Feelings of pandemonium and excitement were almost a forgotten concept inside the walls and stands of Reed Green Coliseum.
Slowly the enthusiasm for Southern Miss basketball has grown as the Golden Eagles defeated South Alabama 76-72 in front of the largest crowd of the Jay Ladner era.
In what seems to become a new tradition, players sprinted to the student section to join the student body in celebrating the almost lost concept of winning for the Golden Eagle program.
“It gets a little louder every game,” remarked Austin Crowley, who scored a game-high of 25 points for USM.
After Thursday night’s win, Southern Miss remains in a four-way tie for first place in the Sun Belt standings, with the Golden Eagles improving to 16-4 overall and 5-2 in conference play. Notably, USM has yet to lose a home game with a perfect 9-0 mark.
In the final minute and a half, Crowley and Felipe Haase displayed what has made USM so good this season – the team’s chemistry.
With the game tied at 70 with under a minute to go, Crowley found Haase, who hit a layup and drew a foul to give USM the lead. Twenty seconds later, Haase drew another foul and hit both free throws to make the score 75-70. Crowley then put the game away by hitting one more free throw to seal the two-possession lead. For Haase, the moment was a little sweeter after the senior forward experienced a frustrating five-game stretch that saw his overall production drop.
“It’s everybody trusting me, to be honest,” Haase said. “Coach called it for me, and guys trusted me. I just needed to make a play. It’s everybody trusting each other. We didn’t care who the play was for as a whole team. I’ve been frustrated. It’s good to see the ball go in a little bit more. I was ready to get out of it. At the end of the game, I felt good and confidence in myself."
Haase finished the game with 18 points, which is the most for him since his 19-point game against McNeese State on Dec. 18.
“In 22, we trust,” said Crowley on seeing Haase battle his slump. “A stretch of not making shots, that happens to everybody. It can happen to me in the next game. The thing I like about Felipe is that he always has a positive attitude. You never see him frown. You never see him get mad. That’s the things that get you off the slump. No matter what, during his slump, we were still passing him the ball. We still want him to make winning plays, and he’s going to make winning plays like today. He’s a winner.
“In the second half, I didn’t have the hot hand, and we went to guys like Felipe for the last shot. It’s a family.”
Southern Miss quickly built an 11-point lead in the first half at 16-5. However, that lead slipped away with 12 minutes left in the game as the Golden Eagles went on a six-minute scoring drought, which allowed the Jaguars to go on a 9-2 run and eventually take a 37-33 lead at the half.
“In practice, Austin hurt his rib in a collision," Southern Miss coach Jay Ladner said. "He called to come out. We got out of rhythm a little bit. We got impatient on offense. They were able to get that back under control in the second half. That was as much my fault in substitution pattern than anything.”
The Golden Eagles built a 56-48 lead, the largest of the second half. However, South Alabama (8-11, 2-5) went on an 8-0 run, which to led to both sides trading buckets until the final minute.
“There is an old saying in coaching that if your best players are your hardest workers, then you have a chance,” Ladner said. “(Austin is) that guy. Felipe is that guy.
“I thought all of our guys showed a lot of poise and composure in a very pressure-filled situation.”
Also scoring in double-digits was DeAndre Pinckney, who scored 18 points and six rebounds, while Denijay Harris put up 11 points and nine rebounds.
Southern Miss hosts James Madison on Saturday, with tipoff set for 2 p.m.
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