University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Friday, March 6
Pensacola, Fla.
5 p.m.
Southern Miss
18-15,9-9Sun Belt
81
vs
77
(5) Texas State
19-13,11-7Sun Belt
1
2
F
Southern Miss.
37
44
81
Texas St.
33
44
77
Men's Basketball Knocks Off Texas State to Advance to Quarterfinals
3/6/2026 8:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PENSACOLA, Fla. – Tylik Weeks did it again for Southern Miss (18-15, 9-9) on Friday night, scoring 32 points in an 81-77 win over No. 5 Texas State (19-13, 11-7) at the 2026 Visit Pensacola Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Championship Presented by Air Force Reserve.
His effort comes on the heels of a 31-point game against James Madison last night. Three other Golden Eagles scored in double figures as Southern Miss has moved its winning streak to three-straight. The Golden Eagles made 28 free throws for the second consecutive game, which tied their season high.
Southern Miss now advances to take on No. 4 App State at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Pensacola Bay Center. The Mountaineers took the only meeting this season by seven in Hattiesburg. It was a game that featured six lead changes and five ties.
Notables
- Southern Miss went with the same starting five as recent games - #0 Izzy Hart, #4 Tylik Weeks, #10 Isaac Taveras, #13 Dylan Brumfield, #15 Djahi Binet
- The first points were scored by Tylik Weeks for the seventh time and for the eighth time on a jumper
- Southern Miss' first sub was Chiante' Tramble at 16:59 in the first half
- Southern Miss moved to 2-0 in the Sun Belt Tournament and has now won its most games at a single conference tournament under Jay Ladner
- Southern Miss made at least 20 free throws for the 13th time this season after making 29 against Texas State
- Southern Miss is 3-3 all-time at the Sun Belt Tournament and has won three of the last four
- Southern Miss is now 6-4 all-time against Texas State and 1-1 in the Sun Belt Tournament against the Bobcats
- Tylik Weeks became the second player in single-season Southern Miss history to record at least 200 free throws. He is at 211, which passed Nick Revon for the most all-time after he had 205 during the 1953-54 season
- Weeks scored 32 points to reach double figures for the 30th time this season. He reached the 30-point mark for the fourth time this season and for the second time at the Sun Belt Tournament
- Djahi Binet scored 10 points to reach double figures for the 19th time this season
- Isaac Taveras scored 10 points to reach double figures for the 17th time this season
- Dylan Brumfield scored 10 points to reach double figures for the 15th time this season
- Chiante' Tramble scored seven points to continue his hot play for Southern Miss. Tramble has scored in each of the last three games after scoring only two points across the previous seven games
- Dalyn Brandon went 1-for-1 from deep to move to 7-for-18 on the season
How it Happened
Tylik Weeks picked up where he left off yesterday, as he scored the first Southern Miss points of the game on a pull-up jumper. Texas State and the Golden Eagles had a physical start, with Southern Miss still managing to knock down three of its first six shots.
Southern Miss started the game 6-for-10 from the floor, with Djahi Binet having three of those baskets. Binet and the Golden Eagles were up two just over eight minutes into the game as they limited the Texas State offense to a 5-for-14 start. The hot shooting continued for the Golden Eagles with Dalyn Brandon and Chiante' Tramble delivering back-to-back buckets in front of the Texas State bench to push the Southern Miss advantage to five.
Tegra Izay later answered a Texas State three-pointer with a tough layup and got the call – he missed the free throw, though. Southern Miss went into the under-eight timeout with a 23-21 lead, and then Isaac Taveras made the backend off a free throw coming out of it. The Bobcats took advantage of a three-minute scoring drought from the Golden Eagles to cut the deficit to only one.
Dylan Brumfield broke the drought just before the final media timeout with a pair of free throws. DJ Hall answered again for Texas State as he made it a 26-25 game at the final media timeout. Brumfield, again, hit a pair of freebies out of the timeout to push it back to a three-point game. Weeks broke a nearly seven-minute field goal drought with a jumper to regain the Southern Miss lead with 1:25 left in the half.
Binet got the lead back for Southern Miss, and then Curt Lewis hit a big-time corner three that put the Golden Eagles up 37-34 at the half. Southern Miss shot 56.5 percent in the first half and held Texas State to a 43.3 percent clip – the Bobcats had seven more shot attempts.
Taveras scored two quick baskets for Southern Miss in the second half before he picked up his fourth foul. Izzy Hart then hit a contested three-pointer at the top of the key that put the Golden Eagles ahead by eight with just a little over three minutes coming off the clock.
Both teams continued the physical battle, with Weeks starting to come alive in the second half. The forward scored seven-straight for Southern Miss as he put the Golden Eagles ahead by three at the under-12 timeout. Texas State punched back with a 7-0 run that cut the game to 59-58 with 7:32 to play.
Texas State tacked on one more basket to that run as they took their first lead of the half with 6:51 to play. Weeks put Southern Miss back ahead by two with a tough and-1, which made it 66-64 a minute later. Texas State answered back again, and then Taveras scored a tough layup to give the lead right back to Southern Miss. He then followed with a pair of free throws after taking a hard foul, which put Southern Miss up 68-64 with five minutes on the clock.
The Golden Eagles never let Texas State get within more than three points over the final five minutes. Southern Miss' lead reached six two different times in that stretch as it had an answer for each Bobcat bucket. Weeks and Binet both made a clutch pair of free throws, while Hart made the front end of his free throw. He missed his second on purpose, and Texas State was unable to get down the floor as the buzzer sounded.
