PENSACOLA, Fla. – Southern Miss and Georgia Southern continued their impressive postseason runs with convincing quarterfinal wins at the 2026 Visit Pensacola Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Air Force Reserve on Saturday evening at the Pensacola Bay Center.
The No. 8 seed, Southern Miss collected its third straight tournament win, 86-73, over No. 4 seed App State, while No. 10 seed Georgia Southern executed its fourth triumph in as many days with a 96-72 victory over No. 3 seed Coastal Carolina.
In four games, Georgia Southern has already established new Sun Belt tournament records in a plethora of offensive categories including total points (358), field goals made (115), 3-pointers made (59) and 3-point attempts (132).
The semifinals of the 2026 Visit Pensacola Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship are slated for Sunday, March 8 with games beginning at 5 and 7:30 p.m., respectively.
Game 9: (8) Southern Miss 86, (4) App State 73 (Box Score)
Junior forward Tylik Weeks led all players in scoring for the third straight game with 28 points, as redshirt senior guard Izzy Hart and senior guard Dylan Brumfield added 16 points apiece to lift the Golden Eagles.
Southern Miss controlled a majority of the first half and broke away on the scoreboard with a 13-2 scoring run over five minutes of game time to build a 26-18 lead on a 3-pointer by Hart at the 5:53 mark. The Golden Eagles widened the margin to double digits before taking a 44-28 lead into halftime.
Southern Miss shot 17-for-29 (.586) overall and 5-for-9 (.556) beyond the arc while owning a 20-13 advantage on the glass and an 11-3 scoring edge on second chances in the first half. App State senior guard and All-Sun Belt Third Team selection Alonzo Dodd shot 7-for-10 with 15 points in the period but left with an injury with 2:29 to go and did not return.
The Golden Eagles disallowed the Mountaineers to sustain any momentum in the second half, as App State never cut the deficit to fewer than 10 points for the remainder of the contest.
Five Mountaineers scored in double figures led by junior guard Eren Banks’ 18 points off the bench on 7-for-13 shooting with three 3-pointers.
Southern Miss advances to face top-seed and regular season champion Troy at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Game 10: (10) Georgia Southern 96, (3) Coastal Carolina 72 (Box Score)
Graduate guard Tyren Moore scored a career-high 40 points on 16-for-27 shooting - including 7-for-14 from 3-point range - and broke the Sun Belt tournament record for total points, as Georgia Southern shot 35-for-65 (.538) overall and made 12 shots beyond the 3-point arc while holding Coastal Carolina under 38 percent from the field.
Moore’s 99 points in the Eagles’ four wins eclipsed the previous Sun Belt tournament scoring record set of 95 set by North Texas’ Tristan Thompson in 2011.
One night removed from tying the Sun Belt tournament record with 23 made 3-pointers, the Eagles picked up where they left off by making 11 of their first 16 total shots and six of their first nine from beyond the arc to build a 21-11 lead at the 13:22 mark of the first half.
Georgia Southern pulled ahead by as many as 12 with 9:37 to go, but Coastal erased its double-digit deficit with a 17-2 scoring run capped by 14 straight points to take a 35-32 lead with 4:50 remaining, as graduate guard and 2026 Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year Joshua Beadle finished the period with 21 points.
Equally as impressive was Eagles’ senior guard Tyren Moore who put up 22 points and five 3-pointers in the first half, as they reclaimed the lead before taking a 45-42 edge into halftime.
Georgia Southern grew the margin back to double digits, 55-44, on a trey by Alden Applewhite just two minutes into the second half and eventually widened it to 20 points - 80-60 - with 6:39 remaining.
Coastal Carolina wouldn’t draw closer than 15 points from that moment, as the Eagles pulled away in the 24-point triumph.
The Chanticleers were led by Beadle’s 25 points.
Georgia Southern advances to face second-seeded Marshall at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.
2026 Visit Pensacola Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship Presented By Air Force Reserve
Tuesday, March 3
Game 1 – (12) Louisiana def. (13) Georgia State, 84-75
Game 2 – (11) Old Dominion def. (14) ULM, 87-80
Wednesday, March 4
Game 3 – (9) James Madison def. (12) Louisiana, 87-72
Game 4 – (10) Georgia Southern def. (11) Old Dominion, 88-84
Thursday, March 5
Game 5 – (8) Southern Miss def. (9) James Madison, 86-80
Game 6 – (10) Georgia Southern def. (7) Arkansas State, 80-77
Friday, March 6
Game 7 – (8) Southern Miss def. (5) Texas State, 81-77
Game 8 – (10) Georgia Southern def. (6) South Alabama, 94-85
Saturday, March 7
Game 9 – (8) Southern Miss def. (4) App State, 86-73
Game 10 – (10) Georgia Southern def. (3) Coastal Carolina, 96-72
Sunday, March 8
Game 11 – (1) Troy vs. (8) Southern Miss – 5 p.m. CT [ESPN+]
Game 12 – (2) Marshall vs. (10) Georgia Southern – 7:30 p.m. CT [ESPN+]
Monday, March 9 (Championship)
Game 13 – Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 – 6 p.m. CT [ESPN2]