by Hunter Dawkins, Owner/Publisher – editor@thegazebogazette.com or hdawkins@supertalk.fm

PENSACOLA (GG) —Success was on their mind, as Southern Miss Men’s Basketball returned to the Sun Belt Tournament in Pensacola, Florida for the fourth year and earned a first round victory 86-80 over James Madison in the first round Thursday, March 5, 2026.  In their second consecutive year, the Golden Eagles (17-15, 9-9) changed the lead 14 times with the JMU Dukes before Forward Tylik “Bully Weeks” made a jumper with 16:24 left, giving Southern Miss a 45-43 lead for good.

Scoring Summary

For the first 11 minutes of the game, there were 10 lead changes with both teams attempting to figure out the schemes of the other.  With 10:15, the Dukes went on a 7-0 run to take the lead 22-16 when a timeout was called.  

Slowly but surely, Southern Miss countered with an 8-0 run to take the lead again at 24-22.  For the last 6:23 minutes in the first half, both teams had 11 points with Weeks and Frenchman Center Djahi Binet knocking down free throws to help Southern Miss cling to a 35-33 lead at the half.
The inconsistent lead changes usurped the first three and a half minutes until the first timeout was called at 16:42 with a 43-43 tie. 
From here, Southern Miss changed the tone of the game, Weeks and Forward Isaac Taveras combined for 10 points as the Golden Eagles began to control the outcome on a 12-2 run.  
 
Even though the Dukes occasionally attempted to slip back closer, Southern Miss punched back, going on a 26-13 run with 71-58 lead at 5:23 left highlighted by 9 consecutive points by Weeks.  The Dukes could only come back with free throws despite going on a 9-4 run in the last minute.  
 
USM had no field goals in the last 2:06 minutes, but 12 consecutive free throws earned them the 86-80 victory over 9th seeded James Madison in the third round.
 
What the Coach Said
 
While Southern Miss Head Basketball Coach Jay Ladner was thrilled for winning his second consecutive first round SBC matchup, his feeling about all the matchups now is that the victory could be short-lived.
 
“We knew this game (like every regular season Sun Belt game) would be a war, I was really proud of our team’s preparation all week,” said Ladner, in his seventh season at his alma mater.  “James Madison caused us a lot of problems, we knew this was going to be a tough draw for us.  As a team, we are all together for a reason and the life of a basketball team is very short when it comes to this level.  Our coaching staff did a great job of making adjustments.”
  
The win guaranteed Southern Miss its second winning season under Jay Ladner as they are two games above .500.
  
The Numbers Never Lie
 
While Weeks led the court in scoring with 31 points, the Golden Eagles shot 45% (27-60) from the floor and 36% (4-11) beyond the arc.  Taveras led Southern Miss in rebounds (8) and the team beat the Dukes from the glass (36-32) and finished with 7 steals.
 
Taveras and Center Binet were the only other double digit scorers with 17 and 11 respectively.  Even though Binet fouled out, he finished with 2 blocks and backup Center Tegra Izay had 3 steals.
 
James Madison was led by Guards Cliff Davis and Bradley Douglas who combined for 37 points on 13-27 shooting, but both nearly fouled out.  Southern Miss moved to 4-1 all-time against James Madison.
  
Next Up
 
Southern Miss plays #5 seed Texas State at the Pensacola Bay Center in the Fourth Round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Friday, March 6.  The tip off will be at 5pm in Pensacola, Florida.
(Photo by Aimee Cronan/The Gazebo Gazette via Associated Press.  Inside Photo by Southern Miss Athletics)