The Golden Eagles return from their trip to the 2025 Pensacola Invitational as champions after their wins over the North Florida Ospreys and the UT Martin Skyhawks in the tournament this weekend.
After a somewhat rocky start to the season, the Golden Eagles bounced back down in Florida, putting together two very different performances and ultimately leaving with bragging rights. The story of the weekend was the play of junior forward Tylik Weeks, who was named tournament MVP after his impressive two-game stretch. Two other Golden Eagles, Djahi Benet and Isaac Taveras, were named to the nine-man all-tournament team.
In their first game on Saturday, the Golden Eagles defeated the Ospreys 92-83 on the back of the aforementioned Weeks, who poured in 37 points. Despite having 0 three-point makes, Weeks put up the most points by a Golden Eagle since 2016 and became the highest-scoring player in head coach Jay Ladner’s tenure. On a wider scale, Weeks’ 37 points are the seventh-most scored across Division I basketball so far this season.
Despite this performance, the first half of the game was dominated by the hot shooting of the Ospreys. They shot 64% from the field and went 9-16 from behind the arc in the first half, putting Southern Miss in a 13-point hole at the 3:20 mark. A last-second shot by North Florida’s Kent Jackson gave them a nine-point advantage going into halftime. Jackson was a thorn in the Golden Eagles’ side all night, scoring 21 points with five three-point makes.
After shooting just 1-8 from behind the three-point line in the first half, Southern Miss changed their approach in the second half. They attempted only two three-pointers after halftime, instead choosing to assert themselves in the painted area. They outscored the Ospreys 38-14 in points in the paint after halftime and overall, won the statistic 66-26 by the game’s end.
Weeks scored 25 points in the second half and helped close out the game for Southern Miss, scoring 15 of the team’s final 19 points. The increased defensive intensity from the Golden Eagles, coupled with their self-inflicted errors, ultimately spelled doom for the Ospreys. They turned the ball over 13 times in the second half, leading to 23 points off turnovers for Southern Miss.
After their rally against North Florida, Southern Miss entered the winner’s game on Sunday against UT Martin. The Skyhawks had defeated the Prairie View A&M Panthers 69-68 in the afternoon game on Saturday. The Skyhawks were riding the momentum of their close victory, which saw them hit the game-winning shot with only 41 seconds remaining.
However, the Golden Eagles never let the game get close enough for the Skyhawks to have a chance to repeat any late-game magic. Southern Miss never trailed in the game and outscored UT Martin 41-22 in the first half. The Golden Eagles came out hot, shooting 56% from the field and 46% from behind the arc going into halftime. Guards Curt Lewis and Izzy Hart each hit 3 three-pointers in the first half. Lewis was disrupting passing lanes all night as he finished with four of the team’s five steals.
The Golden Eagles didn’t relinquish after halftime, and the final score is partly skewed by the final 1:40, when UT Martin closed the game on a 10-0 run after Southern Miss substituted the end of its bench into the game. The Skyhawks’ leading scorer on the season, forward Andrija Bukumirović, was held to 4 points and 1-5 shooting on the game.
The Golden Eagles outscored their opponents 106-50 in the paint during the tournament, clearly showcasing that it’s an area Jay Ladner feels is an advantage for his team.
The Golden Eagles will ride the high of their tournament win into the Thanksgiving break before embarking on a small road trip. They’ll first travel to Virginia to face the Radford Highlanders on Dec. 3. Then, they’ll travel to Coral Gables in a matchup with the Miami Hurricanes on Dec. 6 before returning to Reed Green Coliseum on Dec. 8 in a rematch with Grambling State.
