Golden Eagles keep stacking wins

Southern Miss just keeps stacking wins.The Golden Eagles rolled past ULM 70–60 Saturday afternoon at Reed Green Coliseum, pushing their winning streak to four games and improving to 5–1 in Sun Belt play. That mark represents Southern Miss’ best start in league action in more than a decade, and it came in front of another strong home showing inside The Greenhouse.

Southern Miss is now 41–10 at Reed Green Coliseum since the start of the 2022–23 season, including 6–1 at home this year, continuing to make Hattiesburg one of the toughest stops in the conference.

Balanced attack leads the wayFour Golden Eagles scored in double figures, led by Djahi Binet, who delivered one of the best all-around performances of his career. Binet finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, recording his fourth double-double of the season and ninth of his career. It also marked his third double-double in the last four games, and notably, he knocked down the first three-pointer of his career along the way.Tylik Weeks once again set the tone offensively, pouring in 20 points to reach double figures for the 16th time this season. Weeks has now scored 20 or more points in six games, including three of the last four, and added a career-high three blocks on the defensive end.Dylan Brumfield continued his hot stretch with 15 points, matching his season high for the second straight week. He also posted a season-high five steals, sparking multiple momentum swings for the Golden Eagles.

Off the bench, Izzy Hart chipped in 10 points, knocking down two three-pointers and giving Southern Miss timely shooting when it mattered most.

How it unfolded:

Southern Miss got on the board first with a Curt Lewis three-pointer, but ULM responded with a 14–3 run that briefly put the Golden Eagles on their heels. Lewis accounted for most of the early offense as Southern Miss worked to find rhythm.That rhythm finally arrived midway through the first half. A deep ball from Chiante’ Tramble ignited the crowd, followed by Binet’s historic first career three. From there, Brumfield and Weeks went to work, trimming the deficit and setting up a late-half surge.

After ULM briefly stretched the lead with back-to-back threes, Southern Miss slammed the door shut. The Golden Eagles closed the final six minutes of the half on a 10–0 run, fueled by defense, rebounding, and transition buckets, to take a 31–28 lead into the break.

The second half followed a similar script. ULM made a push early, but Brumfield and Binet quickly answered to regain control. Once again, Weeks took over down the stretch, hitting tough jumpers and stabilizing the offense as Southern Miss built separation.

With the game still within reach late, Izzy Hart buried two clutch three-pointers, and the Golden Eagles calmly knocked down free throws to seal a 10-point win.The bigger pictureSouthern Miss improves to 30–17 all-time against ULM and 20–6 against the Warhawks in Hattiesburg. The Golden Eagles also protected the ball well, committing just nine turnovers, their fourth game this season finishing with fewer than 10.

At 5–1 in conference play, Southern Miss has matched its best Sun Belt start since the early 2010s and is clearly trending upward as league play heats up.

Up next:

The Golden Eagles now hit the road for a four-game swing, starting Wednesday night at Troy. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. at Trojan Arena, with Southern Miss looking to keep momentum rolling away from home.

Big Gold Nation, this one felt like a team figuring itself out — and that should have the rest of the Sun Belt paying attention.