Southern Miss Men’s Basketball Advances to Sun Belt Tournament Semifinals

Southern Miss improved its postseason run Saturday night, beating Appalachian State 86-73 in Pensacola, Florida, to reach the Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinals for the first time. The Golden Eagles, now 19-15 overall, are making their first semifinal appearance since 2019 and will face top seed Troy on Sunday at 5 p.m., according to the school.

Tylik Weeks scored 28 points, falling four points shy of the Sun Belt Tournament scoring record held by Tristan Thomas of North Texas. Izzy Hart and Dylan Brumfield also scored in double figures, helping Southern Miss shoot 48.3% from the field. The Golden Eagles out-rebounded Appalachian State 42-31 and secured 17 offensive rebounds.

Southern Miss started strong, with Dylan Brumfield scoring early and Izzy Hart hitting a three-pointer to settle the offense. The team built an eight-point lead midway through the first half, thanks to an 8-0 run and a dunk from Djahi Binet. The Golden Eagles carried a 44-28 lead into halftime after a buzzer-beating three from Brumfield.

In the second half, Appalachian State responded with a four-point play but Southern Miss maintained control. Weeks and Hart pushed the lead back to double digits, and Binet sealed the victory with a lob dunk in the final minutes. The Golden Eagles finished shooting 48.4%, including 5-for-13 from three-point range, and made 19 free throws.

Southern Miss has now won three straight games at the Sun Belt tournament and improved to 5-0 at the Pensacola Bay Center this season. They also hold a 4-1 all-time record against Appalachian State. The team will now prepare to face Troy in the semifinals, with the game streaming on ESPN+.

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