Despite never trailing and having five different players reach double digits, Southern Miss’ 86-67 win over McNeese State was anything but easy.
“I’d rather play a good tough game like that as you head into the holiday break,” Southern Miss coach Jay Ladner said. “I would rather a game be competitive instead of scheduling someone that’s not as competitive and possibly get into some bad habits and create a false sense of security. It didn’t seem like it was a 19-point win, and so I give McNeese credit there.”
The Golden Eagles are now off to the program's third-ever 11-1 start.
Southern Miss jumped out to an early 13-2 lead, but the Cowboys quickly chipped away and, midway through the quarter, went on a 9-0 run to narrow the game 23-21.
The Golden Eagles struggled with turnovers by the end of the second half as they coughed up 10 and scored just nine points off McNeese State’s eight turnovers.
“I thought we were tentative in the first half,” Ladner said. “At the half, they had shot 16 free throws, and we had shot three, but that’s an indication of the officials. That’s because we weren’t attacking the basket. We weren’t being aggressive, and we turned it over 10 times.
“It was our lack of aggressiveness, and we were just overthinking things. At halftime, we talked about simplifying things and play our game, and naturally, the turnovers went down, and our scoring went up. Our defense was much better, and it all just came together.”
Of the five double-digit players, Mo Arnold Had the most critical performance as the junior guard scored 10 points in the second half. Arnold nearly had a triple-double as he finished the night with 14 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
“I doubt Mo has ever shot 12 balls,” Ladner said. “You could tell early on that their scouting report was back off him and let him shoot. He missed his first couple of shots, but we told him to keep shooting until we tell you to quit shooting. We tried instilling some confidence because we needed him. He got better and better, and in the second half, he started attacking the basket. I was glad to see him have such a good game.”
In the second half, Southern Miss pulled together two big runs that gave the Golden Eagles needed separation. USM extended its lead to 51-41, but McNeese State (3-9) did not fade, with the Cowboys’ Trae English and Zach Scott hit back-to-back shots. That duo combined for 35 points, with Scott leading the Cowboys with 21 points.
With just under eight-and-a-half minutes left in the game and holding a 65-56 lead, the Golden Eagles broke things up with a 12-0 run that gave USM a 20-point cushion.
Leading USM in scoring was Felipe Haase, who scored 19 points, while DeAndre Pinckney scored 18 and hauled in nine rebounds. Crowley also put up 14 points to go with seven rebounds, with Donovan Ivory scoring 10 points and five rebounds.
"We had five guys in double figures, and there is a number of guys on the bench that are capable of double figures and have done that," Ladner said. "That’s a good sign when you see that."
Southern Miss will go on the road to face UNLV (10-1) on Thursday, Dec. 22, with tipoff at 7 p.m. CST and 9 p.m. local time in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“When you win, it makes games more important,” Ladner said. “It’s the type of games that will help us in recruiting. That’s important for us to go out there and play well. All of a sudden, we have a national-type game against a tradition-rich team that’s having a great year. It’s certainly the biggest non-conference game since I have been here.”
