HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Behind a career night from Jayden Cooper, South Alabama never trailed Thursday evening and led for more than 38 minutes en route to an 84–78 road victory over Southern Miss at Reed Green Coliseum. With the win, the Jags improved to 18-7 on the season and 8-4 in Sun Belt play, while Southern Miss fell to 13-14 on the year and 6-8 in conference action. 

Key Stats

• Jayden Cooper delivered a Division 1 career-high 34 points on 10-of-16 shooting, knocking down seven of his nine attempts from beyond the arc and converting 7-of-8 free throws. 

• Chaze Harris added 26 points while dishing out four assists with two steals and two rebounds. 

• As a team, South Alabama shot 54.0 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three-point range while scoring 28 points off Southern Miss turnovers. 

• The Jaguars led for 38 minutes and 37 seconds of the contest and never trailed in the game, controlling the flow from the opening tip to the final horn.

• South Alabama forced 21 Southern Miss turnovers and turned those into 28 points, creating a +14 advantage in points off miscues.

• The Jaguars held Southern Miss to 40.6 percent shooting in the second half after the Golden Eagles shot better than 61 percent in the first half.

• South Alabama finished with 21 fast-break points, matching Southern Miss' tempo while capitalizing more efficiently in transition.

• The Jags outscored Southern Miss 20–12 in the paint in the first half and shot 54.5 percent in the second half to maintain offensive rhythm.

• Randy Brady added six rebounds and went 5-of-6 from the free-throw line, helping South Alabama secure key defensive possessions and close the game at the line.

Key Moments 

• South Alabama jumped out early behind its defensive pressure, forcing turnovers that fueled a quick 11-4 stretch and helped build a double-digit lead midway through the first half.

• At the 7:12 mark of the opening half, Jayden Cooper buried his third straight three-pointer to give the Jaguars a 29–15 advantage, igniting the bench and forcing Southern Miss into a timeout.

• The Jaguars carried that momentum into halftime, taking a 42–36 lead into the break after shooting better than 53 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes.

• Midway through the second half, Chaze Harris converted a turnover into a layup to push the lead to 60–44 with 13:37 remaining, giving South Alabama its largest cushion of the night.

• Jayden Cooper extended that margin to 63–46 on a three-pointer at the 11:54 mark, matching the game's biggest lead and quieting the Reed Green crowd.

• Southern Miss trimmed the deficit to 65–61 with just over six minutes to play, but Cooper answered on the next key possession and later knocked down another three to stretch the lead back to multiple possessions.

• In the final 27 seconds, Cooper went 4-for-4 at the free-throw line to secure the 84–78 road victory and complete the wire-to-wire win.

Up Next

South Alabama continues its three-game final road gauntlet at Arkansas State on Saturday, Feb.14, at 2 p.m. CT.

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