Southern Miss beat Appalachian State 86-73 on Saturday to advance to the Sun Belt Conference tournament semifinals, the Southern Miss athletics department said. The No. 8 seed Golden Eagles improved to 19-15 (9-9) while No. 4 Appalachian State fell to 19-13 (11-7), the release said.
Southern Miss shot 48.4 percent from the field and built a 44-28 lead by halftime, according to the school. The Golden Eagles closed the first half on a 23-12 run and never relinquished control in the second half, leading by as many as 18 late in the game, the release said.
Junior forward Tylik Weeks led Southern Miss with 28 points, leaving him four points shy of the Sun Belt tournament scoring record, the school said. Izzy Hart and Dylan Brumfield also finished in double figures. Appalachian State was paced by Eren Banks Jr. with 18 points. Southern Miss outrebounded the Mountaineers 42-31, including a 17-11 edge on the offensive glass, according to game statistics provided by the school.
“This game was very hard fought. It was a very physical game against a very physical team,” Southern Miss coach Jay Ladner said in the release. “Theyre well-coached. App State doesnt beat themselves you have to go earn it. Im very proud of the fight our guys showed.” Ladner added that the team needed two more wins in the conference tournament to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012, the release said.
Southern Miss will face Sun Belt regular-season champion Troy in the semifinals Sunday at 5 p.m., the conference said. The teams split the regular-season series, including a Southern Miss win in Hattiesburg on Feb. 14, the release said.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
