Southern Miss Keeps Soaring, Defeats Texas State in Sun Belt Conference Tournament

The Golden Eagles, who finished eighth in the Sun Belt this season, are now just one more win away from making it to the conference tournament semifinals.

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The Golden Eagles could have let fatigue slow them down after getting their first win of the Sun Belt Conference tournament against James Madison on Thursday night, but the No. 8 seed was hungry for more going into the weekend. Southern Miss, on the back of a huge overall team effort, defeated Texas State 81-77 on Friday night at the Pensacola Bay Center to advance to the fifth round of the Sun Belt tournament.

With the win, the Golden Eagles improved to 18-15 on the season and 2-0 in the tournament, bringing them one more win shy of the semifinals.

As has been the case for the Golden Eagles over the last few weeks, this game was a close one throughout. Southern Miss carried a four-point lead into halftime, which ultimately ended up being the difference, as both teams scored 44 points in the second half.

Tylik Weeks is Inevitable

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After becoming just the third Golden Eagle to ever score 30 or more points in a conference tournament game on Thursday night, star junior guard Tylik Weeks did it again on Friday night, finishing with a game-high 32 points on 9-18 shooting from the floor and a perfect 14-14 from the free throw line. Opponents can't stop Weeks at this point; they can merely hope to contain him.

Given that Weeks played 40 minutes in the win against James Madison and 36 minutes in the win against Texas State on back-to-back nights, you'd think he'd be showing at least a few signs of fatigue. However, "Bully" is certainly living up to his nickname, and he's trying his best to will his team to a conference championship by winning five games in five nights.

Another Great All-Around Team Effort

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Before this tournament started, Golden Eagles head coach Jay Ladner told us that his team would need a collective effort to pull off what many believe to be the impossible. So far, through two tournament games, that has happened for Southern Miss.

Junior guard Isaac Taveras finished with 10 points (3-5 FG, 4-6 FT), four rebounds, two assists, one block and three steals, senior big man Djahi Binet added 10 points (4-7 FG), seven rebounds, and one block, and senior guard Dylan Brumfield pitched in with 10 points (2-7 FG, 6-6 FT), four rebounds, one assists, one steal and one block.

What has been special about this Southern Miss run so far is the strong overall defensive effort from every player that steps foot on the floor, no matter how many shots or points those players have. Israel "Izzy" Hart, Chiante' Tramble, Curt Lewis, Tegra Izay and Dalyn Brandon continue to provide the Golden Eagles with valuable minutes, and they will likely be relied on more as this tournament progresses.

On to the Quarterfinals

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Despite their regular-season record, the Golden Eagles were confident heading into this tournament due to the fact that they were playing their best basketball of the year at the right time. That momentum has carried them all the way to the quarterfinals, and if you've made it this far, you might as well push through and finish the thing, right?

"You Gotta Believe" has been the rallying cry for the Golden Eagles, and they truly do believe they can play at their current level for three more games.

The Sun Belt "war of attrition" continues on Saturday, as Southern Miss will take on Applalacion State at the Pensacola Bay Center. The game will be available on ESPN+.