Southern Miss’ Golden Eagle basketball team secured a narrow victory against Old Dominion in the final home game of the season.
Prior to the game, Southern Miss honored the seniors Fallou Diagne, Israel ‘Izzy’ Hart, Blake Lander, Dylan Brumfield, Djahi Binet and Tegra Izay for Seniors’ Night.
Once the game tipped off, the Monarchs started out hot. They shot a perfect three-of-three from beyond the arc to push their lead to nine early in the game. The Golden Eagles responded with a run of their own, cutting the lead back down to one. After some battling, the Monarchs hit three three-pointers in a row to push their lead to 18. Southern Miss responded with a 15-4 run to close the first half, cutting the lead to just seven.
The Golden Eagles responded quickly in the second half. They tied the game up 50 a piece not even three minutes into the half, and after a big dunk by Isaac Taveras, the Golden Eagles had their first lead of the game.
They continued their run and eventually pushed the lead to 10 with five minutes left in the game. Old Dominion did not slow down. They continued to pressure the Golden Eagles and held them to just one of five shots in the final five minutes of the game. One play by Tylik Weeks pushed the lead back to three with just under two minutes to go.
The Golden Eagles closed out the game by holding the Monarchs to zero field goals made over the final two minutes. Both teams spent a lot of time at the line, with the Golden Eagles shooting eight free throws and the Monarchs shooting four.
Southern Miss held off the Monarchs and finished off with an 86-81 victory. The 18-point comeback victory marks the fourth-largest comeback in team history. Tylik Weeks led the way for the Golden Eagles with 27 points and five rebounds, with help from Izzy Hart, who had 21 points and four threes of his own.
