Tramble Sets New Career High as Southern Miss Gets Massive Road Win at South Alabama

The Golden Eagles finished the regular season above .500 and secured the eighth seed in the Sun Belt Conference tournament.

Chiante Tramble hit a team-best five 3-pointers during Southern Miss' 68-55 win at South Alabama on Friday night. / @SouthernMissMBB

On Friday, the final day of the regular season, Southern Miss ended on a positive note by dismantling South Alabama on the road, 68-55. The Mitchell Center has been a thorn in the Golden Eagles' side for more than a decade. Friday's road win was the first time Southern Miss had won a game at South Alabama since 2015.

Weeks and Binet Do What They Do

Southern Miss star Tylik Weeks continued his scoring dominance against South Alabama on Friday night. / @SouthernMissMBB

With the win, the Golden Eagles finished above .500 in the regular season with a 16-15 overall record and a 9-9 Sun Belt Conference record. South Alabama fell to 21-10 overall and 11-7 in Sun Belt play.

The Golden Eagles got the production they expected out of star guard/forward Tylik Weeks and double-double machine big man Djahi Binet against the Jags. Weeks poured in a team-best 19 points on 5-10 shooting from the floor and 8-9 shooting from the charity stripe to go with six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Binet finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.

Career Night for Tramble

Sophomore guard Chiante' Tramble has come a long way for the Golden Eagles this season. / Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

However, the biggest contribution in this one came from sophomore guard Chiante' Tramble, who scored a career-high 18 points on 5-8 shooting from 3-point range. The Edmond, Oklahoma, product was impressive in just 16 minutes of action off the bench. You know you had a great, efficient night when you have more points than minutes played.

This year, Tramble is shooting a sizzling 40.4 percent from deep (23-57). Binet is the only other Southern Miss player to have a higher 3-point percentage at 44.4 percent, but he's only attempted nine all season. Tramble's shooting from deep could be key to the Golden Eagles making a run in the Sun Belt tournament, which begins in Pensacola, Fla., on Tuesday.

Next Up, Sun Belt Tourney

A look at the wild Sun Belt tournament bracket. / @SunBelt

Southern Miss secured the No. 8 seed, meaning that it won't have to play until Thursday. However, given how the Sun Belt's bracket is set up, the Golden Eagles will still need to find a way to win five games in five days to bring home a conference championship and punch their ticket to the NCAA tournament.

The Golden Eagles will play in Game 5 of the Sun Belt tournament on Thursday at 5 p.m. against the winner of Game 3 at the Pensacola Bay Center. Game 3 on Wednesday will be played between James Madison and the winner of Game 1 (Louisiana vs. Georgia State on Tuesday). All games will be streamed on ESPN+. Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more basketball coverage heading into next week.