Golden Eagles Stun Kent State Late to Pick Up Big Win

Saturday, February 7

Hattiesburg, Miss.

2 PM

Southern Miss

13-13,6-7Sun Belt

Kent State

17-7,8-3MAC

Kent St.

Southern Miss.

Golden Eagles Stun Kent State Late to Pick Up Big Win

2/7/2026 5:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Postgame Notes Game Book

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – It had been nearly two months since Isaac Taveras played in a Southern Miss (13-13, 6-7 Sun Belt) basketball game, but that didn't stop him from giving the Golden Eagles a 66-65 win over Kent State (17-7, 8-3 MAC) in the MAC-SBC Challenge.

Taveras hit a pair of free throws with one second left on the clock to help the Golden Eagles finish the comeback win on Saturday afternoon. It moved Southern Miss to 43-11 at Reed Green Coliseum since 2022-23 and 3-0 at home in the MAC-SBC Challenge.

Notables
- Southern Miss went with the same five as last game -- #0 Izzy Hart, #4 Tylik Weeks, #9 Dalyn Brandon, #13 Dylan Brumfield, #15 Djahi Binet
- The first points were scored by Dylan Brumfield on a jumper. It was the fourth time he had scored the first Southern Miss points this season
- Southern Miss' first subs were Chiante' Tramble and Curt Lewis
- Southern Miss posted at least 40 rebounds for the 10th time and second-straight game after having 43 against Kent State
- The Golden Eagles are 43-11 at Reed Green Coliseum since the start of the 2022-23 season. They are 8-2 at home this season
- Southern Miss is now 3-3 in the MAC-SBC Challenge and 3-0 at home. The Golden Eagles split the season challenge after losing at Buffalo in the season opener
- Southern Miss held Kent State to 65 points after it came in averaging 87.0 points per game
- Southern Miss has posted double-digit offensive rebounds in three of the last four games after having 15 against Kent State
- Dalyn Brandon tied his career high in steals with two
- Dylan Brumfield tied his career mark in rebounds with 10. It was a season high, topping his previous high of seven in three different games this year
- Djahi Binet reached double figures for the 12th time this season and second-straight game after scoring 17 points against Kent State
- Binet made his fourth three-pointer of the year and has made one in each of the last two games
- Tylik Weeks scored 15 points to reach double figures for the 23rd time this season
- Weeks drained his third three-pointer of the year
- Weeks finished with a career-high 11 rebounds to reach his second double-double this season. His other double-double was an 18-point, 10-rebound game against Ole Miss
- Isaac Taveras played his first game since getting injured against Louisiana on Dec. 18. He finished with 15 points to reach double figures for the 11th time this season
- Taveras went 4-4 from the free throw line, including the game winner, and is now 29-47 on the year

How it Happened
Dylan Brumfield got the scoring started after Kent State won the opening tip, and then Djahi Binet picked up where he left off on Wednesday night. Binet picked up four points and two offensive rebounds in the first five minutes of the half as the Golden Eagles trailed 9-8 heading into the first media timeout.

Binet was then on the receiving end of an alley-oop pass from Dalyn Brandon, who forced his second steal of the game. Kent State had an answer for that dunk, but Southern Miss fired back with a 7-0 run over 2:15 to take a 17-13 lead at the under-12 media timeout. The Golden Flashes went scoreless for almost five minutes as Southern Miss was able to build a 21-13 lead thanks to a Brewer Carruth three-pointer.

Kent State battled back from an 11-0 Southern Miss run to go on a 7-0 run of its own, which made it a one-point game with 5:45 left in the half. Tylik Weeks hit his third three-pointer of the season, and then Izzy Hart knocked down a three-pointer on the next trip down the floor that got the Reed Green crowd going.

Binet reached double figures late in the half to help Southern Miss to a five-point lead with a minute left on the clock, but the Golden Flashes hit their third three-pointer of the half to punch back. Isaac Taveras, though, made his first basket since Dec. 18 to give Southern Miss a 34-30 lead at the break.

Not much scoring took place to start the second half as a Hart three-pointer and a Weeks free throw were the only Golden Eagle points in the first four-and-a-half minutes. Kent State opened the half with a three-pointer and then got a layup two minutes later, but that was all as the Golden Eagles held a 38-35 lead at the under-16 media timeout.

Kent State took its first lead of the game after Quinn Woidke nailed a three-pointer with 12:52 left in the half. That score was part of a stretch where both teams traded baskets, with neither one scoring consecutive trips in almost two minutes. Kent State changed that as it went on an 8-0 run in two minutes to take a 52-45 lead with just under 10 minutes left in the half.

Southern Miss trailed by nine before Taveras started a 7-0 run that made it a two-point game with four minutes to play in the half. Kent State held a four-point lead once again with 49 seconds left to play before Weeks hit a pair of free throws to make it 63-62 for the Golden Flashes.

Hart took the next Kent State pass for a steal and found Taveras, who scored to give Southern Miss a one-point lead with 25 seconds left to play. Southern Miss had a good defensive stand, but Dylan Brumfield got whistled for a foul with seven seconds on the clock. Cian Medley hit both to give Kent State a 65-64 lead.

Southern Miss took the ball down the floor and drew a foul of its own as Taveras was going up for a layup with one second left on the clock. Taveras went on to hit both free throws to give Southern Miss a win over the Golden Flashes. Southern Miss went 19-for-24 from the free-throw line, which proved to be the difference in the game.

Up Next
Southern Miss is back at Reed Green Coliseum on Thursday as it hosts South Alabama. The two will tip-off at 7:30 p.m. inside Reed Green Coliseum.

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.