University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Saturday, March 7
Pensacola, Fla.
5:30 p.m.
Southern Miss
19-15,9-9Sun Belt
86
vs
73
(4) App State
19-13,11-7Sun Belt
1
2
F
Southern Miss.
44
42
86
App State
28
45
73
Men's Basketball Tops App State to Continue Sun Belt Tournament Run
3/7/2026 8:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PENSACOLA, Fla. – For the first time in program history, the Southern Miss (19-15, 9-9) men's basketball team is headed to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinal game. The Golden Eagles knocked off No. 5 App State (19-13, 11-7), 86-73, on Saturday night to pick up their third-straight win at the tournament.
It's the first time since the 2019 season that Southern Miss has advanced to a semifinal game in postseason play. The Golden Eagles will now play top-seeded Troy on Sunday at 5 p.m. Southern Miss split the season series with the regular season champs, winning in Hattiesburg on Feb.14.
Tylik Weeks scored 28 points and is four points shy of breaking the Sun Belt Tournament scoring record. The record is currently 95 points by Tristan Thomas of North Texas during the 2011 conference tournament. Both Izzy Hart and Dylan Brumfield also finished in double figures as Southern Miss shot 48.3 percent from the floor.
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
- Southern Miss forced its sixth five-second violation after forcing App State to a whistle in the first half
- Southern Miss has advanced to the Sun Belt semifinal game for the first time in program history. It's the first semifinal game since the 2019 Conference USA Tournament
- The Golden Eagles out rebounded App State 42-31 and 17-11 on the offensive glass
- Southern Miss moved to 5-0 at the Pensacola Bay Center this season and is 5-1 in neutral court games
- Jay Ladner currently has the second-most wins in his Southern Miss career. The 25 from the 2022-23 season are the most he has recorded in a single season
- Southern Miss moved to 4-1 all-time against App State
- Tylik Weeks scored 28 points to reach double figures for the 31st time this season. Weeks reached the 20-point mark for the 17th time and for the third consecutive game
- Izzy Hart scored 16 points to reach double figures for the 12th time this season
- Hart drained at least three three-pointers for the eighth time this season
- Tegra Izay had his best overall performance of the season, scoring six points to go along with nine rebounds. Izay played a season-high 23 minutes
- Dylan Brumfield reached double figures for the 17th time this season after scoring 16 points
- Both Izay and Brumfield led Southern Miss in rebounding with nine
How it Happened
It took just over three minutes for Southern Miss to get the ball in the basket after Dylan Brumfield scored a contested layup. Izzy Hart hit a three-pointer that settled down the Golden Eagle offense, then Tylik Weeks converted an and-one that made it a one-point lead in favor of App State after that.
App State extended its lead back to four before Southern Miss ripped off an 8-0 to take a 21-16 lead. Weeks and Hart both drew offensive fouls in that stretch, and then Djahi Binet blew the roof off the gym with a huge dunk. The Golden Eagle run pushed to a 13-2 stretch that put Southern Miss ahead by eight with five minutes to go in the half.
Southern Miss went into the final media timeout of the half with a six-point lead. The Golden Eagles ended the half on a 23-12 run that saw Dylan Brumfield hit a three-pointer as the buzzer expired. That shot gave the Golden Eagles a 44-28 lead at the break, while Hart led all scorers with 15 points.
App State started the second half with a four-point play, but veteran Tegra Izay knocked down a pair of free throws to slow the pace down. Izay gave a boost to Southern Miss as he scored back-to-back baskets for the Golden Eagles, with the latter pushing their lead to 16 with 15:15 to play. App State followed that with an 8-2 run that trimmed the advantage to 10, but Weeks went on a solo 5-0 run that got it back to 15.
The Mountaineers scored on consecutive drops down the floor to make it a 12-point game before Southern Miss had an answer with a Weeks layup. That moved him to seven-straight of Southern Miss' points, and then Brumfield reached double figures on a tough jumper to slash the momentum.
Southern Miss was holding onto a 67-53 lead at the under-eight media timeout. App State answered again, cutting its deficit to 11 with just over five minutes to play. Southern Miss struck back and built the lead back to 16 in the blink of an eye. Binet then delivered the dagger with just under two minutes left when he caught a lob from Weeks.
The lead reached as many as 18 late in the game before Southern Miss ultimately won by 13. As a team, Southern Miss shot 48.4 percent from the floor and 5-for-13 from deep. After making 28 free throws in back-to-back games, Southern Miss drained 19 tonight.
