Southern Miss Comeback Falls Short vs. South Alabama

Golden Eagles rally late but can't overcome Jaguars' hot shooting

Published on Feb. 13, 2026

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The Southern Miss men's basketball team mounted a valiant second-half comeback against Sun Belt Conference foe South Alabama, but ultimately fell short 84-78. The Golden Eagles trailed by as many as 17 points in the second half before cutting the deficit to just four, but the Jaguars' dynamic guard duo of Jayden Cooper and Chaze Harris proved too much to overcome. Southern Miss star Tylik "Bully" Weeks led the team with 25 points, but it wasn't enough to overcome South Alabama's hot shooting performance.

Why it matters

This loss drops Southern Miss to 13-14 overall and 6-8 in Sun Belt play, making their path to a high seed in the conference tournament more difficult. The Golden Eagles will need to regroup quickly as they face another tough Sun Belt opponent in Troy on Saturday.

The details

Southern Miss struggled defensively in the first 30 minutes, allowing South Alabama to build a 63-46 lead with under 12 minutes remaining. But the Golden Eagles fought back, cutting the deficit to as little as four points late in the game. However, the Jaguars' backcourt duo of Cooper (34 points) and Harris (26 points) proved too much to overcome. Southern Miss got solid scoring efforts from Tylik "Bully" Weeks (25 points), Djahi Binet (15 points, 12 rebounds), Israel "Izzy" Hart (11 points), and Isaac Taveras (11 points), but it wasn't enough.

  • The game was played on Thursday, February 13, 2026.
  • Southern Miss trailed South Alabama 63-46 with 11:54 remaining in the second half.

The players

Tylik "Bully" Weeks

The star guard for Southern Miss, who led the team with 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Jayden Cooper

The junior guard for South Alabama, who scored a game-high 34 points on 7-9 shooting from three-point range.

Chaze Harris

The senior guard for South Alabama, who scored 26 points on 9-11 shooting to complement his backcourt teammate Cooper.

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What they’re saying

“First of all, we need to get Isaac (Taveras) back in condition and rhythm. That's gonna take a few weeks. Secondly, (we need to) stay committed to defense and rebounding the ball. We have improved tremendously in that area. A factor in defense is offensive shot selection. Shooting good shots improves defensive transition, which improves defense.”

— Jay Ladner, Head Coach, Southern Miss (Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI)

What’s next

Southern Miss will look to bounce back on Saturday when they host Troy, who is second in the Sun Belt standings. The Trojans previously defeated the Golden Eagles by 26 points in January.

The takeaway

Despite the valiant second-half comeback effort, Southern Miss was unable to overcome the dominant performance of South Alabama's backcourt duo. The Golden Eagles will need to shore up their defense and continue to get balanced scoring if they hope to improve their seeding for the Sun Belt Conference tournament.