Southern Miss basketball downs South Alabama in front of largest crowd of Ladner era
Jay Ladner probably couldn’t have scripted a finer night for his Golden Eagles.
Southern Miss outlasted rival South Alabama, 76-72, in front of a Ladner-era record crowd of 4,128 at Reed Green Coliseum on Thursday, and did so with guard Neftali Alvarez in the lineup for the first time in more than two months.
Austin Crowley poured in 25 points and got help from Felipe Haase and DeAndre Pinckney, who each added 18.
The win lifted USM (16-4, 5-2) into a four-way tie for first place in the Sun Belt and snapped a three-game skid to the Jaguars (8-11, 2-5).
“I thought our guys played with some resiliency, some poise and composure,” Ladner said after the game. “I thought we played very well in the second half on both ends.”
Southern Miss weathered a six-minute scoring drought in the first half and rode Pinckney’s hot hand in the second. Pinckney scored 14 of his 18 points in the final 20 minutes of the game.
The senior bridged the scoring just in time for Haase to catch a bit of fire in key moments down the stretch.
Haase hit a lead-taking 3-pointer with five minutes to play and then scored five straight points in the final minute to build an insurmountable advantage for the Golden Eagles.
It was a big moment for the forward, who was coming off a four-game stretch where he shot just 11-for-47 from the field.
“It’s good to see the ball go in a little more,” Haase said. “At the end of the game I felt good. I felt the confidence in myself. It’s been there, but it’s been different from how it used to be. I’m getting it back, for sure.”
‘Full family’
Alvarez saw 10 minutes of floor time in his first action since the Nov. 14 game against Loyola (La.) in which he injured his foot.
Though Alvarez’s box score impact was minimal — he was 0-for-3 and recorded a block, an assist and a rebound — his presence as a ball-handling perimeter defender was quickly felt on the court.
“He brings a lot to the table,” Ladner said. “Even with the short amount of time out there, you could already see flashes of that quickness, that toughness, especially on the ball.”
Southern Miss uses a lot of on-ball pressure at the top of its defense, and Alvarez is the Golden Eagle most suited for the job.
Ladner said his return disrupted the rhythm of their game flow some, but that was expected in his first game back from injury.
And as Crowley noted, USM is a perfect 4-0 when Alvarez enters the game.
“No one has beaten us yet with our full family,” Crowley said. “A guy like (Alvarez), he’s an incredible player, man. A lot of people don’t see what he does. A lot of the things he does doesn’t show up in the box score. He brings energy... I’m thankful for him and I’m thankful to have him back with the family.”
Packed House
The crowd of 4,128 at Reed Green Coliseum was the largest Ladner has seen at home since beginning his tenure nearly four seasons ago, and Thursday marked the first time in three years the building saw a crowd of more than 4,000 fans — the last time being in a win over Florida International in Feb. 2020.
“It felt like the old Reed Green in there,” Ladner said.
It was a noticeable jolt of energy that the players felt, too. Crowley quickly fed the crowd early in the game by scoring eight of the team’s first 10 points and sent it into a frenzy when he forced a Jaguar timeout in the second half with a breakaway slam.
“It gets louder and louder in here every game,” Crowley said. “Hopefully by the end of the season, we’ll sell one out.”
Haase noticed it, as well, and even noticed a special prop an unknown student had brought to the game.
A few rows up, just a couple seats from a student dressed as Darth Vader, was the Chilean flag waved proudly every time Haase, who is from Chile, scored.
And score he did. Haase hit four shots, two of them coming from 3, and buried eight free throws to complement his six-rebound, five-assist night.
“It’s awesome... I know that’s my people,” Haase said. “I’m just happy to see that. I saw it when I was walking back on defense and I was like, ‘That’s a Chilean flag.’ It gave me a little lift. Just great energy out here.”
Southern Miss stays home Saturday for a date with James Madison. That game is scheduled to tip at 2 p.m.
This story was originally published January 19, 2023 at 11:23 PM.
