Southern Miss Travels to South Carolina to Face Old Metro Conference Foe

Sunday, November 9

Columbia, SC

5:30 PM

Southern Miss

South Carolina

Southern Miss Travels to South Carolina to Face Old Metro Conference Foe

11/8/2025 6:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Southern Miss Notes South Carolina Notes SEC Network Live Stats

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Former Metro Conference members Southern Miss (1-1, 0-0 Sun Belt) and South Carolina (1-0, 0-0 SEC) will meet on Sunday evening at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C. The Golden Eagles and Gamecocks will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. CT on SECN.

Game 3: Southern Miss (1-1, 0-0 Sun Belt) at South Carolina (1-0, 0-0 SEC)
Sunday, November 9 at 5:30 p.m. CT
TV: SECN | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
Colonial Life Arena (18,000)

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 SECN with John Schriffen (pxp) and Rodney Terry (analyst).

NEWS AND NOTES
- Felipe Patino went off for 18 points on six three-pointers in the win over Tougaloo on Nov. 6. Isaac Taveras produced a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double and Israel Hart had 11 points
- Southern Miss is 1-4 in games against SEC schools under Jay Ladner
- 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
- Lamont Paris enters his fourth season at the helm of Southern Carolina. Paris, the 2024 SEC Coach of the Year and one of four finalists for the 2024 Naismith National Coach of the Year, helped engineer the greatest single-season turnaround in program history in 2023-24 as the team improved its win total by 15 games
- The Gamecocks won 91-72 in a season-opening victory over NC A&T on Nov. 4. Five players scored in double-figures for the Gamecocks led by Meechie Johnson's 14 points. Two more players had nine points
- Carolina hit 14 3s in the 91-72 season-opening win against NC A&T (Nov. 4). Nine different players hit a shot from behind the arc for the well-balanced Gamecocks (14-of-32 3FGs ; 43.8%)
- South Carolina was picked to finished 16th in the SEC Preseason Poll, ahead of future Southern Miss opponent LSU in 15th.

SERIES HISTORY
- Sunday's meeting is the 20th all-time between the two schools who were once Metro Conference foes
- Southern Miss has won the last two meetings, though neither of those happened when any current Golden Eagle or Gamecock players were alive
- The Golden Eagles are 3-7 in Columbia with their last win coming Jan. 10, 1991
- Southern Miss won six of the first eight games to opener the series that dates back to the 1979-80 season

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 9
- Southern Miss is 1-1 on Nov. 9, with its only win coming against William Carey in 2021. The Golden Eagles won 81-67 as Tae Hardy scored 30 points. Isaiah Moore had 10 points and 11 rebounds to pick up the double-double

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.