Behind the best defensive performance of the Jay Ladner era, Southern Miss defeated crosstown rival William Carey 75-42 on Monday evening at Reed Green Coliseum.
The 42 points allowed, which is the lowest a USM defense has held a team during the Ladner era, was a result of the Golden Eagles forcing 30 turnovers as well as keeping William Carey scoreless for over 26 minutes on the night.
"I was very proud of our defensive intensity," Southern Miss coach Jay Ladner said. "Our numbers speak that. Our defense, of course, is ahead of our offense at this point. We have a lot of guys playing and a lot of new guys. We are working to develop that chemistry. We are going to continue to work on that and improve on that, but I was proud of our defensive effort, and over time it wore William Carey down."
SLOW START
William Carey did jump out to an 8-2 lead as USM's offense struggled to make shots. By the end of the first half, USM was 0-for-9 from beyond the arc and shot just 36.4% from the floor.
"I didn't think in the first half that we didn't rebound the ball very well," Ladner said. "I thought we had some great defensive possessions that we didn't finish that you have to finish; otherwise, it's like wasting 30 seconds of effort if you don't finish the possession. They only had 22 points at the half, and 10 of those came on second-chance points in the first half."
USM's defense slowly turned the tide, with it holding William Carey to four different 2-plus minute scoring droughts. The longest drought in the first half lasted 6 minutes and 15 seconds, while the grand total was equal to 14 minutes and 35 seconds.
"They were in a 1-3-1 that we weren't ready for, and you have to give them credit," Ladner said. "They did a good job of switching and doing some things that we didn't see them do last year. It caught us off guard. At halftime, we were able to change and do some things on offense that were more effective to what they were doing."
BIG NIGHTS FOR CROWLEY AND HARRIS
Helping turn the offense around was a career night from Denijay Harris and a solid debut from Ole Miss transfer Austin Crowley. Harris, who came off the bench, accounted for eight points in the first half.
"When I come out on the floor, I try not to think about offense," Harris said. "Coach preaches us to focus on defense first and let the game come to you. That's how I approached it, and things just came to me, and my teammates pushed me"
Harris finished the game with 14 points and 6 of 7 from the floor.
"I thought Denijay, both halves, was very impactful and effective," Ladner said. "He's such an incredible athlete. He's another kid that doesn't get rattled. Denijay was 6-for-7 and was so solid. He started the exhibition game but didn't start tonight because we wanted to apply pressure on their guards. We thought their guards were good, and we felt like we could get into their bench behind them. We wanted to start a quicker lineup. He took that in stride and had zero attitude."
The Golden Eagles held a 27-22 lead at the half, but Crowley helped the offense breakthrough as he began to attack the post.
"I think he has a chance to be an all-league player," Ladner said. "He doesn't get rattled. He's cool and plays his tail off. When we were struggling to score, he was the same guy. When we needed him in the second half when they cut it to three, he stepped his game up. We were able to get in there and post him because he has such a good size. We posted him a few times, and he finished. I thought that was responsible for kind of breaking the game open."
DECIDING RUN
Crowley's as well as the defense's effort, then force the game-deciding run in the second half. With USM leading 38-32, the Golden Eagles went on a 23-0 run, which included forcing eight turnovers and holding William Carey to a 9-minute and 12-second drought.
Crowley finished the game with a team-leading 15 points, nine of which were in the second half, and four steals.
"I think it was more of my teammates, I struggled a little bit in the first half," Crowley said. "I made a couple of shots, but I couldn't find a rhythm. I talked to the guys like Denijay and Felipe (Haase), and they just told me to keep playing. I have a team of guys that are just looking for me. They know what I bring to the table and what I can do. They are always looking for me."
Although it was memorable for Southern Miss' defense, the offense finished 3 of 15 from the 3-point line and 10 of 21 from the free throw line.
"We played with tremendous effort and intensity on the defensive end," Ladner said." We talked at halftime about doing a better job and getting under control on offense. I thought we were quick shooting it. We didn't move the basketball quite as much. I didn't think it was selfishness. I just thought we lacked patience. We have to clean our execution up."
Southern Miss goes on the road to play Vanderbilt on Friday. That game will be streamed SEC NETWORK+ with tipoff set for 6 p.m. while William Carey hosts Dillard on Wednesday with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
