Golden Eagles Start Road Swing at Pensacola Invitational

Men's Basketball Bench Celebration vs. William Carey

Golden Eagles Start Road Swing at Pensacola Invitational

11/21/2025 3:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss (2-3, 0-0 Sun Belt) travels to the Pensacola Invitational this weekend as it joins North Florida (1-3, 0-0 ASUN), UT Martin (3-1, 0-0 OVC), and Prairie View A&M (2-3, 0-0 SWAC) at the Pensacola Bay Center. The Golden Eagles open the tournament against the Ospreys on Saturday at 7 p.m., which starts a stretch of four-straight away from Hattiesburg.

Pensacola Invitational

Saturday Game 1: UT Martin (3-1, 0-0 OVC) vs. Prairie View A&M (2-3, 0-0 SWAC) - 4 p.m.

Saturday Game 2: Southern Miss (2-3, 0-0 Sun Belt) vs. North Florida (1-3, ASUN) - 7 p.m.

Sunday Game 1: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser - 1:30 p.m.

Sunday Game 2: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner - 4:30 p.m.

TV: YouTube | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
Pensacola Bay Center (10,000)

Fans can listen on the Southern Miss Radio Network, Southern Miss Game Day App, or their local Southern Miss Network affiliate to hear John Cox on the call. The game will air on YouTube.

NEWS AND NOTES

- Southern Miss is coming off a dominant win over William Carey in the Mayor's Cup on Tuesday night, winning 82-59. EJ Paymon and Tegra Izay were slotted in the starting lineup for the first time this season

- The Golden Eagles are paced by Isaac Taveras' 22.0 points per game and Tylik Weeks is averaging 14.8 points per contest

- Taveras scored 19 points and had nine rebounds at Grambling (Nov. 15). The junior guard also nabbed a career-high six steals

- Southern Miss fell on the road at South Carolina on Nov. 9 as the Gamecocks used a three-point barrage to finish the comeback in overtime. Weeks dropped a career-high 20 points, while Taveras scored 25 and Israel Hart had 17

- Felipe Patino went off for 18 points on six three-pointers in the win over Tougaloo on Nov. 6. Taveras produced a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double and Israel Hart had 11 points

- The Golden Eagles return only four players from last season: Dalyn Brandon, Brewer Carruth, Tegra Izay, Jett Montgomery

- Ladner and Co. brought in 14 newcomers during the offseason: DJahi Binet, Dylan Brumfield, Robert Cowherd, Fallou Diagne, IJ Ezuma, Israel Hart, Blake Lander, Curt Lewis, Felipe Patino, EJ Paymon, Isaac Taveras, Chiante' Tramble, Chandler Watts, Tylik Weeks

- The 2025-26 season marks the 106th season of Southern Miss basketball and the 61st season inside Reed Green Coliseum

- Southern Miss was voted 12th in the preseason poll after finishing in 12th last season in the league standings

ABOUT THE OPPONENT

- North Florida is led by first-year head coach Bobby Kennen who has the Ospreys off to a 1-3 start

- Senior guard Kamrin Oriol turned in a career-high 30 points on 12-16 from the field and 3-7 from three in 29 minutes against New College of Florida on Nov. 15

- North Florida opened its 2025-26 season with a pair of ranked road games at No. 3/3 Florida on Nov. 6 and No. 20/18 Tennessee on Nov. 12. Florida and Tennessee mark two of three opponents, in addition to No. 13/12 Gonzaga, ranked in the latest 2025-26 Associated Press (AP)/USA TODAY Coaches' Top 25 Poll that North Florida plays in its non-conference schedule.

- North Florida faces five opponents in nonconference action that competed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament – Florida, Tennessee, Wofford, SIU Edwardsville, Gonzaga. North Florida faces 2024-25 four conference champions – Florida (SEC), Wofford (SOCON), Gonzaga (WCC) and SIUE (OVC) in its non-conference schedule.

