University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
LSU New Orleans (Exhibition)
10/20/2026 12:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss men's basketball gets its first look at the 2026-27 season Wednesday night when LSU New Orleans visits Reed Green Coliseum for a 6 p.m. exhibition. The matchup begins a two-game exhibition slate for Coach Jay Ladner's group before the regular season opens in November.
Game Details
Wednesday, Oct. 21 - 6 p.m. CT
Hattiesburg, Miss. - Reed Green Coliseum
Radio - smttt.info/4jrgLnb
Southern Miss enters the new year following a strong finish to the 2025-26 season. The Golden Eagles finished 19-16 overall and won three games in three days at the Sun Belt Tournament to reach the semifinals before falling to eventual champion Troy. The run capped a year that included 10 wins at Reed Green Coliseum and gave Southern Miss its second-highest win total under Coach Ladner.
Isaac Taveras headlines the returning group after averaging 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 51.5 percent from the floor last season. The senior also added 2.3 assists per game and enters the year after being tabbed Blue Ribbon Magazine's preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year. Taveras joins Brewer Carruth, Chandler Watts and Fallou Diagne as holdovers from last year's roster, giving the Golden Eagles an experienced core inside a group filled with new faces.
That new-look roster got its first extended run in front of a crowd during last week's Black and Gold Scrimmage. Carruth led all scorers with 22 points after knocking down five three-pointers, while Brandon Weston added 19. Marcus Overstreet and Anthony Igiede also reached double figures for the Gold squad, while Cameron Wallace, Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt, Taveras and DeAndre Harvey all scored at least 10 for the Black team. The balance gave Southern Miss an early look at the depth Coach Ladner will have to work with as roles begin to take shape.
Weston and Wallace bring proven production into the group. Weston earned First Team All-OVC honors at Tennessee State after averaging 16.0 points and 4.8 rebounds in 2024-25 before receiving a medical redshirt last season. Wallace started 22 games at Little Rock a year ago and averaged 12.8 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 47.9 percent from the floor.
LSU New Orleans comes to Hattiesburg under Coach Stacy Hollowell after finishing 15-18 overall and 12-10 in Southland play last season. The Privateers have also reworked their roster, bringing in several transfers while returning pieces such as Enzo Boudouma, Kedrick Osby and Jamal Chretien II. Wednesday will be LSU New Orleans' lone exhibition before opening the regular season at LSU on Nov. 3.
The matchup also brings some unique history back to The Greenhouse. The programs last met in 2024 in an exhibition at Lakefront Arena, where Southern Miss came away with a 105-102 overtime victory. Their most recent regular-season meeting came in 2009, a 78-58 Southern Miss win in Gulfport. The last counting matchup between the programs in Hattiesburg went even longer, with the Golden Eagles outlasting New Orleans 83-78 in four overtimes on Dec. 3, 2005.
Wednesday begins an exhibition stretch designed to give Southern Miss two different tests before the games begin to count. The Golden Eagles will follow the home opener with a trip to Houston Christian next week before returning to Reed Green Coliseum for the regular-season opener.
Up Next
Southern Miss travels to Houston, Texas, for its second exhibition against Houston Christian on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 6 p.m. CT. The Golden Eagles officially open the season Nov. 2 against Tougaloo at Reed Green Coliseum.
For more information and to stay up to date with the Golden Eagles, visit SouthernMiss.com and follow Southern Miss men's basketball on X, Instagram and Facebook at @SouthernMissMBB.
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