Up Next
Southern Miss advances to play No. 4 App State on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The winner of that game will advance to the Sun Belt Tournament semifinal game against No. 1 Troy on Sunday
Follow @SouthernMissMBB on social media to get the latest Golden Eagle news.
His effort comes on the heels of a 31-point game against James Madison last night. Three other Golden Eagles scored in double figures as Southern Miss has moved its winning streak to three-straight. The Golden Eagles made 28 free throws for the second consecutive game, which tied their season high.
Southern Miss now advances to take on No. 4 App State at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Pensacola Bay Center. The Mountaineers took the only meeting this season by seven in Hattiesburg. It was a game that featured six lead changes and five ties.
Notables
- Southern Miss went with the same starting five as recent games - #0 Izzy Hart, #4 Tylik Weeks, #10 Isaac Taveras, #13 Dylan Brumfield, #15 Djahi Binet
- The first points were scored by Tylik Weeks for the seventh time and for the eighth time on a jumper
- Southern Miss' first sub was Chiante' Tramble at 16:59 in the first half
- Southern Miss moved to 2-0 in the Sun Belt Tournament and has now won its most games at a single conference tournament under Jay Ladner
- Southern Miss made at least 20 free throws for the 13th time this season after making 29 against Texas State
- Southern Miss is 3-3 all-time at the Sun Belt Tournament and has won three of the last four
- Southern Miss is now 6-4 all-time against Texas State and 1-1 in the Sun Belt Tournament against the Bobcats
- Tylik Weeks became the second player in single-season Southern Miss history to record at least 200 free throws. He is at 211, which passed Nick Revon for the most all-time after he had 205 during the 1953-54 season
- Weeks scored 32 points to reach double figures for the 30th time this season. He reached the 30-point mark for the fourth time this season and for the second time at the Sun Belt Tournament
- Djahi Binet scored 10 points to reach double figures for the 19th time this season
- Isaac Taveras scored 10 points to reach double figures for the 17th time this season
- Dylan Brumfield scored 10 points to reach double figures for the 15th time this season
- Chiante' Tramble scored seven points to continue his hot play for Southern Miss. Tramble has scored in each of the last three games after scoring only two points across the previous seven games
- Dalyn Brandon went 1-for-1 from deep to move to 7-for-18 on the season
How it Happened
Tylik Weeks picked up where he left off yesterday, as he scored the first Southern Miss points of the game on a pull-up jumper. Texas State and the Golden Eagles had a physical start, with Southern Miss still managing to knock down three of its first six shots.
Southern Miss started the game 6-for-10 from the floor, with Djahi Binet having three of those baskets. Binet and the Golden Eagles were up two just over eight minutes into the game as they limited the Texas State offense to a 5-for-14 start. The hot shooting continued for the Golden Eagles with Dalyn Brandon and Chiante' Tramble delivering back-to-back buckets in front of the Texas State bench to push the Southern Miss advantage to five.
Tegra Izay later answered a Texas State three-pointer with a tough layup and got the call – he missed the free throw, though. Southern Miss went into the under-eight timeout with a 23-21 lead, and then Isaac Taveras made the backend off a free throw coming out of it. The Bobcats took advantage of a three-minute scoring drought from the Golden Eagles to cut the deficit to only one.
Dylan Brumfield broke the drought just before the final media timeout with a pair of free throws. DJ Hall answered again for Texas State as he made it a 26-25 game at the final media timeout. Brumfield, again, hit a pair of freebies out of the timeout to push it back to a three-point game. Weeks broke a nearly seven-minute field goal drought with a jumper to regain the Southern Miss lead with 1:25 left in the half.
Binet got the lead back for Southern Miss, and then Curt Lewis hit a big-time corner three that put the Golden Eagles up 37-34 at the half. Southern Miss shot 56.5 percent in the first half and held Texas State to a 43.3 percent clip – the Bobcats had seven more shot attempts.
Taveras scored two quick baskets for Southern Miss in the second half before he picked up his fourth foul. Izzy Hart then hit a contested three-pointer at the top of the key that put the Golden Eagles ahead by eight with just a little over three minutes coming off the clock.
Both teams continued the physical battle, with Weeks starting to come alive in the second half. The forward scored seven-straight for Southern Miss as he put the Golden Eagles ahead by three at the under-12 timeout. Texas State punched back with a 7-0 run that cut the game to 59-58 with 7:32 to play.
Texas State tacked on one more basket to that run as they took their first lead of the half with 6:51 to play. Weeks put Southern Miss back ahead by two with a tough and-1, which made it 66-64 a minute later. Texas State answered back again, and then Taveras scored a tough layup to give the lead right back to Southern Miss. He then followed with a pair of free throws after taking a hard foul, which put Southern Miss up 68-64 with five minutes on the clock.
The Golden Eagles never let Texas State get within more than three points over the final five minutes. Southern Miss' lead reached six two different times in that stretch as it had an answer for each Bobcat bucket. Weeks and Binet both made a clutch pair of free throws, while Hart made the front end of his free throw. He missed his second on purpose, and Texas State was unable to get down the floor as the buzzer sounded.
Up Next
Southern Miss advances to play No. 4 App State on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The winner of that game will advance to the Sun Belt Tournament semifinal game against No. 1 Troy on Sunday
Follow @SouthernMissMBB on social media to get the latest Golden Eagle news.
Team Stats
USM
TXST
FG%
.532
.492
3FG%
.375
.333
FT%
.757
.850
RB
26
32
TO
11
12
STL
5
5
Game Leaders
Pts
32
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
14
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
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/ Men's BasketballF
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