After being down early in the second half, the Southern Miss men’s basketball team regrouped and managed to find an 80-70 win over crosstown rival William Carey on Monday night.
The Golden Eagles’ surge was propelled by a historic performance from graduate forward Denijay Harris. The Arkansas transfer, who played two years in Hattiesburg before playing for the Razorbacks last season, became the fourth player in school history to score at least 30 points and grab at least 20 rebounds. He finished with a career-high of 32 points and 23 rebounds.
The win was the sixth straight for Southern Miss over the NAIA Crusaders. The Golden Eagles now hold a 16-2 lead in the annual game dubbed the Mayor’s Cup.
Scoring summary
William Carey led by as many as six over the first 10 minutes of play and were largely paced by Dylan Brumfield, who had nine of the team’s first 14 points. Southern Miss’ offense finally got going with a 10-0 run that turned the game into a five-point Golden Eagle lead with eight minutes to play in the first frame.
Southern Miss managed to keep a lead for the rest of the half, though the Crusaders clawed back to make it a 35-31 game at the intermission.
The second half did not start in favor of the Golden Eagles as William Carey used a 6-0 run to retake the lead three minutes in. The two teams traded leads eight times over the next 17 minutes before Harris began to take over the paint.
A pair of free throws for the Columbus native ignited an 11-2 run that put Southern Miss up by six with just under 7 minutes to play in the contest, a lead the Golden Eagles would never relinquish. During the final 10 minutes, Harris and Neftali Alvarez led the way to cap off the 10-point win, while Andre Curbelo added three points in his return after missing seven games.
Cobie Montgomery sealed the win and gave Southern Miss its largest lead of the night when he hammered home a dunk with just under 60 seconds to play.
The Numbers Never Lie
Southern Miss hauled in 49 rebounds, 15 of which were offensive, compared to William Carey’s 34 total boards.
Harris’ performance was his second this season with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. He also became the first Golden Eagle since Victor Iwuakor last season to have at least 30 points and 10 rebounds. Alvarez added 14 points, Christian Watson finished with 10, and Curbelo had a productive return with eight points, five assists and five steals.
Dylan Brumfield led the charge for the Crusaders, finishing with 27 points, six assists, and a pair of steals. Ashton Campbell followed Brumfield’s performance with a quality one of his own, pitching in 14 points, six rebounds, and three steals for William Carey.
What the Coach Said
Southern Miss head coach Jay Ladner discussed the family relationship that he had with William Carey leader Steve Knight after the game.
“Coach Knight and his family are part of our family,” said Coach Ladner, in his sixth year at his alma mater with a 71-96 record. “As a Hall of Fame Coach, he showed us a few setups offensively that we weren’t ready for yet, but fortunately we relied on our veterans to push through. We just have to clean up our execution.”
Knight is Mississippi’s all-time winningest college basketball coach with 781 victories in 43 years at William Carey University. The longtime bench boss is also the active wins leader among all NAIA coaches.
Next Up
Southern Miss returns to Sun Belt action on Thursday, Jan. 2, when they take on James Madison in Harrisonburg, Va. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+. They then travel to Old Dominion on Saturday, Jan. 4, in Norfolk, Va.
