The old basketball tournament saying from legendry head coach Jim Valvano is “survive and advance,” and that’s exactly what the Southern Miss men’s basketball team has done so far.
No. 8 Southern Miss defeated No. 5 Texas State, 81-77, on Friday night, earning its second consecutive win in the Sun Belt Tournament. The Golden Eagles (18-15, 9-9) advance to the quarterfinals on Saturday, where they will face No. 4 Appalachian State.
Forward Tylik “Bully” Weeks led Southern Miss with 32 points – less than 24 hours after a 31-point performance in the opening round against James Madison. Here’s how the rest of the game against Texas State played out.
Scoring summary
In front of a crowd of just under 1,500 in Pensacola, Fla., Weeks opened the scoring for Southern Miss with a pull-up jumper.
The Golden Eagles started strong, shooting 6-of-10 from the floor early in the game. Center Djahi Binet accounted for three of those baskets, and Southern Miss had a two-point lead just over eight minutes into the contest while limiting Texas State to a 4-of-14 start from the field.
Southern Miss led 23-21 at the first media timeout, and Isaac Taveras added a free throw coming out of the break to extend the lead. However, the Bobcats then capitalized on a three-minute scoring drought by the Golden Eagles and had the game within one point.
Hattiesburg native Dylan Brumfield broke the drought just before the final media timeout of the half with a pair of free throws. He then added two more from the charity stripe after the timeout to get the lead back to three.
Weeks later ended a nearly seven-minute field goal drought with a jumper at the 1:25 mark. Binet followed with another basket, and guard Curt Lewis knocked down a corner three to give the Golden Eagles a 37-34 halftime lead.
Izzy Hart opened the second half with a contested three-pointer from the top of the key as Southern Miss continued scoring and extended the lead to eight.
Texas State wouldn’t go away, though, and kept battling back with baskets of their own. Weeks scored seven straight points for Southern Miss to put the Golden Eagles ahead by three at the under-12 timeout. Texas State responded with a 7-0 run to cut the game to 59-58 with 7:32 remaining.
The Bobcats continued to apply pressure, but Taveras answered with a tough layup to give Southern Miss the lead again. He followed with two free throws after drawing a hard foul, extending the lead to 68-54 with five minutes left.
Texas State never got closer than three points in the final five minutes. Weeks and Binet each hit clutch free throws down the stretch, while Hart made the front end of a pair from the line. Hart missed the second attempt, but Texas State was unable to get the ball down the floor before the buzzer sounded, sealing the 81-77 win.
What the coach said
With Southern Miss earning its second Sun Belt Tournament win for the first time under seventh-year head coach Jay Ladner, he credited his team’s poise in a hard-fought matchup.
“The game tonight was very symbolic of the Sun Belt this year – really hard-fought and physical. Two really good teams that pride themselves on toughness,” Ladner said. “I think they have an outstanding team, but I’m proud of our guys for finding a way to win tonight.”
Southern Miss will need to win the entire tournament – meaning finding a way to grab three more victories – to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
By the numbers
Weeks led the Golden Eagles with 32 points, while Binet, Brumfield, and Taveras also scored 10 points apiece.
Texas State outrebounded Southern Miss (32-26), but the Golden Eagles committed fewer turnovers (11 compared to Texas State’s 12) and recorded three blocks. Southern Miss also made 28 free throws as Texas State attempted only 20 from the charity stripe.
Freshman forward DJ Hall led the Bobcats with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Jackson native Mark Drone finished with 19 points.
Up next
Southern Miss advances to face No. 4 Appalachian State on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The winner will move on to the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals to play top-seeded Troy on Sunday.