Up Next
Southern Miss will play No. 1 Troy on Sunday at 5 p.m. The game will air on ESPN+ inside the Pensacola Bay Center.
Follow @SouthernMissMBB on social media to get the latest Golden Eagle news.
It's the first time since the 2019 season that Southern Miss has advanced to a semifinal game in postseason play. The Golden Eagles will now play top-seeded Troy on Sunday at 5 p.m. Southern Miss split the season series with the regular season champs, winning in Hattiesburg on Feb.14.
Tylik Weeks scored 28 points and is four points shy of breaking the Sun Belt Tournament scoring record. The record is currently 95 points by Tristan Thomas of North Texas during the 2011 conference tournament. Both Izzy Hart and Dylan Brumfield also finished in double figures as Southern Miss shot 48.3 percent from the floor.
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
- Southern Miss forced its sixth five-second violation after forcing App State to a whistle in the first half
- Southern Miss has advanced to the Sun Belt semifinal game for the first time in program history. It's the first semifinal game since the 2019 Conference USA Tournament
- The Golden Eagles out rebounded App State 42-31 and 17-11 on the offensive glass
- Southern Miss moved to 5-0 at the Pensacola Bay Center this season and is 5-1 in neutral court games
- Jay Ladner currently has the second-most wins in his Southern Miss career. The 25 from the 2022-23 season are the most he has recorded in a single season
- Southern Miss moved to 4-1 all-time against App State
- Tylik Weeks scored 28 points to reach double figures for the 31st time this season. Weeks reached the 20-point mark for the 17th time and for the third consecutive game
- Izzy Hart scored 16 points to reach double figures for the 12th time this season
- Hart drained at least three three-pointers for the eighth time this season
- Tegra Izay had his best overall performance of the season, scoring six points to go along with nine rebounds. Izay played a season-high 23 minutes
- Dylan Brumfield reached double figures for the 17th time this season after scoring 16 points
- Both Izay and Brumfield led Southern Miss in rebounding with nine
How it Happened
It took just over three minutes for Southern Miss to get the ball in the basket after Dylan Brumfield scored a contested layup. Izzy Hart hit a three-pointer that settled down the Golden Eagle offense, then Tylik Weeks converted an and-one that made it a one-point lead in favor of App State after that.
App State extended its lead back to four before Southern Miss ripped off an 8-0 to take a 21-16 lead. Weeks and Hart both drew offensive fouls in that stretch, and then Djahi Binet blew the roof off the gym with a huge dunk. The Golden Eagle run pushed to a 13-2 stretch that put Southern Miss ahead by eight with five minutes to go in the half.
Southern Miss went into the final media timeout of the half with a six-point lead. The Golden Eagles ended the half on a 23-12 run that saw Dylan Brumfield hit a three-pointer as the buzzer expired. That shot gave the Golden Eagles a 44-28 lead at the break, while Hart led all scorers with 15 points.
App State started the second half with a four-point play, but veteran Tegra Izay knocked down a pair of free throws to slow the pace down. Izay gave a boost to Southern Miss as he scored back-to-back baskets for the Golden Eagles, with the latter pushing their lead to 16 with 15:15 to play. App State followed that with an 8-2 run that trimmed the advantage to 10, but Weeks went on a solo 5-0 run that got it back to 15.
The Mountaineers scored on consecutive drops down the floor to make it a 12-point game before Southern Miss had an answer with a Weeks layup. That moved him to seven-straight of Southern Miss' points, and then Brumfield reached double figures on a tough jumper to slash the momentum.
Southern Miss was holding onto a 67-53 lead at the under-eight media timeout. App State answered again, cutting its deficit to 11 with just over five minutes to play. Southern Miss struck back and built the lead back to 16 in the blink of an eye. Binet then delivered the dagger with just under two minutes left when he caught a lob from Weeks.
The lead reached as many as 18 late in the game before Southern Miss ultimately won by 13. As a team, Southern Miss shot 48.4 percent from the floor and 5-for-13 from deep. After making 28 free throws in back-to-back games, Southern Miss drained 19 tonight.
Up Next
Southern Miss will play No. 1 Troy on Sunday at 5 p.m. The game will air on ESPN+ inside the Pensacola Bay Center.
Follow @SouthernMissMBB on social media to get the latest Golden Eagle news.
Team Stats
USM
APP
FG%
.484
.418
3FG%
.385
.238
FT%
.731
.759
RB
42
32
TO
10
10
STL
2
6
Game Leaders
Pts
28
FGM
10
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
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