For the third consecutive Sun Belt Tournament game, the Southern Miss men’s basketball team survived and advanced – this time to the semifinals with an 86-73 win over Appalachian State on Saturday.
The No. 8 seed Golden Eagles (19-15, 9-9) pulled off the upset over the No. 4 seed Mountaineers (19-13, 11-7) in large part due to a near-50% mark from the field and a stout defensive showing. Southern Miss was up 16 points by halftime and never let go, controlling the second half on the way to the win.
Scoring summary
It took just over three minutes for Southern Miss to score its first basket when Dylan Brumfield finished a contested layup. Izzy Hart followed with a three-pointer to settle the offense before Tylik Weeks converted an and-one. App State was up 9-8 by that point.
The Mountaineers extended its early advantage to four before Southern Miss answered with an 8-0 run to take a 21-16 lead. The surge grew into a 13-2 stretch, putting the Golden Eagles ahead by eight with five minutes left in the first half.
Southern Miss closed the half on a 23-12 run. Brumfield capped the stretch by draining a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded, giving the Golden Eagles a 44-28 lead at the intermission. Hart led all scorers at halftime with 15 points.
App State opened the second half with a four-point play, but veteran Tegra Izay responded with two free throws to steady the Southern Miss pace. Izay then scored on back-to-back possessions, pushing Southern Miss’ lead back to 16 with 15:15 left.
The Mountaineers answered with an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to 10, but Weeks responded with a personal 5-0 run to extend the lead to 15.
App State later trimmed the margin to 12 before Weeks added a layup. Brumfield soon reached double figures with a tough jumper to halt the Mountaineers’ momentum.
App State pulled within 11 with just over five minutes to play, but Southern Miss quickly pushed the lead back to 16. Center Djahi Binet delivered the final blow with under two minutes remaining, finishing a lob from Weeks for a rim-rattling alley oop.
The Golden Eagles led by as many as 18 late before securing the 13-point win.
What the coach said
Southern Miss veteran head coach Jay Ladner praised his team’s effort but emphasized keeping the celebration short. The Golden Eagles need two more wins in the conference tournament to advance to their first NCAA Tournament since 2012.
“This game was very hard fought. It was a very physical game against a very physical team,” Ladner said. “They’re well-coached. App State doesn’t beat themselves – you have to go earn it. I’m very proud of the fight our guys showed.”
Numbers never lie
— Southern Miss finished the night shooting 48.4% from the field and 5-of-13 from three-point range. After making 28 free throws in each of the previous two games, the Golden Eagles converted 19 in Saturday’s victory.
— Tylik Weeks led Southern Miss with 28 points. After scoring 32 points and 31 points, respectively, in the first two Sun Belt Tournament games, the junior forward is four points shy of the tournament scoring record. The mark is 95 points, set by Tristan Thomas of North Texas in 2011.
— Izzy Hart and Dylan Brumfield also finished in double figures.
— Southern Miss outrebounded App State 42-31, including a 17-11 edge on the offensive glass.
— App State was led on offense by Eren Banks Jr., who scored 18 points.
Next up
Southern Miss will face Sun Belt regular-season champion Troy in the semifinals Sunday at 5 p.m. The Golden Eagles split the regular-season series with the Trojans, including a win in Hattiesburg on Feb. 14.
