rebounds while Austin Crowley added 16 points. Both played in their final game at Southern Miss, assuming the Golden Eagles don’t get invited to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Curbelo finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Leading the way for the Bobcats was Dontae Horne who scored 20 points, 18 of which came in the second half. Jordan Mason and Dylan Dawson combined for 30 points to help seal the victory.
Overall, both teams turned the ball over 15 times. However, the big difference was rebounding and points in the paint, two categories Texas State dominated.
