HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Kayo Goncalves sank a three from the wing as time expired lifting the University of South Alabama men's basketball over Southern Miss, 76-75, Saturday afternoon in the Reed Green Coliseum.
Goncalves and Tyreke Locure combined to lead the Jaguars with 18 points each. The pair also combined in the final moments with Locure providing the assist on the game-winning three. K.K. Curry provided a spark with 16 points off the bench.
Southern Miss had four players reach double figures as Jaron Pierre Jr. led all scorers with 25, as LaDavius Draine, Tyler Stevenson and Artur Konontsuk rounded out the other three. The Golden Eagles led for over 33 minutes of the game in part due to 15 made threes in the contest, but were prevented from making a field goal in the game's final two minutes.
GAME FACTS
- The game was close early but Southern Miss led by two, 20-18 at the 8:12 mark, with 15 points coming from five made threes in the first 12 minutes. USA kept it close by forcing eight Golden Eagle turnovers, and picking up eight points off turnovers.
- USA ended the first half making 4-of-5 field goals, but still trailed at the break 37-31. Golden Eagle Pierre Jr. pocketed 19 points to lead all scorers after draining five of eight Southern Miss threes pointers.
- South tied the game at 43 with 16:02 remaining after Curry converted a layup and a free throw to notch his 10th point of the contest.
- Locure gave South Alabama its first lead, 49-48, with 13 minutes 11 seconds left in the contest after converting a four-point play after sinking a three with the foul.
- The Jags trailed by two at the final media break after Locure made a layup to make the score 65-63 with 4:15 remaining in regulation.
- Holding Southern Miss without a field goal for the final two minutes and 31 seconds, USA made its final three shots down the stretch with Goncalves grabbing a rebound off Pierre Jr.'s missed free throw, connecting with Locure before getting the ball back and getting a three to drop after bouncing off the side iron of the rim for a South 76-75 road win.
- South scorched the nets in the second half shooting 15-for-22 from the field for 68.2 percent, including 6-of-11 beyond the arc.
- USA won the turnover battle forcing the Golden Eagles into 19 turnovers while commiting 14. The Jaguars turned those turnovers into 22 points.
NOTES
- South Alabama has won the last four of five against the Golden Eagles, and for the ninth time in Hattiesburg, Miss., but this is the first victory since a 78-55 win on Nov. 30, 2016.
- It was the first time this season that Goncalves and Locure has led the squad in scoring, and both accomplished the feat on 6-of-12 shooting from the field.
- Curry scored a career-high 16 points off the bench with four rebounds and a block in 24 minutes of play and reached double figures in scoring for the second time this month.
- Goncalves was two rebounds shy of posting a double-double with eight and a steal.
- Locure was one assist shy of the career-high seven, which he set against William Carey last game.
THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richie Riley
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Opening Statement: "We made the most of it in the second half. It wasn't perfect, but it's a win. This is a culture win for us, and we pride ourselves on fighting for our culture every day. We're trying to build on that in year three to show who we are. The energy on the bench was amazing because nothing went how we originally planned, but we continued to push harder and came out with the win. [Kayo] Goncalves deserved that at the end."
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on KK Curry: "He's finally getting back in shape. He had to miss a lot of practice due to injuries, but now he's getting back in shape. I was happy for him because he's had an unbelievable last week and a half of practice. He didn't get to play as much as he would have liked, but I told him before the game that he would get an opportunity today. He came out there and made the most of it. He earned a lot of trust today. We couldn't have won this game without him and I was so proud of him. He needs to take today and keep building on that momentum and just continue to get better."
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on the final play: "We thought it would be man to man, and we didn't have a timeout like they had with the zone when we came in, but we stuck with our set. So we start with our set where we're trying to run Goncalves off as a decoy, but if it's there then shoot and try to win. After that, I told our guys because they were shooting two free throws we want you to push down because we have no timeouts and for [Sam] Iorio and [Kayo] Goncalves to push off each way. Goncalves made enough space and at six [feet] eight [inches] he shot over the guy and got the friendly roll."
Up next: South Alabama returns to the Mitchell Center for a midweek game against Flagler (Fla.) on Wednesday with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give
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