HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WTVA/USM Athletics) — Angelo Johnson scored 23 points and Neil Watson recorded his first career double-double as Southern Miss scored its most points of the year in an 86-82 victory over in-state rival Ole Miss, Saturday afternoon at Reed Green Coliseum.
The meeting between the two teams was the first in Hattiesburg since 1994, and it was just the sixth victory for the Golden Eagles (8-2) over Ole Miss (9-2) in 24 games.
Watson scored 18 points and had 11 assists and five rebounds. The double-double was the first consisting of points and assists since Jeremy Wise did it against East Carolina in 2009. Jonathan Mills scored 14 points and had a team-high seven rebounds. Torye Pelham had 11 points and five rebounds and LaShay Page added 10 points and four boards.
“This is one of the top three non-conference wins in my career,” said Southern Miss head coach Larry Eustachy. “We’ve been through a lot in this program and we had a very adverse week, and really had a lot of things go wrong in the game. For our team to respond the way they did and just keep hanging in there. I just think we made the plays that we needed to make at the end.”
Ole Miss entered the second half up 34-33 after ending the first half on a 6-0 run. The Rebels extended their lead to five points on a jumper and a pair of free throws. The teams traded baskets, but with the Rebels holding a 44-40 lead, a putback dunk by Pelham sent Southern Miss on a 7-0 run to take a 47-44 lead 6:16 into the half. However, Ole Miss came right back, scoring the next eight of the next 10 points points to retake the lead.
A three-pointer by Page tied the game at 52. Dundrecous Nelson then hit a jumper, followed by one-of-two free throws after Eustachy was assessed a technical to again give Ole Miss a three-point lead. However, a three-pointer by Johnson propelled Southern Miss on a 13-2 run, as the Black and Gold took its largest lead of the game, 65-58, with 8:02 to play.
The Rebels pulled to within a point before the teams scored on five straight possessions. Ole Miss tied the game for the final time at 76 with 1:53 to play. However, 30 seconds later, Watson was left open in the right corner, where he nailed a three-pointer to give Southern Miss the lead for good.
Southern Miss shot 49.2-percent (30-of-61) for the game and 53.3-percent (8-of-15) from three. It was also 18-of-22 from the free throw line. Ole Miss connected on 28-of-62 (45.2%) from the floor and 41.7% (5-of-12) from beyond the arc. It was also 21-of-27 (77.8%) from the charity stripe. The Rebels also held the rebounding advantage, 39-to-33.
Terrance Henry led Ole Miss with a game-high 26 points. Dundrecous Nelson scored 19 points and Jarvis Summers had 12. Reginald Buckner added a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds.
