Golden Eagles Blow Past William Carey in Mayor's Cup Win

Tuesday, November 18

Hattiesburg, Miss.

7:30 PM

Southern Miss

2-3,0-0Sun Belt

William Carey

0-1

William Carey

Southern Miss.

Golden Eagles Blow Past William Carey in Mayor's Cup Win

11/18/2025 10:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Game Book Postgame Notes Photo Gallery

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss (2-3, 0-0 Sun Belt) used a balanced attack on Tuesday night to win 82-59 in the crosstown classic over William Carey (6-0, 0-0 SSAC). Twelve Golden Eagles scored as they extended the streak to seven-straight in the Mayor's Cup.

EJ Paymon, who made his first collegiate start, was all over the box score to start the game as the redshirt freshman helped start an 8-0 run that included a pair of buckets and a big alley-oop to Isaac Taveras.

The Golden Eagles started the game by hitting 10 of their first 14 shots, quickly jumping to a double-digit lead. On the other end, William Carey started the game 4-for-22 before finding a string of points. Southern Miss then hit a dry spell as it only made two baskets over the final six minutes – one of those being Robert Cowherd's heave at the end of the first half to beat the buzzer.

Cowherd's three-pointer gave the Golden Eagles a 38-28 lead at the half and marked the sixth triple of the first half for the team. Paymon topped his career high in scoring with seven points in the first half on three-for-three shooting, while Southern Miss went 14-for-24 as a team.

It took Southern Miss only minutes to push its lead to 15 in the second half as Curt Lewis drained a corner three and then Taveras extended it to 19 shortly after on the backend of a quick 6-0 run. William Carey made a stretch of five-straight three-pointers to cut it to a 10-point game – the Crusaders went 6-25 from deep in the final 20 minutes.

After the brief Crusader flurry of points, Southern Miss rallied behind seven different scorers over the final 10 minutes. Brewer Carruth drilled a pair of three-pointers that blew the hoop wide open, and then Tegra Izay followed with a jam under the hoop.

The Golden Eagles ended the game on another 6-0 run to cap off the 23-point win at The Greenhouse. The win moved Southern Miss to 37-9 at Reed Green Coliseum over the last four seasons and 2-0 this season.

Taveras paced the Golden Eagles in scoring for the fourth time this season as he finished with 13, while Curt Lewis reached double figures for the first time with 11 points. Lewis went three-for-five from three-point land to help the Golden Eagles hit 10 triples for the second time this season.

Southern Miss shot 53.6 percent from the floor, and on the defensive end, it held William Carey to a 26.3 percent clip. Djahi Binet and Paymon helped on the offensive percentages as they both went four-for-four, while Izay went four-for-five.

Izay finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, and Carruth scored a career-high eight points. Paymon finished with nine points, and Dylan Brumfield dished out five assists against his former school.

Up Next
TheGolden Eagles now head to the Pensacola Invitational to battle North Florida on Saturday night at the Pensacola Bay Center. Tip-off from the Pensacola Bay Center is slated for 7 p.m.

Follow @SouthernMissMBB on social media to get the latest Golden Eagle news throughout the season.