University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
1-2,0-0Sun Belt
South Carolina
2-0,0-0SEC
Men's Basketball Falls in Overtime at South Carolina
11/9/2025 9:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Southern Miss (1-2, 0-0 Sun Belt) and South Carolina (2-0, 0-0 SEC) battled to an instant classic on Sunday night as the Gamecocks won 83-79 in overtime at Colonial Bank Arena.
A pair of Golden Eagles posted 20-point performances as Isaac Taveras scored 25 and Tylik Weeks went off for a career mark. Israel Hart came off the bench to add 17 points, making it the second-straight game he's reached double figures.
South Carolina came out of the games firing from deep, starting 8-for-13 from beyond the arc. The hot hand helped the Gamecocks to an 11-point lead six minutes into the game. Eli Ellis pushed the lead to 16 shortly after to give South Carolina its biggest lead of the game.
The Golden Eagles found IJ Ezuma for a bucket out of the under-12 media timeout and then Felipe Patino and Hart followed with more points. South Carolina only made three field goals over the final 11 minutes of the half – all three were from deep. Southern Miss cut the lead to seven on a Fallou Diagne three-pointer, which spurred a 10-3 run to end the first half.
Southern Miss trailed 38-34 at the break as the Gamecocks hit nine three-pointers in the first 20 minutes. The Golden Eagles shot 42 percent from the floor in the half as Weeks poured in 11 points. Southern Miss' defense forced eight South Carolina turnovers in the first half, which led 12 points on the other end.
The Golden Eagles scored the first seven points of the second half to take a 41-38 lead in a hurry. They went on another 6-0 run before the under-12 media timeout to take an eight-point lead. Hart then gave Southern Miss its largest lead of the night at 65-64 with just under four minutes to play.
South Carolina, though, turned to Meechie Johnson down the stretch as the guard scored 11 points in the final minutes. Taveras gave Southern Miss a 70-68 lead with 24 seconds on the clock before South Carolina called a timeout. The Gamecocks got Johnson the ball out of the timeout, which drew a quick whistle that sent him to the line to tie it.
Johnson's points sent the game to overtime after the Golden Eagles couldn't get a last-second shot off. Weeks had an and-one to open the overtime period, though that was the last time Southern Miss had the lead. South Carolina scored eight of the final 12 points to seal the win over its old Metro Conference opponent. John led all scorers with 33 points with seven three-pointers.
The Golden Eagles went 29-for-67 from the field to shoot 43.3 percent and went 5-for-22 from deep. Meanwhile, South Carolina shot 39.1 percent and made 16 three-pointers on 43 attempts. Southern Miss forced 15 South Carolina turnovers, while the Golden Eagles only turned the ball over nine times.
UP NEXT
Southern Miss stays on the road as it travels to Grambling State on for a Thursday night tilt. Tip-off at Willis Reed Court at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center is set for 7 p.m.
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