COLUMBIA, Missouri (AP) — Winning in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament means a lot to Southern Miss guard Neil Watson.
Winning in front of family made it much more memorable.
“Being so far away from Kansas down in Mississippi, my family doesn’t get to see me play a lot,” said Watson, a native Kansas City, Kan. “So them being here, being able to share in the win with my second family as far as my teammates, is very motivational for the rest of the NIT.”
Watson scored 18 points to lead Southern Miss past Missouri 71-63 on Sunday and said there were 14 family members at Mizzou Arena to support him.
“Sounded like a 114,” coach Donnie Tyndall said.
“My mom (Crystal), she’s a 100 people by herself,” Watson responded.
Aaron Brown added 16 points for the third-seeded Golden Eagles (29-6), who have won eight of their past nine games and advance to play at No. 1 seed Minnesota for the right to go to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Tip-off Tuesday is set for 8 p.m. on ESPN.
Jeremiah Eason’s layup broke a 14-14 tie with 9:34 remaining in the first half and the Golden Eagles led the rest of the way. Missouri cut its deficit to three points on a 3-pointer by Earnest Ross with 14:41 left, but the Tigers could get no closer.
Ross scored 22 points while Jabari Brown and Jordan Clarkson both added 13 for second-seeded Missouri (23-12), which fell to 2-8 all-time in NIT games.
The Tigers head into the offseason wondering whether their top two scorers — juniors Brown and Clarkson — will return or turn professional. Ross, a senior, exhausted his eligibility. The trio combined for 70 percent of the team’s scoring this season.
“I had a great time here,” Ross said about playing two years at Missouri after two seasons at Auburn. “The fans did a great job of bringing me in. Coach (Frank) Haith and the rest of the coaching staff did a great job of coaching me. I had a great time here and wouldn’t want to have spent it anywhere else.”
Missouri scored the first five points of the game before the Golden Eagles answered with a 10-0 run. They used an 8-2 run to start the second half to build a 42-31 lead with 17:44 remaining before Missouri scored 10 of the next 12 points.
But Southern Miss rallied for the next six points for a 50-41 lead, and Missouri could never narrow its deficit to one possession.
SouthernMiss finished in a four-way tie atop the regular-season standings in Conference USA with a 13-3 league record, and its RPI of 33 was the highest of any team not to make the NCAA tournament.
The Golden Eagles aren’t thinking about what they’ve missed out on, though, but rather where they have a chance to go — New York City, a metropolitan area where four players grew up.
“Anytime we can get a win and get to a place where our teammates can see their family, then that makes us fight that much harder in games and at practice,” Watson said.
