Golden Eagles Host Arkansas State in Holiday Hoops Game

Saturday, December 20

Hattiesburg, Miss.

3:30 PM

Southern Miss

Arkansas State

Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles guard Brewer Carruth (2) with a three point shot in a game between Southern Miss Golden Eagles and Louisiana in a NCAA Men’s Basketball game. December 18, 2025 (Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com)

Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com

Golden Eagles Host Arkansas State in Holiday Hoops Game

12/19/2025 2:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball

ESPN+Listen Live Stats Southern Miss Notes

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss (7-5, 1-0 Sun Belt) hosts Arkansas State (8-4, 1-0 Sun Belt) on Saturday afternoon in a key matchup between a pair of teams off to a 1-0 start in Sun Belt play. The Holiday Hoops game is slated to tip off at 3:30 p.m.

Game 13: Southern Miss (7-5, 1-0 Sun Belt) vs. Arkansas State (8-4, 1-0 Sun Belt)
Saturday, December 20 at 3:30 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
Reed Green Coliseum (8,095)

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 ESPN+ with Lee Roberts (pxp) and Larry Boyd (color).

NEWS AND NOTES
- Southern Miss won its Sun Belt opener against Louisiana, 62-54, in a low-scoring affair. Israel Hart dropped a season-best 17 points in the win
- Tylik Weeks posted his first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds against Ole Miss — the rebound total was a career best
- The Golden Eagles picked up a 68-60 win over Grambling on last Monday, with Southern Miss coming back from a halftime deficit
- Weeks was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week as he took home MVP honors at the Pensacola Invitational
- Outside of an 11-point deficit at the half against North Florida, Southern Miss dominated the Pensacola Invitational and took home its second MTE title under Jay Ladner
- Weeks scored 37 points in the win over North Florida, which was the 11th-most in program history and the second-most by any Sun Belt player since the 2022-23 season
- 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
- Arkansas State opened Sun Belt play with an 89- 70 win over Texas State on Wednesday night. The win moved the Red Wolves to 8-4 on the season
- Matt Hayman leads Arkansas State in scoring at 10.8 points per game, while TJ Caldwell (10.7), Chandler Jackson (10.3) and Jaxon Ellingsworth (10.1) all average 10+ points a game
- The Red Wolves own wins over North Dakota State, Ohio, Missouri State, Christian Brothers, Jax State, UT Arlington, Little Rock and Texas State » They average 81.1 points per game on the offensive end and allow 78.6 points on the other end.
- Arkansas State leads the Sun Belt in bench points, free throw percentage, and offensive rebounds
- First-year head coach Ryan Pannone was last at Alabama as an assistant coach. Before Bama, Pannone spent several years in the pro ranks as both a head coach and assistant coach

SERIES HISTORY
- Saturday's meeting is the 33rd all-time between the two schools, which includes a 20-year gap from 2003 to 2023 of not playing
- The Red Wolves took the first meeting in 1955 and won three of the first five. Southern Miss' first win over Arkansas State was in 1956 in Hattiesburg
- The two teams are tied 3-3 since Southern Miss joined the Sun Belt ahead of the 2022-23 season. Last year, Arkansas State swept the series

HOME SWEET REED GREEN
- Southern Miss is 39-9 at The Greenhouse since the start of the 2022-23 season
- 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

ON THIS DAY
Date: December 20
- Southern Miss is 9-4 on Dec. 20. The last time the Golden Eagles played on this day was in 2013, when they beat Coppin State by 20. Southern Miss has won three straight on Dec. 20, with the last loss coming in 2003 at LSU. The first Dec. 20 game came in 1950 against Howard Payne. The Golden Eagles won that meeting on the road, 80-73

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.