- For the first time in program history, North Florida will compete with Tennessee, New College of Florida and Columbia.

- North Florida opened its 2025-26 season with a pair of road games against SEC opponents, both who advanced to the 2025 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, in Florida and Tennessee. North Florida defeated South Carolina, 74-71, in its 2024-25 season opener for its first win against an SEC opponent in program history.

- Only four of North Florida's 13 non-conference games will be at home in UNF Arena.

- North Florida has faced or is set to tip off with three opponents ranked in the top-15 of the latest 2025-26 KenPom College Basketball Ratings as of Nov. 14 - No. 2 Gonzaga, No. 8 Florida and No. 13 Tennessee.

SERIES HISTORY

- Saturday's meeting is the fifth all-time between the two schools who last met in the '20-21 season

- The Ospreys hung on for a 72-69 win on Dec. 14, 2020 in Hattiesburg. They have won the last four meetings dating back to the 2009 season

- Each of the last two meetings have been decided by three points, while the first meeting was decided by seven points

TAVERAS DOES IT OVER AND OVER AND OVER

- Junior guard Isaac Taveras is averaging a league-best 22.2 points per game through the first five games

- The Santo Domino, D.R. product scored a career-high 28 points in the season opener at Buffalo, then added a 16-point performance against Tougaloo

- At South Carolina, Taveras scored 25 points on 10-for-14 shooting from the floor. It was the second time this season he has made at least 10 field goals after having 11 in the Buffalo game

A GOOD START AT HOME

- Southern Miss moved to 69-12 in home openers dating back to the 1956-56 season when the Golden Eagles fell to Louisiana Tech

- The first home-opening win for Southern Miss was against Tyndall Field (Fla.) to open the 1947-48 season

- The Golden Eagles are now 7-0 in home openers under Jay Ladner, while six of those have been double-digit wins

Home Openers Under Jay Ladner
Date	Result	Score	Opponent
11/5/19	W	90-71	Delta State
12/2/20	W	80-53	William Carey
11/9/21	W	81-67	William Carey
11/11/22	W	86-62	Loyola (La.)
11/6/23	W	64-42	William Carey
11/4/24	W	77-68	Bowling Green
11/6/25	W	93-57	Tougaloo

ON THIS DAY

Date: November 13

- Southern Miss is 1-0 on Nov. 13, with its only win being a 75-68 dub over0 DePaul in the opening game of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic. Aaron Brown led the Golden Eagles with 13 points, all in the second half. Michael Craig had 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds, Daveon Boardingham had 12 points and seven boards and Chip Armelin had 10 points and six rebounds. Jerrold Brooks recorded seven points and Neil Watson added six points and five assists.

THE VETERAN OF THE COUNTRY

- Curt Lewis enters the season as one of the oldest players in Division I basketball. The Louisville, Ky., product was born on May 19, 1999

- Below is a list of the oldest players in the country

Ramel Bethea, Green Bay - July 27, 1996
Nginyu Ngala, Kansas - April 3, 1999
Curt Lewis, Southern Miss - May 19, 1999
Ibrahim Olajuwon, FIU - May 26, 1999
Hunter Erickson, Hawaii - September 14, 1999
Bouna Kebe, Delaware - December 24, 1999

LOADED NON-CON SLATE
- Southern Miss has a loaded non-conference slate that includes only five home games
- Notable stops on the road include South Carolina, Miami (Fla.), Radford, and LSU
- Southern Miss will also play Ole Miss at the Coast Coliseum on Dec. 13
- Other non-conference games are Buffalo, Tougaloo, Grambling (two times), William Carey, North Florida, UT Martin/Prairie View A&M and the second MAC-SBC Challenge opponent in February

Single-game and season tickets are available via southernmiss.com/tickets, calling 1-800-844-TICK, or by visiting the Pat Ferlise Ticket Office during normal business hours.

Fans can follow @SouthernMissMBB on social media to get the latest Golden Eagle news.