South Alabama’s men’s basketball team ended its regular season with a 68-55 defeat against Southern Miss at the Mitchell Center on Friday night. The Jaguars finished the season with a record of 21-10 overall and 11-7 in conference play.
The game began with South Alabama taking an early lead, reaching 16–9 midway through the first half thanks to strong inside play from Chaze Harris and perimeter shots by Adam Olsen and Randy Brady. During this period, Brady also hit a three-pointer following a turnover, helping the Jaguars maintain control of rebounding early in the contest.
Southern Miss shifted momentum with a 10–1 run over four minutes, overcoming their deficit to lead at halftime, 35-29. After the break, Southern Miss continued their surge with a 10-2 run that extended their advantage to double digits at 40-29.
Harris responded for South Alabama by scoring consecutive baskets in the paint and converting a three-point play, narrowing the gap to seven points at 41-34. Brady added another basket off a steal to keep South Alabama within reach during the second half.
The Jaguars managed to reduce Southern Miss’s lead to nine after Stephen Williams scored on a tip-in dunk and later trimmed it further to eight when Jayden Cooper made a fast-break layup assisted by Harris. However, Southern Miss answered with back-to-back three-pointers as part of a decisive 10–0 run that pushed their lead up to 15 points. The Golden Eagles eventually led by as many as 18 points late in the game.
Chaze Harris led South Alabama in scoring with 23 points and nine rebounds while also recording three steals. Adam Olsen contributed 14 points and was successful on eight of his nine free throw attempts. Jayden Cooper added ten points for the Jaguars.
As a team, South Alabama shot just under 33 percent from the field (18-for-55) and made only four out of twenty-two attempts from beyond the arc (18.2 percent). They held an edge in points scored in the paint (28–24) and second-chance points (12), but Southern Miss was more effective from long range, making ten out of twenty-four three-point attempts (41.7 percent), and received significant contributions from their bench players who accounted for twenty-four points compared to just two from South Alabama’s reserves.
Southern Miss also dominated rebounding throughout the game, finishing with forty-three boards compared to thirty for South Alabama, while shooting nearly forty-five percent from the floor overall. The Golden Eagles recorded thirteen assists versus four for South Alabama but committed fourteen turnovers compared to six by the Jaguars.
South Alabama now awaits its seeding for participation in the Visit Pensacola presented by Air Force Reserve Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament.
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